Retail Grocery Stores Research Articles

An integrated environmental and economic assessment for the disposal of food waste from grocery retail stores towards resource recovery.

Food waste gives rise to many environmental problems. A large amount of food waste is produced by grocery retail stores. It is therefore important to apply efficient food waste treatment technologies with minimal environmental impact and investigate the optimal approach for food waste collection, transportation, and treatment. In the present study, a life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) was conducted to analyze different food waste disposal scenarios, including incineration, landfilling, composting, anaerobic digestion, and bioconversion. The impacts of the five scenarios on the environmental, economic, and social aspects were assessed. The results suggested that the landfilling scenario has the lowest net cost for the treatment of food waste, followed by the incineration scenario. The bioconversion treatment cost has the most significant positive effect on the net cost of the bioconversion scenario, and both the price and yield of compost have a significant negative effect on the net cost. The rankings of the five scenarios are the same under both weight determination methods, with the bioconversion scenario performing the best, followed by the composting scenario. The results of this study can help improve the disposal of food waste in grocery retail stores in the framework of sustainability and the circular economy.

Analysis of Factors that Influence the Acceptance of Using Online Retail Applications: A Case Study of XYZ Wholesale and Retail Stores

E-commerce users in Indonesia continue to increase along with advances in digitalization. This causes a trend to occur where many offline shop entrepreneurs are responding to changes in consumer behavior by creating online shopping applications to maintain the existence of their business to be consistent with time progress. The purpose of this research is to find out what factors affect user acceptance of online retail applications used for online shopping at XYZ stores using the UTAUT2 acceptance model. In line with changes, case studies were conducted on grocery stores and retail stores that carried out digital innovation by creating online retail applications for their consumers. The research was conducted using a mixed method, data was collected through interviews with sources and using a questionnaire spread to 149 research sample consumers. The data processing technique uses PLS-SEM with SmartPLS tools. The research results show that 4 factors influence the use of online retail applications, including hedonic motivation, habit, behavioral intention, and application use. The results of this research can be used as material for management considerations to increase the excellence of the application so that user interest in online shopping using the application at XYZ store increases

Sustainability ambassadorship - the role of the store manager in development of in-store sustainability communication

ABSTRACT The food industry, in general, and the retail grocery sector, in particular, have gone through an extensive transformation regarding sustainability communication. The retail grocery store is the stage on which in-store sustainability communication is triggered and incentivized. This paper focuses on the role of the store manager and is guided by the purpose to explore what roles and functions a store manager may perform as sustainability ambassador, and in what ways the dynamics between the central and store level may influence how sustainability is reflected and communicated in the retail store. The study draws on a qualitative and interpretative approach. The empirics are based on interviews with retail store managers in three Swedish grocery retailers. Through our empirical investigation, six different actions have been identified that both separately and in combination contribute to the field by giving a more nuanced view of what role and functions a store manager may perform as sustainability ambassador.

Strategic investment modelling for retail sector post COVID-19

Amidst the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, the online grocery retail industry has faced significant obstacles. To overcome these challenges and adapt to shifting customer attitudes, retailers must embrace innovative strategies. These include implementing a home delivery service with rigorous sanitization measures, leveraging social media advertising to enhance consumer awareness, and utilizing preservation technology to uphold grocery items’ quality and freshness. In such a dynamic setting, it is only rational to acknowledge that the demand for products relies heavily upon the delivery firm’s service performance and the awareness it generates. The present study explores these vital investments within the online grocery retail store, comparing them with models lacking such investments. By optimizing investments in preservation technology, service, and advertisement, the model seeks to maximize the retailer’s overall profit. The findings unequivocally demonstrate that despite incurring additional costs, these investments wield financial dominance, boosting the total profit by an impressive 32%. The study concludes by presenting valuable insights derived from numerical and sensitivity analysis, offering invaluable guidance for the effective management of grocery items in the current post-pandemic era.

Exploring digital transformation and technological innovation in emerging markets

PurposeThis research aims to fill the research gaps regarding customer preferences for digitalisation to create value for retailers and customers, as well as focus on retail change and shopping behaviour in grocery retail stores in the emerging market.Design/methodology/approachThis paper contributes to the research in this area by evaluating customers' and retailers' attitudes towards digital transformation in retailing through interviews. Methodologically, 200 questionnaires were gathered, and data were analysed with the partial least squared structural equation modelling method.FindingsThe findings of this study reveal that the effect of digital transformation in the retail industry will be more apparent in an emerging market.Originality/valueThe paper's originality consists in understanding the future retail structure in an emerging market. Notably, focussing on business-to-consumer businesses appears helpful in distinguishing between behavioural (buying) intention and online buying behaviour (actual usage) in an emerging market.

Sustainability and the development trends of rural retail business in the Czech Republic

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that influence the sustainability of rural grocery stores and to assess the effects of the ongoing consolidation and spatial concentration in rural grocery stores on the accessibility of rural grocery stores in the Czech Republic. In this paper, we start by presenting the continued decline of retail grocery stores in rural areas of the Czech Republic. The decline is seen to be especially severe in villages with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants. By examining official statistics from the Czech Republic and research papers from selected European countries, we see how the rural retail sector is monitored. We demonstrate the very good accessibility of grocery stores for residents of the entire Czech Republic, including residents of small villages. Differences in the external and internal environment of rural grocery stores were identified. Consequently, we also present the preliminary findings of in-depth interviews with rural grocery storekeepers in Southwestern Bohemia. The article ends with a summary of the current situation in rural retail. In policy terms, the research shows that more work needs to be done to identify, quantify, and then promote the advantages of rural retail. External factors influencing rural retail business are the high level of competition, grant programs for rural grocery stores, the relatively short distances consumers have to travel by car or public transportation to modern retail facilities with a wider assortment, better prices, and more attractive shopping space in modern retail facilities. Internal factors that negatively affect a rural retail business are staff with inadequate qualifications and an approach that is not focused on the consumer and his needs, and opening hours and a product range that does not reflect consumer requirements. The contribution of this paper is focused on the sustainability of entrepreneurialism in rural retail.

Modelling retail inventory pricing policies under service level and promotional efforts during COVID-19

Most supply chain and production systems faced multiple manufacturing and delivery challenges during COVID-19 and transformed their supply chain for improved customer service. These challenges are mostly related to stocking and managing the inventory flow throughout the supply chain (from manufacturer to end consumer). Due to the COVID-19 travel and movement restrictions, inventory reorganisation is necessary for fulfilling consumer demand with adequate service facilities. The safety and serviceability of inventory consumption is the primary concern of many retail grocery stores and consumers. Maintaining the supply of groceries items during and post COVID-19 time without disruption is a real operational and policy challenge. Therefore, this research tries to solve an inventory pricing mechanism and retailer's profit under the optimal service level and retailers' promotional efforts. The proposed optimisation model is validated in the grocery retail sector. The grocery retail market situation is modelled when the demand for the grocery product (which may be essential items) and selling price depending on the investment in item promotional effort and consumer serviceability. The retail grocery store's investment in the product promotional efforts, such as awareness of the item availability and no-contact delivery which, may attract consumers. Therefore, the proposed inventory consumption is modelled with an optimisation problem to maximise the store profit with the optimal investment in promotional activities and service facilities to the consumers and maintain an optimal replenishment cycle. The optimisation model is tested with three different cases (no investment in promotional efforts, no investment in service facility, and investment in both) of investment to maximise the retailer's profit and stock availability. The optimality results depicted that investment in promotional efforts and service facility givens higher profit to the retailer. The proposed optimisation model's policy implications would help grocery retail store managers to develop operational strategies for maximising profit with the optimal service level and promotional efforts.

A STUDY OF INVENTORY CONTROL TECHNIQUES TO OPTIMISE REVENUE IN SMALL RETAIL STORES

According to an estimation, there were around 12.65 million retail grocery stores in India in 2020. These Stores typically covered 100-200 square feet and kept stock of around 500-1000 items. These small retail shops generate yearly average revenue of 18-25 lac, of this the profit margins are around 3-4% i.e., Rs 54,000-72,000 yearly. From discussions with shop owners running small to medium retail stores from two-three generations, the challenge seems to be either overstocking leading to wastage, or stock-out leading to customer diversion. Small retail stores usually are managed using the primitive hit and trial method when it comes to inventory management, that only becomes moderately efficient in case of extensive experience of the manager. The following paper presents a study of three inventory control techniques in order to optimize revenue by controlling the inventory efficiently for small retail stores in India. The purpose of this study is to figure out a pattern connecting inventory control with optimal revenue which may further be converted into an algorithm for software that may help small retail store owners all over India.

A data-driven decision support system with smart packaging in grocery store supply chains during outbreaks

The unexpected emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed how grocery shopping is done. The grocery retail stores need to ensure hygiene, quality, and safety concerns in-store shopping by providing “no-touch” smart packaging solutions for agri-food products. The benefit of smart packaging is to inform consumers about the freshness level of a packaged product without having direct contact. This paper proposes a data-driven decision support system that uses smart packaging as a smart product-service system to manage the sustainable grocery store supply chain during outbreaks to prevent food waste. The proposed model dynamically updates the price of a packaged perishable product depending on freshness level while reducing food waste and the number of rejected customers and maximising profit by increasing the inventory turnover rate of grocery stores. The model was tested on a hypothetical but realistic case study of a single product. The results of this study showed that stock capacities, freshness discount rate, freshness period, and quantity discounts significantly affect the performance of a grocery store supply chain during outbreaks.

Data-driven digital transformation for emergency situations: The case of the UK retail sector

The study explores data-driven Digital Transformation (DT) for emergency situations. By adopting a dynamic capability view, we draw on the predictive practices and Big Data (BD) capabilities applied in the UK retail sector and how such capabilities support and align the supply chain resilience in emergency situations. We explore the views of major stakeholders on the proactive use of BD capabilities of UK grocery retail stores and the associated predictive analytics tools and practices. The contribution lies within the literature streams of data-driven DT by investigating the role of BD capabilities and analytical practices in preparing supply and demand for emergency situations. The study focuses on the predictive way retail firms, such as grocery stores, could proactively prepare for emergency situations (e.g., pandemic crises). The retail industry can adjust the risks of failure to the SC activities and prepare through the insight gained from well-designed predictive data-driven DT strategies. The paper also proposes and ends with future research directions.

Investigating the employee–customer relationship in a utilitarian context

ABSTRACT This research, drawing on dyadic data, is one of the first to assess the significance of employee satisfaction in driving customer satisfaction and service quality within a utilitarian context. Multi-level structural equation modelling is employed to analyse 974 customers directly matched to 95 employees across 15 retail grocery stores. Our key empirical finding is that within a utilitarian context, and using a multi-level approach, employee satisfaction does not have a significant direct effect on either customer satisfaction or customer service quality perceptions. Perceptions of price competitiveness assume a more significant role in both customer satisfaction and service quality perceptions than employee satisfaction. Utilitarian store managers should focus their efforts on appropriate service strategies where employee satisfaction still plays a key role.

Intensive Environmental Surveillance Plan for Listeria monocytogenes in Food Producing Plants and Retail Stores of Central Italy: Prevalence and Genetic Diversity.

Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) can persist in food processing environments (FPEs), surviving environmental stresses and disinfectants. We described an intensive environmental monitoring plan performed in Central Italy and involving food producing plants (FPPs) and retail grocery stores (RSs). The aim of the study was to provide a snapshot of the Lm circulation in different FPEs during a severe listeriosis outbreak, using whole genome sequencing (WGS) to investigate the genetic diversity of the Lm isolated, evaluating their virulence and stress resistance profiles. A total of 1217 samples were collected in 86 FPEs with 12.0% of positive surfaces at FPPs level and 7.5% at RSs level; 133 Lm isolates were typed by multilocus sequencing typing (MLST) and core genome MLST (cgMLST). Clonal complex (CC) 121 (25.6%), CC9 (22.6%), CC1 (11.3%), CC3 (10.5%), CC191 (4.5%), CC7 (4.5%) and CC31 (3.8%) were the most frequent MLST clones. Among the 26 cgMLST clusters obtained, 5 of them persisted after sanitization and were re-isolated during the follow-up sampling. All the CC121 harboured the Tn6188_qac gene for tolerance to benzalkonium chloride and the stress survival islet SSI-2. The CC3, CC7, CC9, CC31 and CC191 carried the SSI-1. All the CC9 and CC121 strains presented a premature stop codon in the inlA gene. In addition to the Lm Pathogenicity Island 1 (LIPI-1), CC1, CC3 and CC191 harboured the LIPI-3. The application of intensive environmental sampling plans for the detection and WGS analysis of Lm isolates could improve surveillance and early detection of outbreaks.

The rise of the grocerant: Patrons’ in-store dining experiences and consumption behaviors at grocery retail stores

Grocerants (grocery retail store + restaurant) represent a rising retail sector in the foodservice industry. The grocerant business model transforms a space of everyday mundanity (grocery retail shopping) into one of experiential value, offering consumers a social space to linger, dine, and seek nourishment all within the same commercial premise. To this end, grocerants represent an experientially driven consumption segment, a fertile context worthy of exploration yet understudied. Informed theoretically by the brand experience model, this study explored the role of grocerant patrons’ product experiences, in conjunction with the variables of need for uniqueness, product satisfaction, product involvement, price-quality schema, and behavioral intentions. A quantitative approach and a field survey method were employed, and analyses confirmed the effectiveness of the higher-order structure of product experiences (sensory, affective, behavioral, intellectual, and escapism). In addition, satisfaction, involvement, and need for uniqueness were confirmed as contributors to building favorable behavioral intentions. The link between involvement and intention was also influenced significantly by price-quality schema, and satisfaction and involvement were accounted as critical mediators. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

An integrative framework of retailscape: Case of grocery retail stores in Saudi Arabia

The aim of this study is to highlight the importance of retailscapes and their elements and how these elements can enhance customer patronage. The study, therefore, considered customer mood as moderating between retailscapes and customer joy that further leads to customer patronage. Past studies considered some retailscapes elements in a different context such as pure services industries. In contrast, this study considered the retail industry. In order to obtain study findings, a convenient sampling technique was used to collect data from targeted respondents. Respondents were the visitors of different retail stores. Since the study was limited to a single city, therefore data were collected in the capital city Riyadh of Saudi Arabia. 300 questionnaires were distributed among the customers, 289 responses were valid and the rest were discarded due to incomplete information. Collected data were analyzed using Smart-PLS and SPSS. Considered hypotheses were tested and found a significant relationship. Results clearly indicating that retailscapes have the ability to influence customer’s patronage by considering retailscape elements in the retail industry.

Supply chain risks, technological and digital challenges facing grocery retailers in South Africa

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the risks, innovations and technological enablers or barriers to the efficiency of the supply chain risk management (SCRM) implementation in the retail sector of South Africa. Design/methodology/approach This study applied a qualitative research approach by conducting interviews with grocery retail store managers. Through convenience sampling, 12 representatives from 12 stores (1 representative per store was interviewed at each of the 12 stores) were interviewed. Findings This study mainly found that most of the grocery retail stores experience late deliveries, damaged stock, theft, high fuel costs and expired stock from their respective suppliers. It was found that firms are faced with similar supply chain risks. In addition, innovations and technologies such as the internet of things (IoT) and social media are making an impact in wider industrial change. Practical implications Adaptation of efficient and effective SCRM has had implications for practice related to improvements in the retail stores’ supply chain, the profitability of retail stores, marketing, promotions and consumer experiences. Originality/value This study is unique as it provides new insight into variables that affects the quality of service in the retail sector; customer service in the retail sector; innovations and technology help mitigate SCRM experienced in the retail sector from a developing country perspective.

Avoidance of Food Waste from a Grocery Retail Store Owner’s Perspective

The aim of this paper is to examine the causes of food waste and potential prevention strategies from a grocery retail store owner’s perspective. We therefore conducted a case study in a German region through semi-structured expert interviews with grocery retail store owners. From the collected responses, we applied a qualitative content analysis. The results indicated that store owners try to avoid food waste as this incurs a financial loss for them that directly affects them personally, as opposed to store managers of supermarket chains who receive a fixed salary. The main causes of food waste in the grocery retail stores in the region surveyed are expiration dates, spoilage, consumer purchasing behavior, and over-ordering of food products. The most appropriate food waste prevention strategies developed by store owners are those based on store owners’ experience and their own management style, such as the optimization of sales and management strategies, including precise planning, accurate ordering, and timely price reductions on soon-to-be-expiring food products. The redistribution of food surpluses as donations to food banks, employees, and as animal feed further helps to reduce the amount of food waste, but not the financial loss. This study enhances the literature by revealing that grocery retail store owners have the ability and are willing to successfully implement and enforce food prevention strategies in their stores.

Association between SARS-CoV-2 infection, exposure risk and mental health among a cohort of essential retail workers in the USA

ObjectivesTo investigate SARS-CoV-2 (the virus causing COVID-19) infection and exposure risks among grocery retail workers, and to investigate their mental health state during the pandemic.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted in...

The impact of store formats and sales promotion towards consumer’s purchase decision: Case study of Indomaret in Bandung city

Much intention in the marketing literature has been placed on consumer behavior issues relating to drivers of purchase intention including store choice, marketing communication mix, promotional mix tools, and loyalty to brands. The consumer according to his social class, income, desires and other factors purchases groceries either in a traditional retail market or modern one. In developing countries, particularly in Indonesia, there is an expansion of modern retail stores at the expense of traditional stores which used to be the shopping destination of most customers. In a context of emerging economy country, the purpose of this study is to investigate and analyze the influence of store format and sales promotion on grocery retail store consumers. The analysis based on online survey of 230 consumers of the modern retail store “Indomaret” in Bandung city via application of Smartpls3, reveals findings according to which both store format and sales promotion have a significant influence on consumers’ purchase decision. The study shows the large number of students as Indomaret consumers with indicators such as coupons, shopper cards, products line, and customer care that strongly influence on consumers purchase decision.

Results of neuromarketing study of visual attention and emotions of buyers in retail store environment

Retail trade involves constant changes and trends due to influence of marketing promotions on traders themselves and their customers as well. This is an internal environment of a retail store, which is a part of factors that define customer’s buying decision. In general, more than 80% of buyers make a buying decision on the spot or the last place where buyers normally can change their mind to make a purchase. A customer’s final decision to make a purchase is affected not only by the cost of the item but also the means of marketing promotion and visual aspect of goods. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly collect factual information based on customers’ feedback on effectiveness and efficiency of these marketing promotions in real-store environment. Recent trends of marketing research development demand a wide use of research methods in conducting in-store research based on new technologies besides the traditional ones. Optimal use of new methods of neuromarketing gives more opportunity to develop efficient marketing strategy and to provoke customers’ interest and emotions as well. Techniques to stimulate customer’s interest and emotions can help increase their motivation to make a purchase followed by increase in s store’s sales and profit. In this study we have used a methodology based in neuromarketing technology to identify factors affecting customer’s visual attention and emotions in a grocery store. The study was conducted in real environment of a retail grocery store using a mobile eye camera (Eye tracker), mobile electroencephalograph (EEG), face reading technology (FA) and internal position system. The objective of the study is to identify customers’ reaction, emotions and feedback using selected neuromarketing methods in a store. At the end of the research, we have identified how neuromarketing techniques can be applied in better understanding customer behavior at a point of sale.

Data envelopment analysis for measuring performance in a competitive market

In today’s increasingly competitive markets, it is essential to be able to determine the position of a company as opposed to its competitors. Today the traditional financial ratios are most widely used to measure corporate performance, but more and more authors begin to criticize their use. It is difficult to use financial ratios as a complex measurement tool. It is crucial to use an appropriate method or tool to measure corporate performance, which can measure the company’s performance in a complex way represented by one indicator. In this study, the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method is used, which is one of the potential tools available. Several researchers have used the DEA method to measure corporate performance. Many authors consider DEA as a useful tool for measuring corporate performance, while others criticize it. The authors analyze the performance of retail food companies in Hungary’s Northern Great Plain region. The companies analyzed were chosen from the region investigated, and they have “food retail grocery store” as their main activity, and they had six cleared annual reports in the period 2012–2017. There was a total of 887 companies in the region examined, and 563 (63.5%) met the conditions. The analysis was made using the time-series data of companies for 2012–2017 based on their financial reports, and the authors dealt with various possibilities for extending DEA, which can support its more accurate use. Based on evaluating the retail food companies’ performance in the Northern Great Plain region, one can state that the efficiency of companies shows a very mixed picture over the years examined. The study suggests solutions to the indicated problem. The findings indicate that the application of extended DEA methods gives better results; that is, one can get better estimates of the efficiency of companies.