Business and Economic Research ISSN 2162-4860 2012, Vol. 2, No. 2 www.macrothink.org/ber 209 Assessing Grocery Store Attraction via Cross-Shopping Linkages Charles D. Bodkin (Corresponding author) Dept. of Marketing, University of North Carolina at Charlotte 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223 E-mail: cbodkin@uncc.edu Ellen Sewell Dept. of Economics, University of North Carolina at Charlotte 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223 E-mail: esewell@uncc.edu Received: October 26, 2012 Accepted: November, 14, 2012 doi:10.5296/ber.v2i2.2572 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/ber.v2i2.2572 Abstract The present study is unique in its approach to assessing the value of cross-shopping by categorizing stores as either a customer attraction or a customer sharing store. Previous research has used consumer perceptions of store qualities (i.e., service quality, price, store brands) to develop consumer profiles of cross-shoppers. These profiles are subsequently linked to specific retail formats. In the current study results from a mail survey of grocery shoppers located in Charlotte, NC are used to measure a store’s attraction/sharing ratio. The study found that infrequent shoppers perceive attraction stores to have greater service quality, but these perceptions change as shopping frequency increases. The findings imply that a grocery store owner should focus on reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy to attract cross-shoppers away from the competition. Keywords: Cross-shopping, Grocery stores, Service Quality 1. Introduction With the realization that technology is changing consumer behaviors, retailers are