Unpacking olfactory marketing: initial evidence for the positive effects of scented parcels on post-order consumer responses in e-commerce

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to analyze how social media activities, in specifically the Facebook page of a car manufacturer, and user interactions with these brand related activities affect the perception of brands and ultimately influence consumers purchase decision. Based on an online survey with users of the corporation's Facebook fanpage, and in accordance to hierarchy of effects theory the author's findings show the positive effect of fanpage engagement on consumers' brand awareness, word of mouth (WOM) activities, and purchase intention. The findings further indicate that annoyance with the fanpage due to information overload leads to negative effects on fanpage commitment and to decreased WOM activities. From a theoretical standpoint the results of this study contribute to understanding of the value-enhancing potential of social media campaigns. Design/methodology/approach – To answer the authors' research questions and test their hypotheses, a study was set up in cooperation with the car brand MINI. To test their hypotheses, the authors applied structural equation modeling with AMOS 18. Findings – The article analyzes the influence of brands’ social media activities and participants' social media involvement on the purchase decision process of consumers. Their findings demonstrate that engagement with a Facebook fanpage has positive effects on consumers' brand awareness, WOM activities and purchase intention. Results further indicate that annoyance with the fanpage leads to negative effects in respect to the overall commitment to and involvement with the fanpage and WOM. The authors' research shows that social media activities indeed affect the purchase decision-making process. Originality/value – New marketing communication reality presents new challenges and opportunities for companies as purchase decisions are increasingly influenced by social media interactions. People rely more than ever on their social networks when making those decisions. Nevertheless, outcomes of social media activities are still disputed in practice. The effects of social media campaigns on consumers' perception of products and brands as well as the effects on purchase decisions have yet to be better understood. This study therefore investigates how social media activities, in specific the Facebook appearance of a car manufacturer, affect the perception of brands, and ultimately influence the purchase decision process of consumers while considering the risk of creating annoyance. From a theoretical standpoint the results of this study contribute to understanding of the value-enhancing potential of social media campaigns and demonstrate how the perception of brands is influenced through this new communication channel. For brand managers this study is of value, as it shows that social media activities do have a positive influence on brands as they support their management of the purchase process.

This chapter aims to review historical and current theoretical insights into online retailing and relationship marketing. More than 150 empirical and theoretical online retailing and relationship marketing studies drawn from top marketing and management journals have been systematically reviewed. The chapter examines two key areas in online retailing and relationship marketing. First, the evolution of online retailing and relationship marketing from pre-1990s to the present provides a temporal snapshot of changes within fundamental structural components of online retailing and relationship marketing. The key stages of the online retailing market are depicted within the online retail growth model (OLRG model) adapted from Grainer’s growth model on organisational development (Grainer, 1972), accommodating environmental dynamics in retailing. Second, this chapter identifies key theoretical perspectives underlying the development of online retailing and relationship marketing practices: They are utility maximisation, resource-based theories, commitment, trust and social network theories, social exchange, social contract theory, value co-creation and privacy calculus. Summary tables for each area highlight key findings, which in turn suggest a series of managerial recommendations for facilitating efficient, effective buyer–seller interactions and maximising sales performance.

Media investments are continuously shifting from traditional media like newspapers to digital alternatives like websites and social media. This study investigated if and how media choice between the two rival channels can influence consumers’ perceptions of a novel brand. 504 Swedish retail fashion customers participated in an experiment to evaluate the identical advertisement placed either in a national newspaper or on Facebook. The results revealed that advertising in a newspaper can have a positive effect on brand equity facets and purchase intention through brand personality perceptions of being competent, while advertising on Facebook have similar effects but through perceptions of being exciting. Besides some evidence that choice between traditional and new media affects brand personality this study is one of the first attempts to incorporate media channel choice into the broader customer-based brand equity framework. The results from this particular study suggest that media channel choice should be considered from a brand equity building perspective at least in the fashion category. This study shows that different media channels could complement each other strategically, as traditional media channels still can have valuable and unique contributions to brand building through brand personality perceptions, especially for brands striving to be perceived as competent.

With increasing use of online apparel shopping, consumers have become price and product savvy, and competition among online retailers has intensified. To create competitive advantages and develop strategies to satisfy and retain customers, brand companies need more specific, research-based information about online shoppers’ repurchase behaviors with brand apparel. Repeat purchases are critical to the success of brand companies. According to Daly (2002), obtaining a new customer costs 10 times more than retaining an existing customer. In the online apparel shopping context, repeat shoppers spend 67% more on average than new customers (Drew, 2012). However, apparel research for online shopping has focused on apparel shoppers’ initial purchase behaviors rather than repeat purchases. The research in brand repurchase intent of online apparel shopping is even more rare. To fill this void in the research, this study examined the effects of types of consumers’ brand perception on their brand repurchase intent in online apparel shopping.

PurposeThis paper examines in detail how the use of storytelling with parallax technology can influence the user experience (UX) in online shops as well as brand- and behavior-relevant variables. Furthermore, this study analyzes the causal relationships between UX, brand attitudes and brand-related behavioral intentions in terms of purchase intention and price premiums. Explicit and implicit paths of human information processing are considered.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 266 respondents completed a web-based experiment under two conditions (text-based vs parallax storytelling online shop). An existing and operational online shop was used. The causal relationships were assessed by using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). To measure implicit information processing, a single category implicit association test was applied.FindingsBy applying the storytelling technique with parallax scrolling, the online shop increased visitors' UX on explicit and implicit information processing levels and increased the online shop's overall perceived attractiveness. Storytelling with parallax motion enables an efficient transmission of brand-related associations to consumers' minds, enhances their explicit and implicit brand attitudes and increases their willingness to pay a higher price. Moreover, this study provides empirical evidence on the effects of UX on brand-related measures by applying PLS-SEM and thus reveals a causal chain of effects from UX on online shop attractiveness, brand attitude and behavioral intentions. Again, explicit and implicit perceptions were considered.Originality/valueScience and practice are increasingly emphasizing that storytelling emotionalizes content, which facilitates effective communication and builds strong relationships with customers. Little evidence exists about its efficient implementation in an online shopping context and in fulfilling hedonic and pragmatic needs throughout the online journey. This study provides novel insights into managing online shoppers' UX, brand-related perceptions and behavioral intentions with the optimal use of techniques to implement storytelling. Furthermore, this is one of the first studies to holistically consider the human perception of online shops by drawing on theories and methods of psychology, marketing, consumer behavior, brand research and consumer neuroscience and considering explicit and implicit information processing in terms of hedonic and pragmatic UX and brand-related measures.

This study explores the impact of social sustainability claims on consumer perception and behavior in the fast-fashion industry. Specifically, it examines how sustainability claims based on the fashion supply chain impact green purchase intentions through the serial mediation of green brand image, green satisfaction, and green brand equity. Based on the Mean-End-Chain (MEC) theory and the Value-Based-Norm (VBN) theory, our research investigates the 'H' brand, known for its social sustainability initiatives. These initiatives emphasize altruistic values, including cooperation with farmers for organic fiber cultivation, improved working conditions, fair wages, and workplace safety. We analyze data from 257 Chinese participants via a serial mediation model using the PROCESS macro in SPSS. The findings reveal a positive relationship between sustainability claims and purchase intentions through green brand image, green satisfaction, and green brand equity. These outcomes highlight the necessity for fashion industry marketers to strategically emphasize altruistic values in sustainability efforts to enhance green brand image, green satisfaction, and green brand equity and increase green purchase intentions. Keywords: Supply Chain Sustainability Claims, Fashion Industry, Value-Behavior relationship, Sustainability Marketing, Green Brand Image, Green Satisfaction, Green Brand Equity, Green Purchase Intention.

With the expansion of Internet penetration and consumers’ continuous efforts to discover new ways to use the Internet, marketers strive to gain a competitive advantage by understanding the factors driving consumers to shop online and identifying target consumer segments. Despite the growing interest among researchers and retail marketers, still, there is a general lack of research on, and a need to improve understanding of, the drivers of consumer e-shopping behavior and e-shopper groups for apparel products. According to McGuire’s (1974) model of motivation theory, human motives driven by unfulfilled needs lead goal oriented behavior such that people strive to achieve subjective satisfaction and gratification regardless of the type of motive. Marketing research has explored various shopping motives which mainly encompass goal-directed and experiential shopping motives. In addition to traditional shopping motives, this study considers shoppers’ beliefs about technology use as e-shoppers are both consumers and technology. Taking shopping motives and technology use-related beliefs into account simultaneously would help better understand consumers’ e-shopping motives and e-shopper segments exhibiting different apparel online shopping behaviors. In exploring these aspects, this study addresses the following research questions: (1) what are the key motives driving customers to shop for apparel products? (2) what are the unique segments of online consumers based on the shopping motives? And (3) how can different patterns of behavior be explained by different e-shopper segments? Online surveys were administered to college students at a large, midwestern university in the U.S. Using the context of browsing for/purchasing apparel products online, 298 usable responses were gathered. First, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with shopping motive items was performed to identify e-shopping motives and yielded 12 factors. The factors include six functional factors (convenience, ease of use, economic value-seeking, usefulness, security/privacy, and merchandise assortment) and six nonfunctional motives (company reputation, home shopping, informative service, company clientele, customer service, and hedonic value). Three of the functional motives relate to beliefs about technology; ease of use, usefulness and privacy/security, and one functional motive, hedonic value represents the experiential aspect of online apparel shopping. Second, in order to develop a shopper typology based on the 12 e-shopping factors identified, cluster analysis was performed. The analysis revealed five e-shopper segments: apathetic, accommodating, demanding, convenience-oriented recreational, and technology-oriented shopper segments. Last, MANOVA was conducted to examine differences across the five e-shopper clusters with respect to attitude toward and intention to perform online apparel shopping. The results indicated significant differences in e-shopping behavioral intention across the five clusters with respect to both attitude toward e-shopping and intention to shop online. This empirical examination of motives driving online shopping behaviors extends our understanding of a variety of underlying dimensions and provides new apparel shopper profiles for the Internet format. Findings that online consumers have utilitarian (functional) as well as hedonic (nonfunctional) shopping motives empirically validate the multidimensionality of shopping motives pertinent to the Internet shopping context. Given that online shopping behaviors are likely to be driven by product/service acquisition (marketing) motives and/or technology use (i.e., Internet) beliefs, investigating both simultaneously sheds light on online shopping motive literature. By taking both aspects into consideration, this study revealed three unique motives underlying Internet shopping that encompass beliefs about technology (ease of use, usefulness, and security/privacy) and one motive, hedonic pertinent to experiential features of online shopping. Findings firstly revealed the technology-oriented shopper group who is motivated to shop online due to its ease of use, usefulness, informative service, and security/privacy. The emergence of this new segment of online consumers warrants additional research. There are differences in the online shopper classifications generated in this study relative to those in prior research. Differences were also found in e-shopping behavioral responses of the various online shopper segments. Two groups, the convenience-oriented recreational shoppers and the technology-oriented shoppers showed more favorable attitudes and greater intention toward online shopping than the apathetic group. This study provides managerial implications for online apparel retailers. First, most of the five groups were motivated by security/privacy and this suggests to retailers the importance of ensuring a secure shopping environment for their customers. The convenience-oriented recreational shopper and the technology-oriented shopper, exhibiting the most favorable attitude and the highest intention to shop online, seem to be attractive target customers for online retailers. Assuring time and place convenience, courteous and informative customer service, and managing e-store sites in a way that helps shoppers perceive the stores are convenient, easy to use and useful are key tactics to attract and retain patronage of these two groups. The demanding shopper, one of the largest e-shopper segments can be attracted by emphasizing promotional offers or sales on branded products, high-quality customer services, and fun shopping experiences.

Present-day consumers judge brands based on their feelings and identities, two of their most distinctive qualities. Social Media and Digital Marketing have taken a significant leap in connecting with consumers and developing a personalized & emotional association with the Brand. According to this, modern businesses attempt to strengthen the emotional bond between consumers and brands, known as emotional Branding. This study aimed to ascertain the efficacy of emotional Branding for creating a favourable brand perception focusing on Pune City's soft drink beverage market. The study is quantitative in its design and examines the link between emotional Branding and positive brand perception. We collected data from 200 respondents using a Likert-based questionnaire. The study's findings concluded that emotional Branding positively correlates with brand perception and Brand building. The results of this study also offer critical understanding and insightful suggestions to local brands to improve their Brand equity.

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the ecological awareness of Chinese consumers towards fast fashion and examine the effect of social sustainability claims on green brand image and purchase intentions in China, considering China’s unique environmental policy landscape and its significant role in the global fast fashion industry. The study explores the role of altruistic values in promoting sustainability within the well-known fast fashion brand “H” and how they shape brand image, consumer satisfaction and brand equity.Design/methodology/approachThe study collected data from 257 Chinese participants and used a serial mediation model through the PROCESS macro in SPSS to analyse the correlation between green brand image, created through sustainability claims and consumer purchase intentions. The model also assessed the intermediary effects of brand image, satisfaction and equity.FindingsThe findings of the research indicate a direct and positive relationship between green brand image and consumer purchase intentions, emphasising the need for clothing and textile industry marketers to strategically promote altruistic values in their sustainability efforts and highlighting the importance of ecological awareness in shaping consumer behaviour in the Chinese context. This approach enhances green satisfaction and green brand equity and ultimately leads to higher green purchase intentions.Originality/valueThis study provides significant insights into the effectiveness of incorporating social sustainability claims in advertising to improve a brand’s green image and influence consumer behaviour. It emphasises the importance of altruistic values in sustainability strategies, offering valuable guidelines for marketers in enhancing green satisfaction and brand equity, thereby boosting consumer purchase intentions in the context of green branding and sustainability advertising. Focussing specifically on the Chinese market, this research sheds light on the impact of ecological awareness among Chinese consumers within the fast-fashion industry. Given China’s substantial role in shaping global fast-fashion production and its evolving environmental policies, this focus adds significant depth to our understanding of sustainability claims’ influence within this crucial consumer base.

This study attempts to link materialism, gender and nationality with the consumer perception of a high-priced brand of apparel. It describes the results of a survey of 104 undergraduate students in an Australian university. The work focuses on the differences in perception of a high-priced brand. It indicates that young undergraduates hold different perceptions of a brand depending on their sex and nationality. The study also examines the materialistic tendencies of customers and whether materialism is influenced by gender and nationality, especially from an Australian perspective. Materialism was measured by using the Richins and Dawson (1992) scale. Five research questions were put forward and the results indicated that there is a difference in perception of a high-priced brand between customers of different nationality and sexes.

PurposeFast fulfilment is a key performance measure in online retail, and some retailers have achieved faster times by adopting new designs in their order fulfilment infrastructure. This research empirically confirms and quantifies the fulfilment time advantage that Amazon has achieved, relative to other online retailers. The purpose of this paper is to investigate three research questions: what is the overall mean fulfilment time difference between the new logistics designs of Amazon and the alternative designs of other retailers? For each order what is the distribution of the fulfilment time difference? What is the difference in fulfilment time by product category, price and size?Design/methodology/approachThis research uses an empirical method to evaluate the fulfilment time performance of consumer orders made through the Amazon website and one or more competing online retailers. For 1,000 different products two fulfilment times, one at Amazon and another at a competing omnichannel retailer, are recorded. The analysis is then focused on the comparison between this paired data.FindingsThe research confirms that the new logistics methods, including physical facilities, distribution networks and intelligent order processing methods, have resulted in faster order fulfilment times. The performance, though, is not universally dominant and for 33 per cent of orders, the difference is 1 day or less. The fulfilment time difference varied by product, category, price or size.Practical implicationsThe ongoing transformation of fulfilment and logistics operations at online retailers has generated several new research questions. This includes the need to confirm the fulfilment efficiency of the new designs and specify time targets. This paper identifies the fulfilment time gap between new and traditional operations. The results suggest that store-based or distribution centre-based fulfilment strategies may not match the new designs.Originality/valueThe study provides a quantitative analysis of the fulfilment time differentials in online retailing. The critical role of fulfilment logistics in the rapidly growing online retail industry can now be better modelled and studied. The survey method representing a single buyer allows for order pair equivalency and eliminates order bias. The results suggest that new warehousing and logistics designs can lead to significantly faster fulfilment times.

Purpose: The current study is to examine the behaviour of customers towards online shopping, to analyze the satisfaction of the customers towards online shopping and to measure the problems faced by the customers while buying goods in online shopping. Online shoppers can benefit from the newly drafted guidelines Theoretical framework: Online buying trends and consumer habits need to be monitored and evaluated often to keep up with the shifting purchasing landscape. The difficulties encountered by internet shoppers were analyzed across different sites. Design/methodology/approach: The study is descriptive and carried out in Krishnagiri district, Tami Nadu. The district connects Karnataka, Andra Pradesh and Telangana with Tamil Nadu. The study has been done to comprehend the awareness of the customers towards online shopping consisting of behaviour, satisfaction and their opinion on different problems faced by them while buying in the retail market. 200 sample respondents across the districts have been selected using a convenient sampling method. The customers using online shopping for buying electronic goods and their accessories like mobile phones, television, laptop, etc., are purposively selected to identify the unique characteristics of the customers towards online shopping. Findings: The personal interview has been conducted with each respondent. The collected primary data are analyzed with the help of SPSS software using simple percentages, descriptive statistics, Fried man test, ANOVA, Z test and factors analysis. The recommendations will raise customers' general enlightenment about internet buying in general. Research, Practical & Social implications: As customers want to avoid infection and risk with Covid-19, the study's consequence aids researchers and businesses in fast adapting and adjusting their marketing approach, with an emphasis on digitalization. Originality/value: Online merchants can learn more about customer habits according to this research. As a result, shoppers will have fewer issues when using the site, and their confidence in it will grow, resulting in more purchases. The study concluded that the ranks given for the varieties of brands and products available and offer and discounts offered are important factors to influence the customers' minds.

HOW NUTRITION-FACT INFORMATION INFLUENCES ONLINE FOOD SALES

Reinventing a business model in industrial networks: Implications for customers' brand perceptions

This study examines the factors influencing online shopping behavior of urban consumers in the State of Andhra Pradesh, India and provides a better understanding of the potential of electronic marketing for both researchers and online retailers. Data from a sample of 1500 Internet users (distributed evenly among six selected major cities) was collected by a structured questionnaire covering demographic profile and the factors influencing online shopping. Factor analysis and multiple regression analysis are used to establish relationship between the factors influencing online shopping and online shopping behavior. The study identified that perceived risk and price positively influenced online shopping behavior. Results also indicated that positive attitude, product risk and financial risk affect negatively the online shopping behavior.