Retail Formats Research Articles

Smart mirror fashion technology for better customer brand engagement

ABSTRACT The emergence of new technology provides fashion retailers with innovative ways to deliver the shopping experience and engage with customers. One innovation is smart mirror fashion technology (SMFT) which enables customers to virtually try-on products and have a more pleasing experience within physical retail stores. This kind of technology is considered a powerful decision tool for online customers because it enables them to more readily experience clothing merchandise and as a result engage with the brand in a unique way. Previous research on SMFT in retail settings have been limited to online retail formats, and seemingly ignore the relationship between SMFT and customer brand engagement. Drawing from three case studies, featuring interview data, we explore how SMFT could enhance customer brand engagement in-store. We discuss the impact of SMFT on customer brand engagement and advance a new conceptualisation for managing SMFT in physical retail stores. We synthesise these findings into three actionable points.

Understanding customer satisfaction in curated subscription services: Moderating roles of subscription time and information disclosure

A new form of online retailing, curated subscription services, is attracting an increasing number of consumers with their surprise elements. Extant literature has explored individual adoption motivation but has provided limited attention to customer-perceived consumption behavior. This study investigates the determinants of customer satisfaction with curated subscription services across different subscription box categories based on expectation disconfirmation theory. Sentiment analysis technology is conducted to extract customers’ attribute-level experiences from 22,551 customer reviews associated with 676 subscription boxes. Results show that sentiment toward utilitarian and hedonic attributes of products and services is positively associated with customer satisfaction, with the sentiment toward hedonic attributes exerting a stronger influence on satisfaction compared to utilitarian attributes. Findings also indicate that subscription time and information disclosure moderate the relationship between sentiment toward hedonic and utilitarian attributes and customer satisfaction. This study enriches theoretical research on customer satisfaction, offers insights into consumer behavioral research in subscription retailing, and provides implications for managers to attract more subscribers to the curated service.

The Economy of Retail Chains in the FMCG Sector: The Case of Czechia

The article deals with the analysis of the economy of the largest retail chains operating in the highly competitive Fast-Moving Consumer Goods market in the Czech Republic; the analysis of the relationships between selected economic indicators and key national economic variables. This research used data from annual reports and the audited financial statements of firms operating individual retail chains from 2005 to 2020. The research includes nine commercial companies and focuses on the development of sales, costs and cost ratios, profit and profitability, and assets and resources. The relationships between the indicators are evaluated using correlation analysis, and the similarity of trade chains using cluster analysis. From the point of view of retail formats, discounters are particularly successful, which, together with medium-sized supermarkets, are growing at the expense of hypermarkets and large supermarkets. Success and dominance in the Czech market are related to high labour productivity and low unit costs. The combination of price promotions and a wide range of private products, characteristic of discount chains, is very attractive to customers and, together with low unit costs, creates the potential for increasing the market share of discounters. Hypermarkets and large supermarkets will face further stagnation and pressure to downsize stores, automate and use other cost-cutting methods. The article brings new insights into the economics of FMCG chains operating in the Czech market, emphasising the differences between trade formats in perspective from 2005.

How the Situational Factors Impact the Consumers to Buy Food and Grocery Products Impulsively: A Study Conducted in the Organized Retail Formats of Kolkata

Impulsive purchasing is quickly becoming one of the highly observable behaviour for an increasing number of Indian consumers. Situational factors as experienced by the consumers inside an organized retail format affect the consumers to purchase different food and grocery products impulsively. These situational factors are impacted by a number of socio-economic and technological issues such as increase in online transaction facilities, unavailability of time to shop leisurely, increase in disposable income, financial independence of young shoppers, peer pressure, nuclear family structure etc. Food and grocery retailers might capitalize this change of buying pattern among tech-savvy and time pressed urban consumers by offering a range of technological facilities along with a decent service quality. This research studies the impact of the various situational factors eliciting impulsive buying behaviour among the consumers in the organized retail food and grocery outlets in Kolkata, through consumer survey by a standardized questionnaire.

Dynamic model of entry: Dollar stores

AbstractDollar stores have become the fastest‐growing retail format in the United States. However, there is considerable controversy regarding their entry, particularly into markets without grocery stores, and concerns that dollar‐store entry decisions are motivated by preemptive incentives. In this paper, we aim to study the market entry of dollar stores as an equilibrium phenomenon and to examine their impact on competing store formats in a dynamic environment. We use census‐tract level data and develop a dynamic model of oligopolistic competition to estimate the impact of dollar store entry on the equilibrium entry decisions of other retailers of the same format and other formats. We find that supermarkets and other large‐format owners thrive as dollar‐store expansion removes their “competitive fringe” in shared markets, whereas other small‐format stores (other dollar stores, convenience stores, and superettes) do not. Our findings have broad implications for the effect of dollar store entry on consumer welfare, as dollar‐store entry is not associated with grocery‐store exit but rather the exit of other small‐format stores.

Offering Memories to Sell Goods? Pricing and Welfare Implications of Experiential Retail

Problem definition: In an environment where consumers’ rising valuation of Instagrammable memories drives their spending from products to experiences, retailers offer experiences to attract consumers back to their stores. Yet, it is not obvious under which settings consumers can benefit from these experiences and raise retailers’ profits. Methodology/results: We use a random utility model for consumer choice in both monopoly and duopoly settings. For the latter, we pose a game-theoretic model to analyze the equilibrium prices, profits, and consumer welfare for various problem cases. We show that medium-quality experiences can lower the product sales and store traffic below the level when no experience is offered. Sufficiently low- or high-quality experiences overcome this issue, making the consumers better off. Yet, the former presents the only profitable option when a single retailer in the market offers an experience. In contrast, when both retailers adopt experiences, low-quality experiences may not be profitable, and the retailers would need to adopt even higher-quality experiences, which lead to a “win-win-win” outcome for the two retailers and consumers. A fee structure for the experience elevates retailer profits but can turn stores into outlets where consumers visit to purchase experiences and not products. When experiential retailing is the common practice in the market, it enables “win-win-win” outcomes when free experiences fail. Managerial implications: Being the first to study this new retail format, our results contribute to the ongoing debate on the settings under which experiential offerings are beneficial for the retailers and consumers and highlight that there is no one-size-fits-all strategy. Our results show that experiences affect main product sales in nonobvious ways, especially in competitive markets. In a (post-)pandemic world where retailers try to attract consumers back to stores, we offer insights that can guide retailers in the process.Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2021.0339 .

The Impact of K-Pop Idol on Brand Awareness, Hedonic Shopping Motivation, and Purchase Intention

This research aims to know what factors are owned by endorsers that can influence consumer purchase decisions for the products offered by e-commerces. The secondary motivation of this research is to obtain empirical data on how influential the tactics made by e-commerce using K-Pop girlband/boyband are on purchase intention. The impact of celebrity worship factors is analyzed on data of Indonesia's K-Pop fans (n =100) using variance-based structural equation modeling and PLS-SEM process. The research results show a positive correlation between K-Pop brand ambassadors to raise brand awareness, hedonic shopping motivation towards Purchase Intention among K-Pop fans. This research contributes to the current knowledge-related online buying behavior in virtual retail formats and helps marketers in streamlining their focus in using K-pop figures to increase purchase decisions of targeted consumers.

The Use of an Internet of Things Data Management System Using Data Mining Association Algorithm in an E-Commerce Platform

The development of e-commerce has greatly changed the development of social retail formats. Business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce model is important. Due to the characteristics of high consumer trust and commodities dominated by electronic products and brand commodities, the income and profits generated are also very considerable. Therefore, the major e-commerce giants have increased the development of B2C formats. Logistics service capability and level have become an important driving force for the development of B2C e-commerce. How to optimize the inventory of B2C e-commerce and realize the organic balance between the economy and service capacity of the whole logistics chain has become a very urgent problem faced by major e-commerce giants. From the perspective of big data, first, the overview of the dataset used is analyzed based on the real operation data of a business to consumer (B2C) e-commerce platform.

Emotions in retail setting: a systematic literature review based on current research

This study aims to find out how emotions influence shoppers’ behaviour in offline retail settings and how they get influenced by different elements. This research makes use of secondary data with an in-depth study of research papers published in the last ten years (the year 2012 onwards) in ABDC category ’A’ research journals. Emotions play a complex role in retail consumption. Personal and interpersonal relationships, atmospheric factors, including messiness & crowding, and the interplay of different emotions exert significant influence on consumer emotions. Positive emotions encourage ethical buying, which in turn gives a boost to positive emotions. Consumer ambivalence is prevalent in luxury shopping where negative emotions complement positive ones. The study is based entirely on secondary data. All the research papers which are a part of this study dealt with shoppers in malls, shopping centres, and retail stores. There is a lack of research in the context of shopping markets and shopping streets. Retailers and marketers can plan their atmospherics, marketing mix, and promotions based on the emotions they wish to engineer amongst shoppers. As the role of emotions varies according to the retail format experiences can be customized and designed to cater to target customers and staff should be trained to understand consumer emotions. An understanding of emotions can help enhance ethical buying which is beneficial for the environment and society.

A STUDY ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR TOWARDS SHOPPING MALLS IN ANDHRA PRADESH (WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO VISAKHAPATNAM CITY)

Indian retail industry has emerged as one of the most dynamic and fast-paced industries due to the entry of several new players. It accounts for over 10% of the countrys gross domestic product (GDP) and around 8% of the employment. India is the worlds fifth-largest global destination in the retail space. The sizeable middle class and nearly unexplored retail market in India are the main attractive factors for international retail behemoths seeking to move into newer markets, which will help the Indian Retail Industry, grow more quickly. The urban Indian consumers purchasing power is increasing, and branded goods in categories like apparel, cosmetics, footwear, watches, beverages, food, and even jewellery are gradually evolving into business and leisure that are well-liked by the urban Indian consumer. India has the third-highest number of e-retail shoppers (only behind China, the US). The phenomenon called shopping centre or shopping mall is rocking India - metros and now even the smaller towns are buzzing with the mall mania. Modern retail format i.e. shopping malls are characterized by professionally managed large format stores, providing goods and services that appeal to consumers, in an ambience that is conducive for shopping. The recent surge in the growth of shopping malls is changing the way people shop. Mall culture in India and especially in Andhra Pradesh has been growing with an incredible pace. Just a few years back, people had to make a choice among shopping, movies or hanging out on a holiday but thanks to our malls, all these jobs can be performed at the same time, under the same roof and that too with a wonderful experience. The possibility of shopping for clothes, shoes and grocery, while simultaneously having provision for eating and entertainment in the form of movies or video game parlors, has been a convenient experience for the consumers. This paper aims to study the key factors that influence consumer behaviour towards shopping malls. The specific objective of this paper is to study consumers buying tactic, shopping priority during shopping at mall in Chennai city. The main aim of this study is to analyze different attributes of layouts, accessibility and availability of services in malls in Visakhapatnam City and to examine the attributes offered by the shopping malls which influence the customers in Visakhapatnam.

Small concept luxury department stores: psychographic characteristics affecting patronage intentions

PurposeThe aim of this study is to investigate the psychographic factors of shopping enjoyment, market mavenism and consumer innovativeness and their influence on hedonic and utilitarian values, attitudes and patronage intentions of the small concept luxury department (SCLD) store.Design/methodology/approachThe researchers utilized a quantitative method. An online survey was created and distributed over a three-week period to a representative sample of US luxury consumers. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesized relationships among variables.FindingsThe theory of reasoned action (TRA) theoretical framework provided an effective model to investigate the perspectives and behaviors of luxury consumers within the SCLD. The findings of this study suggest the SCLD is an effective store format for consumers who are characterized as market mavens, are considered innovative and enjoy shopping.Practical implicationsThe findings from this research are beneficial to luxury department store retailers looking to invest resources into a new experiential format to appeal to their consumer base.Originality/valueThe research extends the literature in a rapidly evolving area of retail formats and consumer perception by exploring psychographic factors, including shopping enjoyment, market mavenism and consumer innovativeness, and their impact on the beliefs regarding retail formats' hedonic and utilitarian value.

The Impact of E-commerce Tactics Using K-Pop Idol on Brand Awareness, Hedonic Shopping Motivation towards Purchase Intention among K-Pop Fans

The use of K-Pop girlbands/boybands as endorsers is booming by Indonesian e-commerce. For this reason, this research aims to know what factors are owned by endorsers that can influence consumer purchase decisions for the products offered by e-commerces. The secondary motivation of this research is to obtain empirical data on how influential the tactics made by e-commerce using K-Pop girlband/boyband are on purchase intention. Impact of celebrity worship factors related to celebrity worship are Entertainment-Social, Intense-Personal, Borderline-Pathological. That's all under the moderating effect of risk was estimated from the perceptions of Indonesia's K-Pop Fans (n =100) using variance-based structural equation modeling and PLS-SEM process. There is a positive correlation between K-Pop Brand Ambassador to raise Brand Awareness, Hedonic Shopping Motivation towards Purchase Intention among K-Pop Fans. Limitation to get a number of respondents with a high purchase power. Contributes to the current knowledge-related online buying behavior in virtual retail formats and helps marketers in streamlining their focus in using celebrity endorsers to increase purchase decisions of targeted consumers.

How does a fashion brand’s customer experience translate in Premium & Luxury retail formats? A parisian retail market outlook

This article aims to better understand the customer experience at different fashion brand levels in. Given that many studies have looked closely at the in-store customer experience, there is very little data on the application of the results to different brands with different market positions. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to look at different fashion brand physical stores, understand their compositional elements and highlight the type of customer experience they would induce. Design/methodology/approach: Nine fashion brands were observed in the heart of Paris in March 2022. The sample consisted of active luxury, high-end and premium brands in the French market. Findings: In a highly digital world, brands are investing more in the phygitalization of their retail stores. And yet high-end and luxury brands still retain a more traditional look from their standalone retail stores, concept, and flagship. The aesthetic of the physical retail environment is mirrored in a theatrical setting that tells a story; the customer is the protagonist. Along the way, the social and societal aspects of retail stores are highlighted. The level of involvement, knowledge, and expertise of brand representatives, as well as the environments created for clients to weave their social activities, help induce, and influence their experience. In high-end and luxury boutiques, hedonist experiences are guided by design and reinforced by social and societal dimensions. Original/value: Current research has demystified the client experience in a physical retail environment and has identified the dimensions that greatly affect it and how they affect it. Research limitations and outlook: The limited external validity of qualitative research methods encourages us to pursue observations and corroborate results on the one hand. On the other hand, empirical testing would help to confirm the relationship between variables and their relevance in the area studied.

Factors Affecting Consumers’ Impulsive Purchasing Behavior in Circle K Convenience Stores in Hanoi, Vietnam

Impulsive purchasing behavior has been observed as one of the important studies conducted by marketers and researchers, as impulse buying has become a prevalent phenomenon in every retail format. The study was conducted to assess factors affecting consumers’ impulsive purchasing behavior in Circle K convenience stores in Hanoi, Vietnam. After reviewing a group of previous studies, the authors indicated 05 factors that affected consumers' impulsive purchasing behavior including impulsiveness, instant gratification, visual appeal, promotions and money availability. The study had selected 05 experts in the field of economics to conduct the expert interview. Moreover, the research team had also handed out the questionnaire and received 310 observations. Specifically, Impulsiveness had the strongest influence on the impulsive purchasing behavior of Circle K’s consumers in Hanoi. Keywords: factors, Impulsive purchasing behavior, Circle K convenience stores DOI: 10.7176/JESD/14-8-03 Publication date: April 30 th 2023

Evaluation of Walmart’s Business Portfolio in China During Covid-19

Due to the impact of the epidemic, the survival environment of China's traditional retailers has changed greatly. In addition to the increase in operating costs such as rent and labor, they are also facing the impact of the new retail format of online shopping. How to break this situation has become an urgent problem for retailers to solve. The main purpose of this article is to analyze Wal-Mart's business portfolio in China and to provide some references for Wal-Mart's future development in China. By analyzing the marketing mix strategies used by Wal-Mart in China, this study can identify the benefits and shortcomings of these strategies in China, add self-checkout to optimize consumer shopping after the epidemic, share inventory across industries to avoid excessive stockpiling, and strengthen localized marketing in China to attract consumers, enhance Wal-Mart's competitiveness in the industry, and contribute to the development of China's retail industry after the epidemic.

Understanding the Coevolution of Ad Spend by Media Channel and Retail Format Sales at the Country Level: A Multicountry Examination

The marketing literature has long recognized the positive relationship between advertising spending and sales at the firm level. However, this literature overlooks country-level heterogeneity of both the advertising channel and retail format evolution, limiting global managers’ understanding of the heterogeneity and evolution of advertising channels and retail formats across country markets and, therefore, managers’ ability to effectively formulate a global marketing strategy that adjusts for such differences. The authors call for a glocal approach when considering the association between ad spend by media channels and retail format sales at the country level, accounting for country institutional environments. They explore this topic using a 29-country, seven-year unbalanced panel data set. The authors find that there is substantive heterogeneity in ad spend by media channels and retail format sales across countries. Further, they find that changes in ad spend in specific media channels are positively associated with changes in related retail format sales at the country level, whereas the associations between changes in ad spend in media channels with unrelated retail format sales are more nuanced. The findings are informative to international marketing managers navigating the complex and ever-evolving retail landscape and highlight the importance of thinking globally while acting locally.

Chromium Concentrations in Automotive Paints from Retail Stores in Kenya

Chromium (Cr) is among the heavy metals that are added to automotive paints to provide protection against corrosion and reflective properties. However, exposure to hexavalent chromium Cr(VI), which is the toxic form of Cr is associated with adverse health effects such as lung cancer. The study, therefore, assessed Cr levels in the automotive paints commonly used by spray painters in informal settings in Nairobi City. Chromium concentrations were determined in triplicates in the three sets of automotive paint samples in red, blue and green colours. The same samples were also used for the determination of lead content and the findings of the study were published elsewhere. The automotive paint samples were procured from 8 formal and informal retail stores. The Cr concentrations was also analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. The mean ± standard deviation (SD) of Cr levels obtained from informal retail shops ranged from 120.5±10.6 to 2771.9±35.6 parts per million (ppm). On the contrary, those from the formal retail stores were significantly lower (p < 0.05), and were in the range of 39.3±7.0 to 461.9±11.1 ppm. The Cr levels in automotive paints varied greatly across different colours and retail shops. Substantial levels were observed in almost all paint samples purchased from the informal retail shops except one retail shop. The elevated Cr levels in various colours of automotive paints used by spray painters in the informal sector call for a comprehensive assessment of Cr in these settings along with health-driven policies to address related health impacts.

Capturing consumer loyalty through technological innovation and sustainability: the moderating effect of the grocery commercial format

PurposeThe food sector is currently undergoing a process of transition as a result of the increased level of consumers' awareness towards issues related to sustainability. This work aims at analyzing the existence of links between technological innovation and sustainability and its consequences on variables of paramount importance in the retail sector such as store image and loyalty towards the establishment. Moreover, we examine if the strength of these relations differs across store formats.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the objective of this work, a theoretical model based on the literature is proposed, contrasted through an empirical study carried out in a sample of 510 customers from three food retail formats: hypermarkets, supermarkets and discount stores.FindingsThe results indicate that technological innovation strengthens sustainability. In addition, sustainability is postulated as a dynamic element of the store's image and loyalty. The intensity of these relationships may vary depending on the commercial format.Practical implicationsThe implementation of innovative and sustainable practices such as reducing energy consumption, the use of recycled materials to manufacture products, and the participation of retail companies in collective social actions is considered to be of primary importance.Originality/valueThe study sheds light on the knowledge of the relations between customers' perceptions of technological innovation and sustainability in retailing, confirming their influence on store image and customer loyalty. Moreover, the findings reveal the importance of sustainability and innovation for the main types of retail food store format, although with some peculiarities that allow to draw relevant managerial implications for practitioners.

Consumers’ Continued Intention to Use Online-to-Offline (O2O) Services in Omnichannel Retail: Differences between To-Shop and To-Home Models

Online-to-offline (O2O) commerce is a specific form of omnichannel retailing, wherein consumers search and purchase online and then consume offline. There are many different O2O models, and new O2O businesses are emerging during the COVID-19 pandemic; they can be categorized into two types of O2O services: to-shop and to-home. However, few studies have focused on consumer behavior in a comprehensive O2O scenario, and no study has attempted to compare the differences between to-shop and to-home consumers. Therefore, this study aimed to propose a universal model to predict consumers’ continued intention to use O2O services and to compare the differences between to-shop and to-home O2O in terms of factors influencing consumer behavior. A cross-sectional survey was conducted, and the PLS-SEM was used for data analysis. The basic SEM results indicated that habit, performance expectancy, confirmation, and offline facilitating conditions are the main predictors. The multigroup analysis showed differences between to-shop and to-home consumers regarding hedonic motivation, price value, and perceived risk. The study suggests that marketers and designers in various O2O scenarios can use the framework to build their business plans and develop different marketing strategies or sub-platforms for to-shop and to-home consumers.

Approach to the assessment of the competitiveness of real estate objects in retail

In the last few years, due to economic, political and social events, the situation in the retail real estate market has changed significantly. As consumers increasingly choose to shop online, shopping malls are shifting from multi-vendor and branded merchandise to multifunctional spaces that combine fitness, catering and entertainment areas, business meeting spaces and organization of exhibitions. The desire of buyers to save time, as well as satiety with the usual shopping format, contributes to the introduction of new technologies and retail formats by retailers. The purpose of the study is to identify key indicators of the competitiveness of real estate in retail. Research objectives: analysis of trends in the retail real estate market of St. Petersburg, determination of an integral indicator of the competitiveness of retail real estate objects. Research methods: comparison, analysis and synthesis, generalizations, peer review method. As a result of the study, key factors of competitiveness were identified and a methodology for calculating the competitiveness index of retail real estate objects was presented.