Analysis of comparison of in-store communication in hypermarkets of Albert and Kaufland retail chains and its influence on purchase behaviour

This thesis deals with the analysis and comparison of in-store communication in hypermarkets of two retail chains Albert and Kaufland and its influence on customers' shopping behaviour. The author defines the basic elements of in-store communication and its tools. It discusses its objectives and its use in practice. The author also defines other components of in-store communication, defines terms such as merchandising, P.O.P. and P.O.S. He also focuses on the psychological side of the consumer, on models of buying behaviour and on the perceptions that influence buying behaviour. The aim of the thesis is to identify and then compare the in-store communication strategies used by the hypermarkets in question and then analyse their ability to influence customer buying behaviour. In the empirical part, the author created a SWOT analysis for both hypermarkets and compared their in-store communication strategies. The results of the quantitative research, which was conducted using a questionnaire survey, confirmed that in-store communication plays a significant role in influencing customer decisions and that customers consider promotions and discounts, visual product presentation and product placement in stores as key aspects in their purchasing decisions.