Merchandise Store Research Articles

Revenue Forecasting Using Google Analytics Data

Abstract: Most companies receive the majority of their revenue from a small number of users. As a result, it's necessary to comprehend who these clients are and how to reach them. Google Merchandise Store (GStore) offers customer records that include details about previous transactions. This information can be used to generate predictive models that forecast each customer's future sales. This information can be used to better target marketing campaigns and allocate your marketing budget. For example, you can direct your marketing efforts on the 20% of clients who are most likely to create income. Predicting each customer's future sales is a regression problem because you are trying to forecast a continuous value (sales) based on the customer's other attributes. Regression problems are often addressed by machine learning models. These models are trained using a historical data set containing both the input attributes and the output values (revenue). Once trained, the model can forecast revenue for new clients even in the absence of past data.

Analisa Pengaruh Kualitas Produk dan Persepsi Harga Terhadap Minat Beli Ulang pada Persebaya Store

This study was conducted to analyze the effect of product quality, price perception on repurchase intention at Persebaya Store. Persebaya Store is a retail unit that was established to be a supporter in building a new image of the Persebaya club. As a center for selling Persebaya official merchandise (Official Merchandise Store). The method used is simple random sampling using quantitative research with descriptive statistical approach, as many as 110 respondents. Researchers used the entire population of Persebaya Store customers. The technique used by the researcher is validity test, reliability test, and simple linear regression analysis with SPSS (Statistical Product and Service Solution) tools. The results in this study indicate that the variables of product quality and price perception together have a significant influence on repurchase interest at Persebaya Store.

Signaling the Store Attributes on Customer Store Loyalty mediated through Hedonic, Social and Utilitarian Customer Values

Developing customer loyalty is the primary objective for retailers. Price pressures faced by the developing economies leave a small margin for retailers. Increasing the frequency and repeat purchases can help retailers to increase their profit margins. Customers can only be retained if they are loyal. This research is carried out to understand the dynamics underlying the store attributes and customer loyalty. It has examined the impact of Store attributes on Customer Store Loyalty mediated through Customer Value. In this research, a sample of 300 customers was taken from two departmental stores, particularly, Chase Up and Imtiaz. This study has taken 3 Store attributes; Store Atmosphere, Merchandise Quality, and Relationship Marketing and assessed their impact on Store Loyalty mediated through 3 types of Customer Values; Hedonic, Social and Utilitarian. Structural equation modeling was carried out using the Partial Least Squares method in SMART-PLS software. The results showed that Merchandise Quality, Relationship Marketing and Store Atmosphere impact Store Loyalty mediated through Hedonic and Utilitarian Values. Social Value is not significant and does play a role in creating Loyalty. The study concludes by identifying gaps in the literature and recommending practical and theoretical implications for the same.

Financial Feasibility Study for the Second Merchandise Store of PT Persib Bandung Bermartabat

PT Persib Bandung Bermartabat is the company that manages a regional football team in Indonesia, the Persib Bandung Football Team. The company already has a merchandise store for the football team, but PT Persib Bandung Bermartabat needs to open a store that is suitable for Persib supporters’ desires. This study aims to discover whether or not building a new PT Persib Bandung Bermartabat merchandise store is financially feasible for PT Persib Bandung Bermartabat. As a result of this study, this project is shown to be financially feasible because this project will be profitable for the company and give a good return. The NPV of this project is positive and the Profitability Index of this project is greater than one. IRR is greater than the Cost of Capital, and Discounted Payback Period is faster than the time projection of this project. However, one thing that needs to be monitored is that the company should maintain the COGS of this project in order to make certain the COGS do not change too much from the current assumptions that are used in this financial projection. A slight change of COGS will have a big impact on the profit of this project. The company also should ensure that the Target Market Growth of this project is not less than 3,20% because it will make this project unprofitable.

A Comparison and Interpretation of Machine Learning Algorithm for the Prediction of Online Purchase Conversion

Machine learning technology is recently being applied to various fields. However, in the field of online consumer conversion, research is limited despite the high possibility of machine learning application due to the availability of big data. In this context, we investigate the following three research questions. First, what is the suitable machine learning model for predicting online consumer behavior? Second, what is the good data sampling method for predicting online con-sumer behavior? Third, can we interpret machine learning’s online consumer behavior prediction results? We analyze 374,749 online consumer behavior data from Google Merchandise Store, an online shopping mall, and explore research questions. As a result of the empirical analysis, the performance of the ensemble model eXtreme Gradient Boosting model is most suitable for pre-dicting purchase conversion of online consumers, and oversampling is the best method to mitigate data imbalance bias. In addition, by applying explainable artificial intelligence methods to the context of retargeting advertisements, we investigate which consumers are effective in retargeting advertisements. This study theoretically contributes to the marketing and machine learning lit-erature by exploring and answering the problems that arise when applying machine learning models to predicting online consumer conversion. It also contributes to the online advertising literature by exploring consumer characteristics that are effective for retargeting advertisements.

A pilot study of decision factors influencing over-the-counter medication selection and use by older adults.

Despite their availability without prescription, OTC medications pose a risk for significant harm for older adults due to higher likelihood of polypharmacy, drug interactions, and age-related physiological changes. The purpose of this study is to identify the individual decision factors that influence how older adults select and use over-the-counter medications. A pilot study was conducted with 20 community-dwelling older adults. Older adults met the interviewer at a regional mass merchandise store where they were given both pain and insomnia standardized scenarios. Participants described how they would select and then hypothetically use a given medication to treat the problem described in the scenario. OTC medication selection and reported use were influenced by several person-level decision-making factors including: personal beliefs/knowledge about OTCs, assessment of the ailment, and medical constraints. The findings from this investigation provide direction for interventions to address unsafe OTC medication selection by older adults.

Availability of ulipristal acetate: A secret shopper survey of pharmacies in a metropolitan area on emergency contraception

ObjectivesTo assess levonorgestrel (LNG) and ulipristal acetate (UPA) availability in pharmacies in a metropolitan area. MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted of all identified pharmacies within 25 miles of an urban medical center in Kansas City, KS. We categorized the pharmacies as dedicated commercial (national chains), store-associated (affiliated with a general merchandise or grocery store), or independent. We assessed LNG and UPA availability or time to availability if not currently stocked. ResultsWe contacted 165 pharmacies. Of the 165 pharmacies, few stocked UPA (12/165, 7%) whereas the majority stocked oral LNG (128/165, 78%). Dedicated commercial pharmacies were more likely to carry UPA than store-associated and independent pharmacies (11/84 [13%] vs. 1/61 [1%] vs. 0/20, respectively; P = 0.016). Most pharmacies that did not stock UPA reported that they could obtain it within 24 hours (94/153, 62%). Dedicated commercial pharmacies were most likely report the ability to obtain UPA in 24 hours (P = 0.016). ConclusionFew pharmacies stock UPA, the most effective form of oral emergency contraception. Enhanced communication between medical providers and pharmacists within current laws and regulations could enhance patient access to UPA.

Differences in Buyer Journey between High- and Low-Value Customers of E-Commerce Business

The knowledge of high-value customers provides the possibility to make decisions ensuring profitability of the company. By analyzing and optimizing a buyer's journey, companies can better understand their customers and optimize marketing costs in the way that will generate a higher return on investment. The primary objective of this paper is to define the current state of multichannel attribution and, based on the literature, study and analyze the data regarding the buyer's journey of high- and low-value customers of selected e-commerce business. To accomplish the main objective of our study, we retrieved and analyzed top conversion paths from Google Merchandise Store, the e-commerce website selling goods branded by Google, with the use of Markov chains and heuristic models. A difference between high- and low-value customers regarding the acquisition by marketing channels before the purchase was found. Moreover, it was found that high-value customers' journeys consist of more interactions compared to those of low-value customers.

Expanding Warehouse Operations at Goodwill Industries

Goodwill Industries warehousing operations has increased as the Used Merchandise Store Sales in the US has also increased to a total spending of $17 billion in 2013. Goodwill Industries faces warehousing issues as their inventory fluctuates seasonally. As people do their spring cleaning in the beginning of the year and rush to get their tax-deductible donations in by the end of the year, the warehouses are overflowed but in the off-seasons they are scarce. The following case poses the issue of an efficient warehouse operation that also supports the company sales plan.

Do Mobile Applications Bring Longer Tail? An Empirical Study of Sales Concentration in Online Channels

With the emergence of online channels, more niche products are sold compared to traditional channels, and it has resulted in more product variety. This “Long Tail” effect has distributed the sales among more products, reducing the importance of the mainstream top-selling items. Using a rich dataset from an online marketplace with four product categories, we study the distribution of product sales in online channels and compare the effect of the long tail in PC versus App. We show that the distribution of product sales in App is less concentrated. We investigate the mechanism of the long tail effect and find that different shopping patterns in PC and App result in the long tail effect in App. We find that customers spend more time searching the products in App. We identify two aspects of product search that help us to understand the underlying mechanism: Search Depth, the number of product-specific searches (within), and Search Breadth, the number of unique products searched (across). We find that the share of niche product sales in App increases due to higher Search Depth. On the other hand, Search Breadth negatively affects niche item purchase likelihood in App. The findings suggest no evidence of a complementary effect between App and PC on niche product sales. We provide evidence for the generalizability of the findings by reproducing the results using the public data of Google Merchandise Store. The findings provide key insights for retailers: mobile applications generate value for them by increasing the customer surplus.

The Candy Container Competition: Reinforcing Gross Weight, Balance, and Stowage in Intermodal Transportation

ABSTRACTThe described exercise uses competition and the promise of a sugar‐high to motivate students to appreciate the importance load management in an intermodal setting. Using material available from a local supermarket or general merchandise store, student teams load their "container" for two customers. One customer requires palletized square candy, and the second customer requires barrels (Dixie cups) of smaller odd‐shaped candy. Students receive a worksheet that contains the weights of each type of candy in their customer kit packs, the tare weight of the container, and the approximate weight of their cardboard pallets. Students secure the contents of their pallets with shrink‐wrap (household plastic wrap) and ensure that their cargo doesn't shift using dunnage (bubble wrap). Students compete to approach but not exceed the 500‐gram maximum gross weight of their container while meeting two constraints: withstanding a 30° tilt and no more than a 20% weight differential between the ends of the container. A debrief reinforces the importance of our responsibility as supply chain professionals for the safety of transportation and material handling workers. The winning team is awarded extra credit points, and all participants are allowed to eat their customers’ shipments.

POST-CIVIL WAR ACCOUNTING PRACTICES IN NATCHEZ, MISSISSIPPI

This paper explores the accounting practices and cultural setting of a general merchandise store located in Natchez, Mississippi during the post-Civil War period in 1865. The store ledger records complete sales and payroll entries from January through December 1865. The facts concerning the store came from a “cash book” (referred to as the ledger) that recorded financial transactions both prior to and after the Civil War [Holland, 1837]. Our article asserts that, in spite of devastating economic conditions, merchandisers in general were able to continue as central figures in daily lives in the Natchez area.

Consumer response to exterior atmospherics at a university-branded merchandise store

AbstractThis study examined the influence of exterior store atmospherics upon college students’ responses to a university-branded merchandise store. The research was informed by Mehrabian and Russell’s (1974) Stimulus–Organism–Response (S–O–R) model, which proposes that consumers’ emotional responses to a physical store environment mediate how the environment shapes their patronage behaviors. An online survey with a 2 × 2 × 2 experimental design component was implemented to explore the influence of three aspects of exterior store atmospherics (i.e., landscaping, store greeter, and electronic kiosk) upon three dependent variables: consumer emotional state (pleasure/arousal), consumer liking of the store exterior, and patronage intentions. The sample included 336 college students. Analyses provide support for the S–O–R model and related research; collectively, findings are consistent with the premise that pleasure and liking of the storefront exterior shape patronage intentions at a university-branded merchandise store. The exterior store atmospherics manipulated in the present study, however, did not positively influence consumers’ emotional states or liking. This study examined the influence of understudied aspects of exterior store atmospherics on consumers’ emotional states and liking as well as their patronage intentions toward a university-branded merchandise store. Contrary to prior work, findings provide evidence that, in some retail contexts, store greeters may generate negative responses from consumers.

Stepping into the Future at Historic Sites

Stepping into the Future at Historic Sites Stephanie Meeks (bio) Today we take house museums for granted. But it wasn’t always this way. When Ann Pamela Cunningham and her indomitable Ladies’ Association rescued Mount Vernon 150 years ago, they were true innovators. Generations have followed their model, and we now have some 15,000 historic house museums nationwide—more than three for every county in the country if they were evenly distributed. These places include some remarkable examples of success—Mount Vernon, for instance, remains a leader and innovator—and they represent a powerful legacy for future generations. Yet underneath this success, there is a difficult truth: House museums on the whole, including some of the National Trust’s own historic sites, are in tough financial straits. We can point to a variety of culprits, from shrinking public cultural budgets to increased competition for visitors. But the bottom line is that the world has changed dramatically since the mid-20th century, when many of these house museums were created. These places, and the lessons they teach us, are as relevant as ever, but the traditional velvet ropes and timed tours have lost their luster for a generation with infinite entertainment possibilities at its fingertips. To save these places, we must be willing to challenge our own ideas of preservation and consider new models. Toward that end, the National Trust sponsored a leadership forum at Kykuit, a National Trust Historic Site in New York State, several years ago, and in 2012 we secured a grant from the Innovation Lab for Museums to support prototyping at our own network of historic sites. Promising work is already underway. In some cases, a fresh approach to interpretation, one that underscores a site’s relevance to today’s audiences, can make the difference. For instance, President Lincoln’s Cottage, a site with a reputation for innovation, attracted new audiences—and won two awards—with an exhibit that makes the connection between slavery and human trafficking in modern times. [End Page 3] Click for larger view View full resolution A new vision for Cooper-molera in monterey, California, includes installing restaurants, repurposing the barns as event space, and reopening long-closed gates to better allow the public to enjoy the gardens and orchards. At other sites, more dramatic reinvention will be required. We may need to consider re-purposing these museums as community centers or commercial properties, or returning them to private residences. Woodlawn Plantation in Virginia provides one example of how that model could work. The property has been managed as a house museum for 50 years, but has a long history of pioneering experimental agriculture. The National Trust has partnered with the Arcadia Center for sustainable Food and Agriculture to reinvigo-rate the site’s connection to experimental agriculture and connect it with the current locavore movement. Since 2010 Arcadia has farmed about three acres at the site, where the growing, harvesting, and even cooking of the vegetables, honey, and eggs that are produced there are used in on-site school programming. We are now looking to expand this partnership to encompass the entire 126 acres, moving toward a farm-to-table destination focused on the visitor experience, incorporating gardens, and expanded educational offerings. And, at Cooper-Molera Adobe in Monterey, California, a proposal to bring commercial uses to the property aims to preserve the adobe, make it widely accessible, and help revitalize downtown Monterey, while ensuring the property’s long-term financial sustainability and [End Page 4] stewardship. A house museum for only 30 years of its nearly 190-year history, Cooper-Molera has seen many uses over its life, including as a general merchandise store, tavern, beauty shops, dance studio, and offices. Click for larger view View full resolution Woodlawn Plantation in Alexandria, Virginia, has a long history of pioneering experimental agriculture. It is continuing that tradition today thanks to an innovative partnership with the Arcadia Center for sustainable Food and Agriculture. The National Trust is exploring a long-term lease arrangement with a preservation-sensitive developer to re-imagine the space. We envision the installation of restaurants, repurposing the barns as event space, reopening long-closed gates to better allow...

Management Strategies of Carrefour and Ito-Yokado in China: A Comparative Study

This research aims to provide an overview of management strategies of French hypermarket Carrefour and Japanese general merchandise store Ito-Yokado in China. In recent years, the Chinese economy has shown profound changes. With numerous foreign enterprises entering the retail market, the competition is especially keen among them. To capture greater market share, Carrefour and Ito-Yokado adapted their management strategies for China. On the one hand, Carrefour entered many cities thanks to their good relationship with local governments, and opened a number of stores. On the other hand, Ito-Yokado, which stands firmly by its dominant strategy, has opened stores in only two cities, and the number of new stores opened is not increasing as fast as Carrefour. The human resource strategies of Carrefour and Ito-Yokado are different; while the former gives personnel authority to the local level, emphasizes intensive training and promotes more Chinese employees to store manager’s position, the latter leaves the personnel authority to headquarters, educates employees through daily conferences, and has a slower rate of promotion than the former. The paper concludes that one reason that Ito- Yokado localizes less human resource management than Carrefour may be due to its corporate culture and Japanese company’s behavioral norms. The paper also points out some future research themes.

Customer expectations of store attributes: A study of organized retail outlets in India

The phenomenal growth of retail in India is reflected in the rapid increase in number of supermarkets, departmental stores and hypermarkets in the country. However, this unprecented growth trend has been challenged by the shadow of the current economic slowdown, which has raised a fear of dip in consumption and slowdown of growth for Indian organized retailers. At a time when consumer spending is on decline, success will lie with those retailers that can drive customer loyalty by responding to the demands of the discerning consumer. This study is an attempt to address issues related to store attributes and their relevance in the store selection process. Eleven variables (store attributes) have been identified in this article based on theory and judgment. Factor analysis has yielded three factors: Convenience & Merchandise Mix, Store Atmospherics and Services. The factors identified and recommendations made in the article would be of use to retailers in designing their outlets with store attributes that would meet the expectations of shoppers and thus motivate them towards store patronage decisions.

Grocery store image, travel distance, satisfaction and behavioral intentions

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the interrelationships among grocery store image, travel distance (TD), customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions (BI) in a college town setting.Design/methodology/approachSurveys are given to undergraduate college student grocery shoppers in a Midwest college town. The 400 usable questionnaires are randomly divided into two parts: one subsample was used for exploratory factor analysis while the other (larger) subsample was used for confirmatory factor analysis and subsequently the structural path analysis.FindingsGrocery store image is identified as a second‐order construct reflected by the three key components of merchandise attributes (MEA), store ambience and service (SAS), and marketing attractiveness (MGA). Although store image is an important driver of BI, its indirect effect through customer satisfaction is found to be substantially greater than its direct effect on BI. Interestingly, TD is positively related to satisfaction, which highlights the possibility for retailers to overcome the distance disadvantage.Originality/valueAs few studies have attempted to characterize the US grocery market in terms of the reasons for their choice, this exploratory study is unique because it investigates grocery shopping behavior in a traditional American college town. Specifically, the distinctive market factors (e.g. the relative scarcity of grocery retailers, their distance from campus, and the mix of grocer types in or around the Midwest college town) add value and contribute to the retailing literature.

점포이미지와 충성도 관계에서 인지적 만족과 감정적 만족의 역할

This paper is to identify how merchandise quality, store environment, personnel service, sales promotion, store amenities and supporting service which is considered to store image components influence on satisfaction and loyalty and examine the role of satisfaction in explaining relationships between store image and loyalty. The results of the study are as follows: (1) each components of store image influence on cognitive satisfaction or emotionally based satisfaction or loyalty. (2) merchandise quality and store amenities have influence on cognitive satisfaction and emotionally based satisfaction is affected by personnel service and supporting service, but store environment has directly influence on loyalty. (3) store image components that is concerned with service in the store e.g. personnel service, supporting service build customer loyalty by mediating emotionally based satisfaction. In order to build strong customer loyalty, marketer have to formed through store image components that is much stronger on loyalty.

Retail store loyalty: a comparison of two customer segments

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine if various measures of loyalty (satisfaction, continued patronage and share of wallet) converge or diverge. A related objective of the study is to examine the relative efficacies of merchandise quality, interaction quality, price and store environment in inducing store loyalty for two customer segments of a national automotive parts and accessories retailer in the USA. The two segments are the do‐it‐yourself customers and the professional customers.Design/methodology/approach – Data for the study are collected via mail questionnaires. Usable responses are obtained from 17,034 customers. In operationalizing store loyalty, affective, conative and action‐related measures are used.Findings – The results altogether suggest that merchandise quality is an effective predictor of loyalty but perhaps not as critical or dominant as interaction quality. Results also show that similar factors consistently exert like influence in generating loyalty for the two custome...

온라인 의류 점포유형에 따른 점포속성 중요도

This study investigated the differences in the importance of store characteristics depending on on-line clothing store type and consumer age. The questionnaires were given to female residents in the ages between 20-39 in Seoul and Kyung-gi province during October 2006. The results were summarized as follows: 1. By analyzing the differences in importances of on-line store characteristics factors it was found that buying process service factor and product searching system factor were important in on-line general merchandise store. and buying process service factor and product factor(all the factors, such as store credit, product, screen-displayed design, searching and approaching system, customer management service) were important in on-line specialty store. 2. By analyzing the differences in importances of on-line store characteristics depending on the store type, buying process system such as refund policy, shipping, high-speed payment and rapid searching, screen-displayed design system, approaching and searching system were more important in on-line general merchandise store when comparing to specialty store. It also showed that the consumer considered the reputation of the store and its image more important in on-line general merchandise store. 3. By analyzing the differences in of on-line clothing store importance depending on age, in the case of on-line general merchandise store, it showed that people in their thirties regarded buying process service factor more important than twenties, and when it came to the product and searching system, it was vice versa. Twenties had a tendency to consider the aspect of product important and, relatively, thirties regarded searching and approaching system factor important. in the case of specialty store. It was found that women in their twenties had a tendency to consider product factor more important.