Grocery Retailing Research Articles

Human Resource Strategies Foster Knowledge Sharing to Improve Operational Excellence in Thailand's Grocery Retail Sector

This study explores the impact of human resource strategies on knowledge sharing and its subsequent effect on operational excellence within the retail grocery sector. Six hypotheses were formulated to assess the influence of various HR practices, including incentives, performance evaluation, training and development, recruitment, and reciprocity, on knowledge sharing. A sample of 500 employees, holding at least a bachelor's degree and having a minimum of one year of tenure, was drawn from the top ten revenue-generating grocery retail manufacturing firms. The questionnaire's reliability was ensured through a pilot test involving 50 participants, evaluating the Item-Objective Congruence (IOC) index and employing Cronbach's Alpha for reliability assessment. The study employed a combination of judgmental, convenience, and snowball sampling techniques. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were employed for data analysis and hypothesis testing. Results indicate that performance evaluation, training and development, recruitment, and reciprocity significantly affect knowledge sharing. Additionally, knowledge sharing has a subsequent effect on operational excellence. Nevertheless, a relationship between incentives and knowledge sharing were not supported. This study contributes to the understanding of HR strategies in fostering knowledge sharing and its implications for operational excellence in the grocery retail sector.

Ethnic Grocery Retailing and Health: A Case Study of Chinese and South Asian Immigrants in Toronto

This article investigates whether shopping at ethnic grocery retailers and the level of access to these stores relate to healthy eating and associated health outcomes among Chinese and South Asian immigrants in Toronto, Canada. Based on an online survey of 600 immigrants’ grocery behaviors and a location database of ethnic and mainstream grocery stores in Toronto, a series of accessibility measure scores were generated and linked to the survey data. Using a combination of logistic regression and chi-square analysis, this study finds that access to and the frequency of shopping at ethnic grocers are not significant factors explaining fruit, vegetable, and whole grain consumption or obesity levels among Chinese and South Asian immigrants. The research underlines the blurred lines between ethnic and mainstream grocery stores, with major retail chains increasingly catering to the growing ethnic market in Toronto. Although access and frequency of shopping were not significant, a set of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of individuals were found to have significant relationships with healthy eating and obesity level outcomes. Further geographic research is needed to understand the spatial dynamics of ethnic grocery shopping behaviors related to immigrant well-being, including social and mental health, community life, and affirming cultural identity.

Nutritional quality of food purchases during the COVID-19 public health crisis: An analysis of geographic disparities in North Carolina

ObjectiveTo examine geographic disparities in the nutritional quality of food purchases during the COVID-19 public health crisis in North Carolina (NC). MethodsUsing shopper-level longitudinal transaction records between October 2019– and December 2020 from NC’s largest grocery retailer, we fit mixed-effect models to examine disparities in the nutritional quality of food purchases among shoppers in counties with different levels of socioeconomic development and how such disparities changed after March 2020, accounting for other observed and contextual factors. ResultsShoppers in counties with lower development levels purchased a larger share of calories from least healthy foods and a smaller share from healthier foods compared to shoppers in counties with higher development levels. These disparities were slightly attenuated for the least healthy foods and did not change for healthier foods after the onset of the COVID crisis. ConclusionDespite existing nutritional disparities among shoppers in counties with different levels of socioeconomic development, we did not observe a large-scale accentuation of inequities in dietary quality during the COVID-19 crisis. This pattern may have resulted from programmatic responses to mitigate the adverse effects of the COVID crisis on vulnerable populations. Future work should further explore the role of such responses.

Service quality dimensions in Austrian food retailing – a text mining approach for physical retail stores

ABSTRACT Investigating Service Quality (SQ) and its implications for customer satisfaction has become an increasingly popular research area. Especially in the context of physical grocery retailing, ensuring customer satisfaction has become a key success factor. Most previous research studies apply traditional methods (e.g. surveys) for physical shops and utilize text mining-based approaches mainly for e-commerce. In our paper, we propose a novel approach based on LDA. By combining expert-based word counting analysis with the LDA approach, we confirm that unsupervised text mining based on LDA can be used as a reliable approach to cluster textual comments to SQ dimensions in physical retail settings. We have analyzed over 163,000 publicly available textual customer reviews related to the Austrian market, which is special in terms of its extremely high density of retail outlets, high price levels and a tendency towards traditional form of shopping. Our results show that personal interaction, policies, and product-related aspects seem to be positive drivers of customer satisfaction, while reliability is a clear driver of customer dissatisfaction. Results also show a significantly higher relevance of personal interaction in smaller stores and cities with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants than in other store types and bigger cities. Regarding practical implications, hypermarkets should focus on physical aspects to reduce negative reviews and increase efforts in personal interaction to increase positive reviews. On the other hand, smaller stores should continue to rely on personal interaction to avoid negative reviews and might focus on higher reliability to generate more positive reviews. The applied text-mining approach enables future research with a starting base to analyze SQ dimensions and their relevance in additional countries or area, as e.g. fashion or hardware retail.

Alcohol Interventions on Online Grocery Shopping Platforms

Introduction & BackgroundThere is opportunity to engage light to moderate drinkers in alcohol reduction interventions as a preventative measure. In the space of online grocery shopping there is an added challenge in intervention development in the form of deceptive patterns, which influence consumer behaviour in unhealthy ways including automating behaviour and encouraging overconsumption. Objectives & ApproachThe objectives of this study are to: 1) identify deceptive patterns in the online grocery shopping context, 2) develop interventions which support healthier decision making in this context, 3) apply those interventions to appropriate product categories. The method utilised in the first objective is heuristic analysis which was conducted across eleven major online grocery shopping platforms. The interventions were then developed using the Rapid Iterative Testing and Evaluation (RITE) method, which involved interviewing participants and iterating upon the inventions after every interview. Each interview was analysed using content analysis. When incorporating the interventions into the online grocery shopping environment, interviews were conducted to gain insight into drinking and purchasing habits of consumers. These final interviews were then analysed with inductive thematic analysis. Relevance to Digital FootprintsDigital Footprints underpin the entire intervention development space. The background of the project is built upon human shopping and interaction behaviour online when encountering deceptive patterns. These deceptive patterns have been established using mobile gaming micro-transaction data, online grocery shopping log-in and rewards data, among other data sources. Digital Footprints data can further support the findings from the thematic analysis by further showing cultural and social trends around drinking (e.g., increased purchasing of seasonal beers and ciders in the summer and during sporting tournaments). The purpose of the drinking identified through those social and cultural trends gauge the appropriateness of proposed alcohol interventions. Beyond this, digital footprints data around engagement with health and wellness promoting applications (e.g., active users and app downloads) provides greater insight into the types of health messaging that garner attention and can be used to further inform how to approach those currently outside the health-engaged group. Digital footprints serve to attach larger societal trends to the smaller-scaled interviews and thematic analysis conducted as part of the study. ResultsInitial findings have shown opportunities for nudging light to moderate drinkers who primarily consume beer, wine, or cider. Spirits have been identified as difficult to substitute due to a lack of substitution options in the low alcohol spirit category that are widely available on the consumer market via online grocery retailers. Conclusions & ImplicationsWithout significant change, costs to the National Health Service (NHS) in alcohol related harm are set to rise by over 1 billion GBP. Alcohol consumption is a public health risk and there are opportunities to utilise digital footprint informed interventions to engage the public in preventative interventions.

How Do Turkish Grocers Respond to Changes in the German Retail Market?

AbstractAlthough widely employed, mixed embeddedness analysis in ethnic entrepreneurship has some limitations in its political, dual and spatial understanding and assessment of opportunity structures. To address this, we propose an alternative framework that combines Hess' categorisation of embeddedness with Katz's resilience framework. Using this combination, this study examines the responses of Turkish grocery retailers to structural changes in the German retail market. Despite extensive research on these changes, the responses of ethnic retailers have been neglected in the general literature on structural change in the retail sector. Drawing on data from 23 interviews with retailers, experts, intermediaries and producers, this study aims to fill this gap. The findings underline the impact of embeddedness on Turkish retailers' responses to market changes. The proposed analytical framework provides a comprehensive analysis of the competitive strategies of ethnic businesses and overcomes the limitations of the mixed embeddedness concept.

Frontiers: The Effect of an Ad Ban on Retailer Sales: Insights from a Natural Experiment

A natural experiment reveals that an ad ban reduces sales of a grocery retailer by 6% but does not affect overall market size.

What drives customer loyalty in a pandemic? Semantic analysis of grocery retailers

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic accelerated online grocery shopping and disrupted customer loyalty. This study analyzes 45,603 Trustpilot reviews of grocery retailers across three eras: pre-pandemic, pandemic, and the “new normal”. We employ Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count to categorize loyalty drivers into three dimensions—cognitive, affective, and social experiences–and we test their relationship with customer loyalty. Whereas cognitive and affective drivers were dominant before the pandemic, social drivers gained prominence during and after the pandemic, reflecting a desire for social interactions amid social distancing. We demonstrate that the influence of the drivers on customer loyalty remains consistent, except for the post-pandemic period, where the cognitive driver lost influence. Consequently, we conclude that consumer behavior in online grocery retailing has changed profoundly. We further suggest that online reviews provide attractive opportunities for retailers to analyze, build, and sustain customer loyalty.

'Healthier options tend to get lost in the noise of online' - Australian shoppers' experiences with online grocery platforms.

We aimed to understand what influences parents' purchasing behaviours when shopping for groceries online and potential ways to improve the healthiness of online grocery platforms. We conducted semi-structured interviews, guided by the Marketing Mix framework. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse data. Online interviews were conducted with primary grocery shoppers. Parents (n 14) or caregivers (n 2) using online grocery platforms at least every 2 weeks. Most participants perceived purchasing healthy food when shopping for groceries online to be more challenging compared to in physical stores. They expressed concerns about the prominence of online marketing for unhealthy food. Participants from lower socio-economic backgrounds often depended on online supermarket catalogues to find price promotions, but healthy options at discounted prices were limited. Across socio-economic groups, fresh items like meat and fruit were preferred to be purchased instore due to concerns about online food quality.Participants believed online grocery platforms should make healthy foods more affordable and supported regulations on supermarket retailers to promote healthy options and limit unhealthy food promotion online. Participants had varied experiences with online grocery shopping, with both positive and negative aspects. Efforts to improve population diets need to include mechanisms to create health-enabling online grocery retail platforms. Government interventions to restrict marketing of unhealthy foods and promote marketing of healthy options on these platforms warrant investigation.

Drivers of formal and informal retail patronage in emerging markets

PurposeThis study examines how formal retail formats (FRFs), and informal retail formats (IRFs) may coexist as substitutes and complements in emerging markets because of store patronage driven by customers’ chronic shopping orientations, and differences in salesperson consultation in the two retail formats.Design/methodology/approachUsing a shopping motivational orientation framework, we develop and test a moderated mediation model using survey data from 515 shoppers of formal and informal grocery retail outlets in India.FindingsWhile task-focused and experiential-focused shopping orientations influence both FRF and IRF patronage, store satisfaction mediates these relationships and crucially attenuates the negative impact of task-focused orientation on FRF patronage. Salesperson consultation moderates the mediating effects of satisfaction in the link between shopping orientation and patronage of both FRFs and IRFs.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings suggest that FRFs and IRFs could coexist as complements and substitutes when patronage is examined as repeated visits determined by shopping orientation, mediated by satisfaction and moderated by salesperson consultation.Practical implicationsFor FRFs and IRFs to be complements, both formats must prioritize their distinctive attributes that satisfy a consumer's chronic shopping orientation. Substitution depends on how both retail formats prioritize salesperson consultation and in-store characteristics that appeal to consumers’ chronic orientation during specific shopping trips.Originality/valueWhilst FRFs must satisfy task-focused shoppers to compete with IRFs, salesperson consultation can inhibit such satisfaction. However, the extent of coexistence between FRFs and IRFs depends on how each format leverages salesperson consultation to enhance satisfaction of experiential-focused shoppers.

The Impact of Writing Direction on Order-Picking Performance: Evidence on Diversity and Efficiency in Operations Management

Language system diversity is a source of individual differences. Research on human cognition has established that writing direction influences non-linguistic mental schemata such as spatial orientation. However, there is little empirical evidence of its impact on task performance. We examine whether task performance in manual order-picking is higher when the in-aisle travel direction follows the writing direction of order pickers. We conducted this study in cooperation with a German brick-and-mortar grocery retailer, allowing us to employ a unique real-world data set comprising 3,200,534 storage-location visits by 113 order pickers, 61 of whom had a left-to-right and 52 a right-to-left writing direction. Our statistical analyses suggest that order-picking task performance improves when the in-aisle travel direction follows individual writing direction. This creates a path to diversity-inspired operations management that treats efficiency and the diversity and inclusion of human workers as equally important for optimization.

A Study of Consumer Satisfaction Towards Online Grocery Stores

In recent years, the popularity of online grocery shopping has had a big impact on consumer behaviour. The purpose of this survey is to find out how satisfied customers are with online grocery stores. It seeks to comprehend the rationale for their adoption of online grocery shopping as well as pinpoint the critical elements impacting their level of happiness. The study looks into a number of factors that make an online grocery buying experience enjoyable. These elements probably consist of: Convenience: It's thought that two of the main factors influencing satisfaction are the simplicity of home delivery and the time-saving aspect of online grocery shopping. Product Selection and Quality: The range and calibre of goods that online grocery retailers provide is likely to have an impact on customers' happiness. Website functionality and user experience: It is anticipated that a user-friendly website with simple product search, checkout, and navigation will play a big role in customer satisfaction. Delivery Accuracy and Efficiency: Proper handling of perishables, precise order fulfilment, and timely delivery are critical factors that affect customer satisfaction. Customer service: A customer's pleasure with online shopping is likely to increase with prompt and friendly customer care.

Machine Learning-Based Sales Prediction and Inventory Management for Grocery Stores

In today's competitive grocery retail environment, effective inventory management coupled with precise sales prediction is pivotal for success. This research undertakes an in-depth exploration into a machine learning framework tailored for "Sales Forecasting and Inventory Optimization in Grocery Retail." Utilizing historical sales records, meteorological data, and consumer behavior metrics, the proposed model endeavors to predict nuanced seasonal demand fluctuations. The primary value proposition of this approach lies in its capacity to curtail wastage, ensuring the balance between overstocking and inventory stockouts. By recognizing and adjusting for seasonal dynamics, the system offers enhanced demand fulfillment during high-demand periods. The subsequent refinement of the replenishment cycle fosters superior operational efficacy. As an outcome, businesses witness cost reductions, augmented profit margins, and elevated consumer contentment due to consistent product availability. As the broader grocery sector undergoes transformation, embedding sophisticated machine learning strategies can be a linchpin for sustained adaptability and competitiveness. This research further underscores the role of emergent technologies, such as machine learning within the IoT spectrum, in reshaping supply chain and communication paradigms. The endeavor here is to curtail lifecycle expenses in the supply chain by refining inventory practices. The research introduces a Deep Inventory Management (DIM) technique, employing the LSTM paradigm of deep learning. Through DIM's innovative approach, time-series challenges are reimagined as supervised learning tasks, enabling efficient model training. Preliminary tests indicate DIM's prediction accuracy hovers around 80%, translating to an impressive 25% reduction in inventory expenses when juxtaposed with prevailing methods, alongside rapid anomaly detection in inventory activities

A hybrid approach integrating genetic algorithm and machine learning to solve the order picking batch assignment problem considering learning and fatigue of pickers

Modeling human behaviors has become increasingly relevant to improving the performance of manual order-picking systems. However, although a vast corpus of literature has recently started to consider the human factors in these systems, several gaps remain uncovered. Specifically, mental and physical human factors, like learning and fatigue, and quantitative and spatial features of picking orders have never been considered jointly to estimate the time a human order picker requires to execute a specific picking mission. Furthermore, little attention has been given to assigning and sequencing orders to pickers to minimize the picking time acting on their individual learning and fatigue characteristics. This study thus proposes a novel approach integrating machine learning and genetic algorithms to solve the problem. A non-linear machine learning-based predictive model has been adopted to predict the picking time of batches of orders based on quantitative and spatial features of batches and learning and fatigue indicators of pickers. These predictions have thus been adopted to guide a genetic algorithm to find the best assignment of future planned batches of orders to pickers. One year of picking data collected from the warehouse of a grocery retailer has been adopted to investigate the potential of the proposed approach. Furthermore, multiple comparisons have been performed. First, the advantages of predicting the batch-picking time with the proposed non-linear model have been compared with predictions executed based on linear models. In addition, an ablation analysis has been performed to investigate the advantages of predicting the batch picking time while simultaneously considering the quantitative and spatial features of batches and the learning and fatigue indicators of pickers. Moreover, the advantages of the proposed batch assignment strategy, which considers learning and fatigue indicators, have been compared with an assignment strategy that does not optimize these elements. Lastly, an explainability analysis of the predictive model has been performed to understand how and how much quantitative and spatial features of batches and learning and fatigue indicators of pickers affect the batch picking time.

Online grocery shopping adoption versus non-adoption among the over-50s in Germany

Online grocery shopping (OGS) has significantly risen due to accelerated retail digitization and reshaped consumer shopping behaviors over the last years. Despite this trend, the German online grocery market lags behind its international counterparts. Notably, with almost half of the German population aged over 50 and the 55–64 age group emerging as the largest user segment in e-commerce, the over-50 demographic presents an attractive yet relatively overlooked audience for the expansion of the online grocery market. However, research on OGS behavior among German over-50s is scarce. This study addresses this gap, empirically investigating OGS adoption factors within this demographic through an online survey with 179 respondents. Our findings reveal that over a third of the over-50 demographic has embraced OGS, indicating a growing receptivity for OGS among the over-50s. Notably, home delivery, product variety, convenience, and curiosity emerged as primary drivers for OGS adoption among this demographic. Surprisingly, most adopters did not increase online grocery orders since 2020 and a not inconsiderable proportion have even stopped buying groceries online again. For potential OGS adopters, regional product availability turned out as a motivator, signaling substantial growth potential and providing online grocers with strategic opportunities to target this demographic. In light of our research, we offer practical suggestions to online grocery retailers, aiming to overcome barriers and capitalize on key drivers identified in our study for sustained growth in the over-50 market segment.

Operation Management of Grocery Retailer in the UK: A Case of Tesco

Tesco is the biggest grocery retailer in the UK focused on food products selling and some non-food services such as clothing, home appliances, financial, etc. Over the last five years, Tesco has had a healthy growth in revenues and net profits, which reflects the success of Tesco's operations management. The purpose of the study is to explore the successful operation management of Tesco company, which can bring some inspiration for other companies to grow. This paper mainly includes operation design (products, service, process, and layout design), resource planning and control, and capacity management. In terms of operation design, Tesco launched a new baby food range with absolutely no salt or sugar, no artificial colors or spices to protect children’s health; Clubcard, Scan as you go, staff visibility, and Online shopping & Delivery adopted for giving customers’ more benefits and convenience; Tesco belongs to mass service process, adopts tracking technology named thermal imaging cameras to monitor queue lengths, reduce customer waiting time, increasing service speed and flexibility. Tesco mainly uses a functional layout, keeps the layout of its stores the same to allow customers to quickly find the goods, saving shopping time, and designed the display locations of its products to increase its revenue. For Planning and control, Tesco belongs to ‘Produce to stock’, which shows the characteristics of a high volume of products, which can save customers’ time, because the products have been produced in advance for customers to buy. Regarding Capacity management, Tesco adopted a mixed strategy which is chase demand and demand management to manage mismatches. Effective operation management strategies have made outstanding contributions to the realization of Tesco's business objectives, profit increase, and long-term development.

Does CSR Perception Matter to Brand Loyalty? The Mediating Roles of Brand Trust and Brand Image

It is no secret that the grocery retail industry has played a critical role in food security, nutrition and sustainability, but what happens if these practices result in food waste? Recent reports suggest that supermarkets may contribute to this global issue by using unethical promotion strategies that lead to consumers buying more food than they need. This not only affects the environment but also has the potential to damage brand loyalty. To address these issues, this study aims to determine whether the three dimensions of consumer Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) perceptions create more positive outcomes, such as brand trust, image and loyalty, in the Malaysian grocery retail sector. Grounded in stakeholder and resource-based view theories, scholars support the notion that brands need to embrace purpose and sustainability to fulfil their responsibility to stakeholders and enhance their competitive advantage. A multistage sampling technique was used with 536 Malaysian grocery retail consumers. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) results revealed that consumer CSR perception matters to brand loyalty, with the mediating effects of brand trust and image. These findings have theoretical and practical implications for supermarkets and policymakers seeking to improve the effectiveness of CSR activities and brand loyalty.

Current Trends in Online Grocery Shopping

The convenience and accessibility of online shopping have revolutionized the retail industry, with online grocery shopping experiencing significant growth in recent years. This research paper explores the current trends in online grocery shopping, focusing on key factors driving its popularity and the challenges it faces. By analyzing consumer behavior, technological advancements, and market dynamics, this study aims to provide valuable insights into the evolving landscape of e-commerce within the grocery sector. The research delves into the shifting preferences of consumers towards online grocery shopping, emphasizing the convenience, time-saving benefits, and extensive product range offered by digital platforms. Furthermore, it examines the impact of changing lifestyles, especially in urban areas, on the rising demand for online grocery services. The study also addresses the crucial role of data analytics and AI-driven technologies in enhancing the customer experience and optimizing supply chain management for online grocery retailers. Moreover, the paper investigates the challenges associated with online grocery shopping, including issues related to delivery logistics, product quality, and customer satisfaction. It discusses strategies adopted by online retailers to overcome these challenges and build trust among consumers. Additionally, the research highlights the competitive landscape of the online grocery market, analyzing the strategies employed by key players to stay ahead in this rapidly evolving industry.

Analysis of the Effects of Dawn Delivery Services by Grocery Retailers: An Empirical Analysis Through Consumer Purchasing Data*

Analysis of the Effects of Dawn Delivery Services by Grocery Retailers: An Empirical Analysis Through Consumer Purchasing Data*

Assisting Healthier and More Sustainable Online Food Choices Through Digital Quality Signals: Exploring Preferences and Segments

The current paper contributes to signalling theory by demonstrating the importance of digital quality signals in influencing consumer preferences for sales and segmentation in the context of marketing fresh fish online. We conducted a choice-based conjoint analysis with a latent class segmentation to analyse the significance of digital quality signals compared to traditional attributes online. The analysis of 1,411 global consumers revealed that product rating was among the most important factors when purchasing fresh salmon fillets online. Latent class segmentation identified four distinct segments, the largest being ‘value for money’, where product rating and pricing were most important. The other segments were ‘environmentally friendly’, prioritising procurement methods and place of origin; ‘want it now’, where delivery was the most important factor; and ‘quality conscious’, which relied on three attributes – origin, delivery, and product rating. This study enhances understanding of the impact of socially mediated stimuli. It demonstrates the ability of digital quality signals to compensate for the absence of sensory evaluation in online store environments or deficiencies in knowledge or experience. The findings will benefit the food industry and online grocery retailers in promoting healthier and more sustainable products such as fish online.