In-store Customer Research Articles

An Analysis of the Effects of Customers’ Migratory Behavior in the Inner Areas of the Sales Floor in a Retail Store on their Purchase

Recently, the analysis of in-store customer behavior has been garnering increasing attention as a marketing strategy of retail stores. In this paper, we focus on the effects of customers’ migratory behavior in the inner areas on the resulting purchase amount. We examine the difference between the shopping path of high-volume customers and that of low-volume customers in the inner side of the sales floor to investigate how purchase amount differs when the shopping path contains a longer migration in the inner areas or a larger number of transitions from the outer areas to the inner areas.

Comparing retailer purchase patterns and brand metrics for in-store and online grocery purchasing

Online shopping is growing rapidly in many sectors, particularly in the retail grocery sector. The rise of online shopping poses some questions for retailers and manufacturers. First, to what extent does the online mode attract other retailer’s customers, as opposed to one’s own current in-store shoppers? Second, is online shopping resulting in more retailer cross-purchasing by consumers? Next, does brand loyalty differ across in-store and online? Lastly, how do private labels perform online compared to in-store? Using data from multiple categories in the UK, this study finds that (1) online sales for a retailer come disproportionately from its own in-store customer base; (2) there is an ‘online-buying’ market partition across retailers; (3) online-induced retailer cross-purchasing is increasing over time; (4) brand loyalty is somewhat higher for online purchasing; and finally (5) private-label brands enjoy slightly higher market share online than in-store.

In-store demonstrations as a promotion tool

Retailers and manufacturers jointly do their best to influence in-store customer behavior. One promotional tool often used by the industry but rarely studied by academics is in-store demonstrations. In this article we look at when and how demonstrations work the best. Two large field experiments were run and the results indicate that in-store demonstrations are powerful tools to increase sales. Furthermore, the results from the experiments show that the effectiveness of the demonstrations vary widely depending on when they and how they are executed.

Service value networks: Into practice

Modeling a business to match its customer perceived (and customer desired) outcomes, remains an on-going task. This paper considers shows how a service value networks (SVNs) approach may be engaged to model, and deliver, understanding of the front-end business and its direct engagement with its immediate (or front-end) customers. These front-end customers may be either: (1) its off-line, in-store customers — engaging directly with the business sales staff (or representative), or (2) its on-line, virtual customers — engaging with the business via internet or remote access. In this situation, both the business, and the customer draw upon their respective viewpoints, and both sides influence the interaction. External to these business and customer influences are additional factors that capture the immediate and broader global effects — termed environmental effects. These three business-customer engagement areas of influence are captured by a SVN SEM approach.

Relaxing channel separation: Integrating a virtual store into the supply chain via transshipments

Many established companies have started to use virtual stores as a direct distribution channel in addition to their existing indirect retail channels. These companies must now decide on how to integrate these channels. The alternatives are to operate dedicated distribution channels for the virtual store and the retail stores or to tightly integrate the virtual store into the existing distribution channels. In such an integrated supply chain, retail stores would continue to serve all in-store customers, but excess stock at retail stores could be used to fill some online orders. We analyze this problem from a supply chain perspective by developing and solving mathematical models for both dedicated and integrated supply chains. We characterize the optimal inventory policy and quantify the expected cost savings that can be achieved by using an integrated supply chain over a dedicated supply chain. We show that the cost savings can be significant and that both retailers and customers benefit from an integrated supply chain. We also analyze how the optimal solutions depend on the characteristics of the supply chain and identify conditions under which it would be optimal to operate the virtual store without dedicating any inventory to the virtual store. Throughout the paper, we illustrate our analytical results with numerical examples.

Integrating direct and indirect sales channels under decentralized decision-making

Many manufacturers have started to use virtual stores as a direct distribution channel in addition to their existing indirect retail channels. These companies must now decide how to integrate these channels. The alternatives are to operate dedicated distribution channels for the virtual store and the retail stores or to extend the cooperation between the manufacturer and the retailers to include the virtual store in the existing distribution channels. In such an integrated supply chain, retail stores would continue to serve all in-store customers, but excess stock at retail stores could be used to fill some online orders. We analyze this problem from a supply-chain perspective by developing and solving mathematical models for both a dedicated and an integrated supply chain. Our mathematical models are based on a problem faced by Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) and incorporate the major parameters of a supply chain with online and in-store customers. We use the models to analyze how the supply chains can be coordinated, how the optimal supply-contract parameters can be computed, and how the supply-chain profits can be allocated between a manufacturer and its retail-channel partners. Our coordinating supply contract involves joint specification of the wholesale price, an ending-inventory subsidy, and a transfer payment from the manufacturer's virtual store to the retailer when using excess retail stock. We also compare the benefits of supply-chain integration with the benefits of supply-chain cooperation. We illustrate our analytical results with numerical examples from HP.

New insights into retail space and format planning from customer-tracking data

Recording and understanding the behaviour of customers is paramount and a key factor influencing the success of any retail business. This paper reports the initial stages of an EPSRC funded research project, which presents a new methodological approach to analysing in-store customer behaviour with a view to optimising space and store performance. Using existing in-store CCTV cameras from a major clothing discount retailer, consumers are tracked to detect patterns of behaviour. Analysis of these “real-time” data exhibited flaws in the arrangement of customer service facilities, and insight into the problems associated with merchandise return policies. Understanding these customer processes and movement patterns thus helped the retail collaborator maximise the performance of the store.

Micro-profiling of Shopping Mall Customers in Chennai: A Study

This paper discusses the consumer attitude and responses towards the emerging concept in retail business-shopping mall. The study was conducted among 600 household and 300 in-store customers in Chennai in the month of March 2001. Statistical judgement sampling was resorted to for the study. The study displays the changing cultural trends and the lifestyle of the people of Chennai. We can observe from the analysis that shopping has taken the form of an entertainment in today's scenario. Shopping malls have the ability to attract customers and make them stay longer and spend more than they had planned to.

10.3917/dm.111.0199

10.3917/dm.111.0199