Retail Practice Research Articles

Rethinking sustainability: From seafood consumption to seafood commons

The sustainability of global fisheries has emerged as a major concern for the future of marine biodiversity. In the spheres of seafood production and consumption, strict regulation of fisheries and more recently, ethical certifications of seafood products, are favoured as a means to ensure thriving fish stocks and healthy oceans. However, research has shown that such restrictions and market-driven certifications have had mixed results, with socio-ecological impacts detrimental to the long-term sustainability of tropical fisheries in the Global South. We approach this issue of fisheries sustainability in the Global South from the perspective of common pool resources by considering the practices of seafood producers, retailers and consumers, and their inter-connectedness with marine fishing commons. We build on critical literature on commoning using data on consumption preferences of 531 seafood consumers and seafood availability in 400 seafood restaurants across 4 metros in India, and examine the extent to which seafood consumption patterns and availability can facilitate or unsettle marine fishing commons. We identify patterns of selective seafood consumption and dependence on niche markets that are translated across seafood supply chains and disrupt initiatives by fishers to sustainably manage local fisheries. We then discuss efforts to increase consumer awareness and recommend building community-supported fisheries through initiatives like InSeason Fish. In conclusion, we argue that discourse in fisheries sustainability should be theoretically recast through a ‘seafood commons’ that integrates practices of diverse resource users.

Consumer showrooming with supplier encroachment and omnichannel retailing

AbstractConsumers with uncertainty about product value often evaluate a product in a physical store but then purchase it online at a lower price. This popular shopping behavior is referred to as “showrooming.” Recent studies find that showrooming adversely affects the retailer. The advance of e‐commerce has attracted an increasing number of suppliers to the practice of building an online channel alongside their preexisting traditional retail channel and has encouraged numerous retailers to embark on the practice of omnichannel retailing. We explore the effects of consumer showrooming within a framework of both supplier encroachment and retailer omnichannel retailing where two types of consumer showrooming behaviors exist: intershowrooming and intrashowrooming. Our results show that both the supplier and the retailer can benefit from consumer showrooming when the consumers' hassle costs associated with visiting the retailer and the retailer's additional revenue associated with each visit are intermediate. Moreover, the retailer's omnichannel strategy may shrink this “win‐win” range because an extra online channel for the retailer will aggravate the competition effect of showrooming.

Women’s Czech Folk Costume: Negotiating Ambivalence and White Ethnicity in the Midwest

Folk costume is traditionally worn to represent and preserve ethnic heritage. Large numbers of Czechs emigrated to America from the 1870s to 1920s, but eventually, a generation was born that had little contact with their immigrant ancestors. The purpose of our research was to examine what role folk costume plays in the negotiation of Czech ethnic identity and how meaning is constructed and communicated through Czech folk costumes for modern-day wearers. We conducted 11 indepth, semi-structured interviews with descendants of Czech immigrants in a previously unexplored Czech population of the Midwest. We identified four major themes: feelings of connectedness; sense of pride and joy; importance of perceived authenticity; and variation, nuance, and meaning of costume construction and style. Through our work, we contribute to the preservation and documentation of modern-day Czech traditions, ongoing discussions surrounding defining cultural traditions, and business practices of retailers.

From product-oriented flight providers to customer-centric retailers: a dynamic offering framework and implementation guidelines for airlines

Industry insiders and analysts see dynamic offering—a highly responsive and customer-centric approach to offer design mirroring the practices of online retailers—as a viable instrument in airlines’ quest to regain profitability and maintain relevance in the digitalizing environment. While promising, adopting dynamic offering would also require a major overhaul of airlines’ technologies-in-use, as well as their organizational structures and processes in order to overcome the rigidities and limitations from today’s pre-defined fare-based offer creation. This paper synthesizes relevant concepts of offer management, outlines airlines’ key challenges to offer management adoption and suggests guidelines for airlines’ transition from pure flight providers to ‘airline retailers’ along six imperatives.

The neglected unity-in-variety principle: A holistic rather than a single-factor approach in conceptualising a visual merchandise display

ABSTRACT While retailers cannot stress enough the fact that, in reality, a variety of store design cues combine to make a merchandise’s visual display (VMD), the product presentation research focuses mostly on investigating the effect of a single retail display cue, at a time, on consumer product evaluations. But, is “unity-in-variety” a neglected principle in the product presentation research? Scholars are increasingly suggesting more systematic study to identify combinations of key store cues that shape a product’s display for more pertinent for the retailing practice exploratory research. In response, the present article reviews the relevant literature and organises the findings to propose a qualitative typology of VMD cues that can capture, holistically, the VMD construct. The proposed typology is then confirmed in two studies. The identified VMD cues are classified into five key VMD element categories (factors) comprising display fixtures, materials, organisation, staging technique and lighting, and all factors load on one higher-order VMD construct.

Bacteriological Analysis of Raw Beef Retailed in Selected Open Markets in Accra, Ghana

Beef is an important and popular source of protein and nutrients. Constant monitoring and evaluation of the microbiological contamination is pertinent for its safety and quality. This study aimed to assess the bacteriological profiles and the bacterial loads in beef, as well as investigate food safety practices among beef retailers in selected open markets in Accra, Ghana. This was a cross-sectional study with beef samples randomly purchased from six selected open markets in Accra metropolis. Beef samples were examined for total aerobic count (TAC) and total coliform count (TCC). Bacterial identification was performed by standard bacteriological methods and a well-structured questionnaire was administered to assess food safety and hygienic practices of beef retailers. Overall, mean TACs ranged between 2.2 × 103 and 1.3 × 104 CFU/g, while mean TCCs ranged between 1.9 × 102 and 7.4 × 102 CFU/g. Beef samples were mostly contaminated with Staphylococcus spp. (34%), Klebsiella oxytoca (17%), Enterobacter spp. (15%), and Proteus vulgaris (3%). This study showed varying levels of bacterial contamination of retailed beef sold in different Accra markets. According to the Health Protection Agency guidelines for assessing microbiological safety of ready-to-eat foods, our mean TACs were satisfactory, while mean TCCs were within borderline quality. The results of this study revealed that the majority of beef vended in open markets in Accra is contaminated with coliform and pathogenic bacteria. Therefore, more training in safe food handling and good hygiene practices is required for beef retailers. Conclusively, effective monitoring of the bacteriological profiles and bacterial loads of meat and meat products in abattoirs and points of sale should be established, since such a continuous monitoring system could help prevent potential health problems for consumers and provide information on possible sources of meat borne intoxication and infection.

Reinventing the utility for distributed energy resources: A proposal for retail electricity markets

In this paper we propose a distribution-level retail electricity market operated by a Distribution System Operator (DSO), to permit participation for small-scale distributed energy resources (DERs) in a real-time energy market. The retail market is built upon a distributed Proximal Atomic Coordination algorithm, which solves the optimal power flow using the convex nonlinear Branch Flow model, rendering spatially and temporally varying distribution-level Locational Marginal Prices. A numerical study of the market structure is carried out via simulations of the IEEE-123 node network using data from ISO-NE and Eversource in Massachusetts, US. The market performance is compared to existing retail practices, including demand response with no-export rules and net metering. Results show the DSO-centric market increases DER utilization, resulting in lower electricity rates for customers, from $0.114/kWh to $0.0291/kWh. Further, we discuss the policy implications of such a market, including DER participation models at the wholesale level in light of FERC Order 2222, and the evolving business model of the modern utility which is moving from commoditized markets towards performance-based ratemaking.

The WIC Shopping Experience: A Qualitative Study Examining Retail-based Strategies to Increase WIC Retention and Redemption Rates

ABSTRACT The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) successfully improves participant nutrition, but program effectiveness is threatened by retail shopping challenges, which may reduce benefit redemption and participant retention. Focus groups with WIC participants examined barriers to using WIC benefits and potential strategies to improve redemption. The analysis included a three-pass qualitative process using deductive and inductive thematic analysis. Barriers included confusion over finding eligible products, difficulty checking out, and perceived stigma. Strategies included promotion and strategic placement of approved items and better customer service. Retailer practices and regional policy amendments are potential strategies for improving the WIC shopping experience and program effectiveness.

Retailing local food through supermarkets: Cases from Belgium and the Netherlands

The (re)localization of food systems is often presented as an alternative to the ‘globalized’ food system and its presumed unsustainabilities. Studies on sustainability transitions and food systems (re)localization predominantly address the role of Alternative Food Networks whereas the role that conventional supermarket based retail can play has not been as thoroughly studied. Supermarkets, however, take a central position as a main access point for food. Conventional retailing practices are increasingly guided by corporate sustainability principles and therein also increasingly offering locally sourced foods. Supermarkets thus cannot be ignored in discussions on food systems (re)localization and agro-food sustainability transitions. In this paper we assess how food system (re)localization is translated within conventional globalized supermarket-based food retailing in Belgium and the Netherlands taking a practice theory informed approach. First, we discuss the tensions and reinforcing mechanisms between local and conventional food retailing. We demonstrate that to overcome tensions between local and conventional retailing there is a need for increased flexibility (i) in deviating from conventional retailing practices for individual stores; and (ii) within the definition of locality – the definition of ‘local’ determines what local practices look like. Second, we assess how local retailing relates to corporate sustainability. Conventional and local retailing practices are motivated by corporate sustainability strategies. Local retailing is predominantly motivated by social-economic sustainability considerations, whereas the environmental sustainability of local food is implicitly assumed. However, our results suggest that local food retailing may be ineffective and even counterproductive to corporate environmental sustainability objectives. Finally, we address how regional policies pushing food system localization influence local food retailing within supermarkets. Regional policies may drive supermarkets to retail local foods. Nevertheless, in the absence of a centralized strategy, store managers may find themselves stuck between their regional context and their corporate retailing practices.

To What Extent Retail Chains’ Relationships with Suppliers Make the Business Trustworthy—An Empirical Study on Fast Fashion in Pandemic Times

The current pandemic situation has created many challenges for maintaining positive relationships between fast fashion retailers and their suppliers. In the proposed paper it is assumed that strong and ethical relationships may be beneficial for all supply chain members, especially in the era of global pandemic. Therefore, the aforementioned issues (fast fashion retailers’ ethical behavior towards suppliers) constituted the subject of the paper. Our knowledge about relationships between fast retail chains and their suppliers in the times of global pandemic is relatively week. Trying to fill the gap, this paper discussed relationships between fast fashion retail chains and their suppliers’ customers on the basis of literature review and case study research. Purpose: The aim of the paper was to indicate the scope of activities undertaken by retailers and addressed at suppliers by fast fashion retail chains in pandemic times. The following goals of descriptive and cognitive character were assumed in the paper: (a) Identification of the fast fashion retailers’ common behavior in the era of pandemic, and (b) indication of ethical practices applied by fast fashion retail chains which are beneficial for all retail chain members, based on the Inditex example. Methodology: Based on the theoretic deliberation of retail chain relationships with suppliers in the pandemic times, qualitative research was conducted to supplement the theoretical background. The purpose of this study was to identify how fast fashion retailers maintain relationships with their suppliers in supply chains. The conducted research enabled us to reveal answers to the following research questions: What are good practices of fast fashion retailers in terms of relationships with suppliers? Can socially responsible, trustworthy fast fashion retailers stay profitable in the Covid-19 pandemic? The theoretical deliberation was based on a critical literature review. The empirical part of the paper was based on case study research. The conducted research was descriptive in nature, conducted in order to describe a particular phenomenon within its context, and was not intended to provide conclusive evidence, but to have a better understanding of the problem. A descriptive intrinsic case study was the method applied in the research. Results: On the grounds of literature studies, as well as collected information, we can state that close and ethical cooperation with suppliers, based on socially responsible relationships, are becoming a more and more important part of the strategy for commercial chains. There are companies that use any legal measures to not fulfil their obligations as contractors and avoid paying for orders completed and in production. The descriptive case study research allowed us to observe, analyze, and report good practices of fast fashion retailers in terms of relationships with their suppliers based on the Inditex example. The theoretical contribution: On the grounds of the case study, we can state that during pandemic times fast fashion retail chains have focused on the development of relationships with suppliers, which means changing from transactional to relationship marketing in cooperation strategies. Practical implications (if applicable): The paper provided intellectual input into the managerial problem of how to develop mutual beneficiary relationships between fast retail chains and their suppliers. The study suggests that fast fashion retail chains have to take into consideration growing customer expectations, which regard their cooperation’s strategies toward suppliers.

Pandemic Panic and Retail Reconfiguration: Consumer and Supply Chain Responses to COVID- 19

COVID-19 ignited a revolution in retail. Family and consumer sciences (FCS) professionals, including students of retail and consumer sciences, can be the change agents that create the post-pandemic retail future. Massive disruptions to traditional retail practices for both consumers and retailers will result in changed retail environments as the United States and the world recoil and enter a new era changed by the global pandemic. Consumers have experienced panic and product availability anxieties, especially in food and grocery products. Shelves have been devoid of toilet paper, antibacterial products, and flour. Online shopping, including delivery and store pickup, is the new reality, with online sales at full-assortment grocers up 325% for March 12 and 13 in the midst of the panic (Melton, 2020). Retailers, especially grocers, have scrambled to maintain inventory and boost employment to feed the population, while non grocery brick-and-mortar retailers closed their doors and lost revenue to pay employees, leases, and outstanding invoices. How long until familiar times return—or will they? Forging ahead and influencing the post-pandemic retail world presents an opportunity for FCS professionals and consumers.

Customized Targeting Strategies for Category Coupons to Maximize CLV and Minimize Cost

It is standard procedure to use short-term measures for designing customized marketing campaigns and evaluating their success. We consider the integration of customer lifetime value (CLV) thinking into the category selection problem for targeted coupons. This problem involves two primary considerations: should the coupon be a category-specific one? – and, if so, should short-term or rather long-term objectives govern the choice of category? Our paper is the first to address these questions by analyzing the effects of different customized targeting strategies for category coupons on short-term marketing costs and long-term CLV using an analytical model. We develop these targeting strategies with the help of a data-driven customer segmentation framework based on the dimensions of churn, frequency, and loyalty. Using data from a German hypermarket chain, we identify four refined targeting strategies that enable multi-category retailers to exploit the full potential of customized marketing by optimizing the trade-off between marketing cost and CLV considerations. Our analysis reveals that the targeting strategy most likely to be employed by retail practice – as compared with the one most commonly used – can yield a substantially higher CLV even as it reduces wasteful marketing costs.

The Future of Digital Communication Research: Considering Dynamics and Multimodality

Digital communication, the electronic transmission of information, reflects and influences consumers’ perceptions, attitudes, behaviors, and shopping journeys. Thus, data stemming from digital communication is an important source of insights for retailers, manufacturers, and service firms alike. This article discusses emerging trends and recent advances in digital communication research, as well as its future opportunities for retail practice and research. The authors outline four consumer–retailer domains relevant to digital communication, which in turn frame their discussion of the properties of communication dynamics (e.g., trends, variations) within messages, communicators, and their interaction, as well as communication multimodality (i.e., numeric heuristics, text, audio, image, and video). These factors are critical for understanding and predicting consumers’ behaviors and market developments. Furthermore, this article delineates conceptual and methodological challenges for researchers working in contexts that feature dynamics and multimodality. Finally, this article proposes an agenda for continued research, with the goal of stimulating further efforts to unlock the “black boxes” of digital communication and gain insights into both consumers and markets.

A model and solution approach for store-wide shelf space allocation

Store space is limited and one of the most costly resources of retailers. Retailers have to apportion available store space among the individual product categories of a store and therefore assign a certain share of shelf space to each category. Assigning more shelf space to one category requires reducing the number of shelves for another category as total space is limited. Reducing available shelf space in turn decreases assortment size and lessens the presentation quantity of products and vice versa. Both affect the demand of products and ultimately the profitability of the entire category such that the profit contribution of a category depends on its shelf size. This interrelation between category sizes and store profits needs to be taken into account for the shelf space assignment to categories and the space allocation for individual products.We introduce a store-wide shelf space model that optimizes shelf space assignment for categories based on the profit contribution of the corresponding product allocations. We decompose the problem into two hierarchically interlinked subproblems and show that the solution approach suggested works efficiently and provides solutions that are applicable to large problems in retail practice. In a case study with a major European retailer, we show that profits at stores can be improved by 3.2% using our approach. Further, we use simulated data to generalize the findings and derive managerial insights.

From communism to capitalism: Tallinna Kaubamaja – Estonia's department store

ABSTRACT Tallinna Kaubamaja opened its door in July 1960, and is the oldest and largest (in terms of sales) department store in Estonia. Tallinna Kaubamaja (Estonian for ‘Tallinn Trading House’, but known in English as Tallinn's Department Store), has gone through a number of changes over the past sixty years, both in terms of physical renovations, but also in terms of management and retail practices. Tallinna Kaubamaja is an exemplar of one of the few traditional department stores that had opened during the Soviet period, continued to exist during the re-independence period in the early 1990′s, the privatization period in the mid 1990s, and a period of expansion and greater competition through the first two decades of the twenty-first century. The focus of this historical review is to address the following questions; how did this traditional department store manage to succeed for six plus decades through such change, and what is the legacy of being a Soviet era store located in country that was vehemently opposed to being a Republic in the USSR?

Empire by emulation: Brazilian business elites encounter the U.S. department store

ABSTRACT This paper examines the role of Brazilian businessmen in recreating aspects of the culture of U.S.-style consumer capitalism in their own country, especially through their emulation of the North American department store. Rather than an imposition from without, the reshaping of Brazilian retailing practice and culture in the middle decades of the twentieth century was largely the work of native-born Brazilian elites, some of whom were hugely successful, and whose success was part of a larger remaking of modern Brazil.

As the wheel turns toward the future of retailing

ABSTRACT What does the future hold for retailers? Certainly, many eras previous to the big-data and pandemic eras have come and gone and that same question could raise anxiety among those invested in retailing. Few metaphors in marketing have proved as enduring as the wheel of retailing. The contribution here is to discuss retail practice and research trends framed by the realization that, in some ways, nothing is new. Clearly, from a technology standpoint, we see changes in the tools of retailing at an ever-more rapid rate. But, the hub of the retail wheel is the customer and the value creation needed to promote retail success proves enduring. We conclude the discussion with an inventory of research items to keep academicians busy for the foreseeable future and by putting forth a definition of retailing that spans generations past and to come.

E-commerce as the predominant business model of fast fashion retailers in the era of global COVID 19 pandemics

The current pandemic situation creates several challenges for many entities. One of them is the fact that fast fashion retailers have to change their strategic activities related to the whole business model concept. In the proposed paper it is assumed that business model plays crucial role as the success factor for entities from different industries including fast fashion retailing especially in the era of global pandemics. Therefore, the aforementioned area (business model as the success factor of the company) constitutes the subject of the paper.Purpose. The aim of the paper is to indicate the scope and main character of changes in business models implemented by fast fashion retailers in pandemic times. The following goals of descriptive and cognitive character are assumed in the paper: a) identification of the fast fashion retailers’ common activities in changing business models in the era of pandemics, and b) identification of e-commerce solutions applied by fast fashion retail chains which are caused by development of multi-channel and omni-channel solutions based on Inditex example.Methodology. Based on the theoretic deliberation of retail chains business models in the pandemic times, qualitative research was conducted to supplement the theoretical background. The purpose of this study was to identify how fast fashion retailers develop their e-commerce solutions to maintain the sales level. The conducted research enabled finding the answers to the following research questions: What are the good practices of fast fashion retailers in terms of development of e-commerce channels? Can fast fashion retailers relying on e-commerce business models stay profitable in the Covid-19 pandemics? The theoretic deliberation is based on critical literature review. The empirical part of the paper is based on case study research. The conducted research was descriptive in nature, conducted in order to describe a particular phenomenon within its context, and was not intended to provide conclusive evidence, but to have a better understanding of the problem. Descriptive intrinsic case study was the method applied in the research.Results. On the grounds of literature studies, as well as collected information, it can be stated that e-commerce solutions are the predominant business model of fast fashion retailers in the era of global COVID 19 pandemics. The descriptive case study research allowed to observe, analyse, and report good practices of fast fashion retailer Inditex in terms of implementing into their business models more and more e-commerce solutions such as: development of applications, development of multi and omni channels.The theoretical contribution. On the grounds of the case, it can be stated that during pandemics fast fashion retail chains focus on development of innovative business models based on e-commerce solutions.Practical implications (if applicable). The paper provides intellectual input into the managerial problem of how to develop mutual beneficiary business models for fast retail chains as well as for their customers. The study suggests that fast fashion retail chains have to take into consideration growing customers expectation, with regard to e-commerce solutions.

Ecologization of retail: Russian experience

The paper analyzes the changes that have occurred in retail trade under the influence of eco-friendly trends in Russia. The paper defines the terms ecologization and ecologization of retail. There are three main directions of retail development: commodity ecologization, greening business processes and ecologization of the consumer environment. The paper presents an analysis of innovations in each of the areas of greening. The main elements of commodity greening are the introduction of eco-packaging into the product range and the introduction of eco-packages. For industrial greening, it is recommended to organize work with suppliers taking into account the need for the turnover of reusable containers and pay special attention to the management of goods with an expiring shelf life. The organization of the collection of secondary raw materials on the territory of stores is considered as the greening of the consumer environment. The paper emphasizes the importance of using eco-friendly innovations in the marketing and advertising strategies of stores. For the analysis, the practice of large Russian retailers, such as “X5 Retail Group”, “Magnit”, “Lenta”, “VkusVill” was used.

Determining factors of retailers’ assortment supply

Modern retailers’ assortment supply is determined by various factors, taking into account the developed business point-of-sale concepts and formats, the chosen organizational and legal form, the characteristics of the consumer segments and the specifics of the current competitors’ market policy. The main aim of the present study is to make a theoretical and empirical interpretation of the essential nature of the factors for determining the assortment supply and on this basis to provide successful examples from the Bulgarian retail practice taking into account the achieved economic outcomes. The outlined research problems presuppose conducting a review of the specialized literature. Conceptual views and opinions on the process of determining assortment supply are presented. The scientific research methods, which are applied, include: factor analysis and synthesis, comparison, generalization, induction and deduction, illustration. The research outcomes are synthesized in the formulated conclusions and are related to assessing the impact of the studied factors on retailers’ assortment supply.