Chinese Retail Research Articles

Understanding Traditional Retail Dilemma and Identifying Possible Solutions Based on New Retail Model: A Case Study of Chinese Market and Fresh Hema

The COVID-19 pandemic and online shopping have hit traditional retail which is still struggling to transform, while academics lack an up-to-date and systematic summary of the traditional retail dilemma. In addition, the New Retail business model appears as a potential solution. However, it remains to be seen whether it can provide a more effective means for physical retailers to stay competitive. In this instance, this paper attempts to summarise the dilemma of traditional retail from the perspective of CPT theory and to identify potential solutions that emerged from the New Retail model. The author employs the case study approach to investigate the Chinese retail market and Fresh Hema. Also, the Data Analysis Spiral is used to analyse secondary data. The findings demonstrate that the retail dilemma reflects on the channel, individual, tangible, and tangible aspects and that the New Retail model can handle the majority of problems with the exception of corporate awareness and monetary issues.

Service failure and negative Word-of-Mouth in Chinese retail banking: a moderated-mediation approach

Service failure and negative Word-of-Mouth in Chinese retail banking: a moderated-mediation approach

Brand innovativeness and brand equity: the mediating role of brand attitude and the moderating role of perceived brand ethicality

PurposeThis study aims to examine the relationship between brand innovativeness, brand attitude and brand equity within the service industry. Despite the prior literature’s acknowledgement of the importance of brand innovativeness, the previous studies on its impact on brand equity have yielded inconsistent results. This study also explores the moderating effect of perceived brand ethicality on the relationship between brand innovativeness, brand attitude and brand equity.Design/methodology/approachThis study collected the self-administered survey data of 402 respondents in the Chinese retail banking sector and employed a moderated mediation analysis to examine the research hypotheses.FindingsBrand innovativeness positively influences brand equity, and brand attitude mediates the effect. Perceived brand ethicality strengthens the positive association between brand innovativeness and brand equity.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the extant brand literature by demonstrating how the positive impact of brand innovativeness transcends brand evaluation to impact overall brand equity; it also reveals the mechanism through which brand innovativeness affects brand equity. The findings advance the under-researched issue of whether consumer perceptions of a brand’s ethical conduct affect the efficacy of brand innovativeness in brand equity.

A STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION ON THE DIGITAL RESILIENCE OF CHINESE RETAIL ENTERPRISES

The retail industry is at the forefront and epitome of China's rapid digitalization process. However, the digital transformation process of retail enterprises has not been smooth sailing, and some even lamented that "transformation is death, and non-transformation is waiting for death." In the era of the digital economy, how to improve the digital resilience of enterprises has become an important topic in enterprise management practice and theoretical research. This paper uses A-share listed retail companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges in China from 2012 to 2021 as samples and uses Stata17 software to conduct an empirical test on the relationship between "digital transformation of retail enterprises" and digital resilience. The empirical results show that the digital transformation of Chinese retail enterprises has a significant positive effect on digital resilience. This significant promotion effect still holds after a series of endogeneity and robustness tests. This study helps to enrich the connotation of digital resilience, enrich the existing measurement of digital resilience, and expand the research on the effects and results of digital transformation in Chinese retail enterprises.

Analyses the Strategies for Sustained Membership Growth in Post-COVID-19 China

China's domestic retail industry has been adversely affected by the recent coronavirus pandemic for the past two years. Nevertheless, following the containment of the outbreak, the general condition has ameliorated. The objective of this paper was to examine the factors contributing to the growth of Sam's Club stores in China following the conclusion of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the paper aims to propose systematic strategies to enhance customer turnout at Sam's Club and other retail establishments in China. This study employed a case study methodology to examine the aspects that could potentially contribute to the expected growth of Sam's Club between 2022 and 2023. The conclusion section of this article analyzes the determinants that impact the sustainable development of Sam's Club. The study included suggestions on how Sam's Club and the Chinese retail industry may adapt in order to sustain the growth of their membership numbers in the near future.

Retail Trading and Return Predictability in China

Abstract Using comprehensive account-level data, we separate Chinese retail investors into 5 groups and document strong heterogeneity in trading dynamics and performances. Retail investors with smaller account sizes cannot predict future returns correctly, display daily momentum patterns, fail to process public news, and show overconfidence and gambling preferences, while retail investors with larger account balances predict future returns correctly, display contrarian patterns, and incorporate public news in trading. Using performance measures established in previous literature, we find that smaller retail investors suffer from poor stock selection abilities and trading costs, while large retail investors’ stock selection abilities are offset by trading costs.

The effect of modified atmosphere packaging at an early postmortem stage on lamb meat quality during subsequent aging.

This study explores the influence of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) on fresh lamb meat quality with respect to gas concentration, rigor state, and post-mortem aging time. A comparison was done for the quality characteristics of lamb Longissimus thoracis lumborum chops that had been packaged separately in air, 75%O2 +25%CO2 MAP or 50%O2 +50%CO2 MAP at 1, 6, and 24h post-mortem and then stored for 6, 12, 24, 72, and 144h post-mortem, and the quality of lamb chops had been evaluated at each post-mortem period separately. Chops packaged at 1 and 6h post-mortem in MAP had reduced pH decline, less purge loss, and enhanced redness at early post-mortem storage times. Lamb color stability was evidently greater in 75%O2 +25%CO2 MAP than in 50%O2 +50%CO2 MAP during the early storage period when a* and R630/R580 were taken into account. Shear force values were lowest in lambs packaged at 1h post-mortem with 75%O2 +25%CO2 MAP at 12h post-mortem and then increased until 72h post-mortem, suggesting that rigor has been delayed by such a high O2 MAP. Thus, fresh lamb quality was maintained most effectively when packaged at 1h post-mortem in 75%O2 +25%CO2 MAP for consumption at 12h post-mortem. The exact mechanisms and optimization of MAP based on Chinese retail conditions should be considered in future studies. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: In this study, three slaughter patterns in the meat industry involving boning immediately after dressing (hot-boning) and chilling for a short period (warm-boning) or overnight (cold-boning) are considered, as well as the behavior of non-immediate consumption after purchase. Modified atmosphere packaging provides an effective preservation of early post-mortem muscles with enhanced color stability, water holding capacity, and texture during refrigerated storage. This could provide new insights into how to process lamb muscles in the early post-mortem period to improve and stabilize lamb quality.

From Shanghai to Wall Street: The Influence of Chinese News Sentiment on US Stocks

This study explores the influence of Chinese news sentiment on US stocks, focusing on the potential policy shift granting Chinese retail traders direct access to US markets. Analyzing the flow of information between Chinese news sentiment and global news sentiment using transfer entropy, the findings reveal a significant influence of Chinese news sentiment on global news sentiment. Moreover, the study identifies a predominant unidirectional flow of information from news sentiment to stock returns, with Chinese news sentiment having a more substantial impact on future returns of US stocks compared to global news sentiment. This suggests that if the proposed policy changes succeed, Chinese retail traders may rely on Chinese news sentiment, potentially leading to increased volatility in the US market. Policymakers and market participants should be aware of these implications to prepare for changes in the US stock market dynamics. Further research can provide deeper insights into the interplay between news sentiment, investor behavior, and market volatility.

The Moderating Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility on the Factors Influencing Customer-Based Brand Equity in Chinese Retail Banking Sector

Brand influencing factors including customer experience, brand innovativeness, word of mouth, and advertising, are studied in the previous research. However, there is a dearth of exploratory endeavors in the study of the relationships between customer experience, brand innovativeness, word of mouth, advertising, corporate social responsibility, and customer-based brand equity in the context of retail banking sector in developing nations. Therefore, the present study aims to examine the roles of customer experience, brand innovativeness, word of mouth, and advertising in customer-based brand equity, and evaluate the moderating effect of corporate social responsibility on the relationships in the Chinese retail banking context. The objectives of the study are to explore the factors affecting customer-based brand equity and assess the moderating effect of corporate social responsibility on the relationships between brand influencing factors and customer-based brand equity. A quantitative survey research method was adopted to achieve the research objectives. A total of 389 samples were employed in the data analysis of the present study. The empirical results show that corporate social responsibility displays significant moderating effect on the influences of brand innovativeness, word of mouth, and advertising on customer-based brand equity. Nevertheless, empirical results showed that the moderating effect of corporate social responsibility on the relationship between customer experience and customer-based brand equity is insignificant. With the R2 value of 79 percent that exhibits satisfactory explanatory power obtained in the model, this study has valuable theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, the present study develops a theoretical model that incorporates corporate social responsibility as a moderator on the effects of factors influencing customer-based brand equity. Practically, the study acknowledges the important roles of corporate social responsibility in building customer-based brand equity and corporate sustainability.

Detection of Listeria monocytogenes in Food Using the Proofman-LMTIA Assay.

Microbial factors, including bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens, are significant contributors to foodborne illnesses, posing serious food safety risks due to their potential for rapid growth and contamination. Listeria monocytogenes is one of the most common types of foodborne bacteria that can cause serious foodborne diseases or even fatalities. In this study, a novel nucleic acid amplification method called Proofman-LMTIA was employed to detect Listeria monocytogenes contamination in food. This method combines proofreading enzyme-mediated probe cleavage with ladder-shape melting temperature isothermal amplification. A positive recombinant plasmid was used as a control to ensure the accuracy of the detection results, and primers and Proofman probes were specifically designed for the LMTIA. Genomic DNA was extracted, the reaction temperature was optimized, and the primers' specificity was verified using foodborne pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Salmonella. The sensitivity was assessed by testing serial dilutions of genomic DNA, and the method's applicability was confirmed by detecting artificially contaminated fresh pork. The established LMTIA method exhibited both high specificity and sensitivity. At the optimal reaction temperature of 63 °C, the primers specifically identified Listeria monocytogenes contamination in pork at a concentration of 8.0 ± 0.7 colony-forming units (CFUs) per 25 g. Furthermore, the Proofman-LMTIA method was applied to test Listeria monocytogenes DNA in 30 food samples purchased from a Chinese retail market, and reassuringly, all results indicated no contamination. Proofman-LMTIA can serve as a reliable and rapid method for detecting Listeria monocytogenes in food, contributing to public health by safeguarding consumers from foodborne illnesses, and strengthening food safety regulations.

Research on the Application of Membership System in Market Management: Evidence from China

Under the strong competition in the retail industry, large warehouse membership supermarkets have a stable and large consumer base in the market with strong competitiveness. This paper selects two case studies, Costco, which is the world's leading warehouse membership supermarket, and Freshippo, which has newly emerged in the Chinese market, for comparative analysis to explore the industrial structure behind the membership system in the development process and special innovations made by local membership supermarkets in China to satisfy consumers. The Chinese retail market is significantly different and requires localized transformation and innovation in order to attract local consumers to join. The paper also explores Freshippo's attempts to increase the brand's competitiveness in the face of the enormous convenience of online shopping in China, namely, the innovation of an online + offline model and the addition of several consumer benefits to attract more consumers to join the membership family. Through the integration and analysis of the development strategies of two membership supermarkets, we offer specific advice on the next development of membership supermarkets.

Effects of cross-platform multichannel shopping on online customer–firm relationship length, depth, and breadth: An empirical investigation

The rise of online retail platforms has facilitated customers to purchase from the same firm across multiple platform channels. It is challenging for firms to maintain online customer–firm relationships as customers are easily attracted by competitors on different platforms. While previous studies focus on offline-online multichannel shopping, how cross-platform multichannel shopping affects customer–firm relationships is largely neglected. Utilizing longitudinal customer data from an online seller with channels on two major Chinese retail platforms, we found that cross-platform multichannel shopping lengthens, deepens, and broadens online customer–firm relationships. Cross-platform multichannel shopping has a stronger positive effect on the length and depth of online customer–firm relationships as the duration before multichannel shopping increases. After cross-platform multichannel shopping, customers who revert to the original channel weaken their relationship with the firm compared to those who keep using both channels or migrate to another channel. Our empirical results contribute to the literature by examining novel multichannel shopping behavior and its dynamic process. The findings also provide insights into customer relationship management by targeting cross-platform multichannel shopping customers.

Intellectual capital and financial performance: evidence from Chinese retail firms

Intellectual capital and financial performance: evidence from Chinese retail firms

Evaluation and Improvement Suggestions on the Operating Performance of Listed Retail Enterprises in China

As the most closely connected industry with residents, retail industry has made great contributions to Chinese economic development. The research on the operating performance of listed retail enterprises in China can objectively reflect the development of Chinese retail industry and provide beneficial reference for stakeholders. We have selected four indicators that can reflect the operating performance of listed retail enterprises: profitability, operating capacity, growth capacity and solvency. And then,we take 31 listed retail enterprises as the research object, adopting the principal component analysis method to build the operating performance evaluation index system of listed retail enterprises, and calculate the operating performance of 31 retail enterprises. According to the measurement results, we put forward specific suggestions for their sustainable development.

Research on the Effects of Digital Supply Chain Transformation on the Operational Performance of Retail Enterprises

In the face of the upgrading of consumption structure and the sudden change and development of the economy, China’s retail industry has also shown an overall positive industry trend. This paper focuses on the major premise of digital transformation, discusses the status quo of retail enterprises, and analyzes the opportunity and necessity of the digital transformation of the supply chain driven by the development of digital technology and the “dual circulation” national policy. Through literature reading, many scholars have also realized the important role of digitization in improving supply chain capabilities. This paper first analyzes the current situation of Chinese retail enterprises and expounds on the significance of digitalization. Use the literature to study the role of digital technology on the development of retail enterprises and analyze the problems existing in the supply chain of retail enterprises under the background of digitalization. Research shows that transformation pain points can be improved through the intervention of consumer-centric supply chain value, digital infrastructure, trust mechanisms, omnichannel logistics platforms, and national policy support. As a result, this study holds that integrating digital technology may significantly boost retail businesses' performance as well as their fundamental competitiveness.

IS THE BLACK–SCHOLES MODEL GOOD ENOUGH FOR RETAIL INVESTORS IN CHINA?

This study answers a simple question for Chinese investors, especially Chinese retail investors: Is the Black–Scholes model good enough for them to make investment decisions? Using the absolute out-of-sample error as a measure of model efficiency, I find that the volume-weighted mean absolute out-of-sample error is 12.03% of the option premium and investors have to tolerate more than 1% absolute error in almost all subsample groups. The significant out-of-sample error indicates that using the Black–Scholes model solely in the decision-making process may have a negative impact on the investments’ performance.

Impact of product customization level on consumer's word-of-mouth behaviors and contents: a field study

PurposeCustomization, a marketing strategy through providing personalized products, might be a new solution to motivate consumer feedbacks in electronic commerce (e-commerce) websites. Taking the dual-value of customization (emotional involvement and uniqueness expression) as the theoretical basis, this study aims to investigate the impact of customization on consumer's word-of-mouth (WOM) behaviors and contents by motivating: (1) more, (2) faster, (3) positive at first and then negative, (4) longer and (5) more helpful WOMs.Design/methodology/approachA field study was conducted with multi-sourced data: customer order data from a Chinese retailer and WOM data from Amazon.com. The two datasets were matched to filter out 463 online reviews among 6,892 customers who placed customized orders. Heckman's two-stage model, logistic regression, Ordinary least squares regression, Tobit regression, analysis of covariance and Lind–Mehlum U Test were used in the data analysis.Findings This study has found that (1) customization level motivates WOM behaviors including WOM posting and WOM speed, (2) an inverted U-shaped relationship exists between customization level and consumer rating and (3) customization level has a significantly positive impact on WOM helpfulness but not on WOM length.Originality/value This study advances theoretical development in the area of WOM motivators by proposing a new product-centric approach, customization, to stimulate voluntary WOMs. Empirical field research that analyzes consumer's real responses to customization is in scarcity. The dual-value of customized products is proposed as the underlying mechanism to explain the impact of customization level on consumer's WOM behaviors/contents. An interesting inverted U-shaped relationship is found between customization level and customer rating. This research provides nuanced practical guidance for websites, companies and consumers.

Retail Property Price Index Forecasting through Neural Networks

Rapid growth has been seen in the Chinese housing market during the past decade, and housing price forecasts have become more significant to investors and policy makers. In this study, we explore neural networks for retail property price index forecasts from ten major Chinese cities for July 2005–April 2021. Our goal is to build simple and accurate neural networks to contribute to purely technical forecasts of the Chinese retail property market. To facilitate the analysis, we examine different model settings based on algorithms, delays, hidden neurons, and data splitting ratios and construct a simple neural network with five delays and two hidden neurons. This leads to a rather stable performance of about 1.6% average relative root mean square error across the ten cities for the training, validation, and testing phases. Results here can be used on a stand-alone basis or combined with fundamental forecasts to form perspectives of retail property price trends and conduct policy analyses.

Allies or rivals? Spatial price competition in the Chinese retail gasoline market of inner Mongolia

ABSTRACT This study examines the pricing behaviour in the gasoline market using station-level pricing data from Inner Mongolia, China. The spatial econometric findings confirm that: (1) there is a significant spatial dependence among gas stations; (2) the two state-owned oil giants, PetroChina and Sinopec, receive a positive pricing effect from their brands compared with other stations; (3) there is no significant evidence of price competition among PetroChina stations, and some evidence of competition among Sinopec stations, and more intense competition among other stations; and (4) ‘stand-alone’ (no stations nearby) stations have a price premium, but the premium is limited by the price regulation. Our results show the heterogeneity in pricing behaviour between stations, implying the need for differentiated policies to ensure orderly competition in the retail gasoline market.

How Korean Retailers Expand Private Label Markets Abroad: Evidence from the Chinese Fresh Food Market

Purpose - The increasing share of Korean private label products (PLPs) in the domestic market helped generate lucrative revenue. In recent years, major South Korean retailers have begun to cast their sights on overseas markets and actively export their PLPs. In China, the proportion of private label fresh food (PLFF) is gradually expanding amid the development of the new retailing model. A profound understanding of the relationship between private label fresh produce and purchase intention may be the answer to helping Chinese retailer private labels expand supply chains in Korea. This study, taking Chinese retailers as an example, examines the impacts of selection factors of private label fresh food and perceived value on purchase intention. Apart from that, the relationship between the selection factors and purchase intention will be analyzed with perceived value as a mediator.
 Design/methodology - This work aims to empirically analyze the purchase intention of private label fresh food using statistical analysis. In this study, a hypothetical causal model consisting of 6 latent variables and 24 measured variables is developed based on the literature review. To validate the research hypotheses and the research model, SPSS23.0/AMOS23.0 is used to analyze factors such as validity and reliability, as well as structural equation modeling.
 Findings - The hypothetical model established in this study is of general applicability. In respect to PLFF, perceived value, while significantly influencing purchase intention in combination with four selection factors (perceived quality, perceived price, brand trust, and store image), mediates partially between the first three factors and purchase intention, which rules out the impact and mediating effect of store image on purchase intention.
 Originality/value - These research results, as helpful insights into the present circumstances of Chinese PLFF in the domestic market, provide useful information and guidance for Korean retailers and service providers to innovate production and service, as well as develop marketing and promotion strategies, so that they can shift private label goods with advantages from domestic demand to export, thus increasing overseas profitability. Further, this work will also contribute to relevant research.