Retail Sites Research Articles

Evaluation of a Longitudinal Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience

Objective. To describe satisfaction and career path of students who participated in the longitudinal advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE). Methods. A 3-part survey was administered to students enrolled between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2013. The sections of the survey evaluated respondents' baseline characteristics, satisfaction, and career path. Results. Majority of the respondents had a GPA above 3.0 (91%), pharmacy school honors (84%), work experience in retail (16%) or multiple pharmacy sites (38%), and were members of at least one professional organization (76%). Sixty-nine percent reported that the program exceeded their expectations. Strengths included practice site consistency, rotation diversity, preceptors, presentations, and collaboration with health care professionals. Students gained approximately 76 hours of additional clinical experience, compared to if they completed rotations at individual sites. After graduation, more than half of the respondents accepted a pharmacy practice residency (67%). Conclusion. The results of this study support the need for APPE programs that prepare students to deliver advanced patient care, while providing them with professional development.

Consumers’ cognitive response to website change

The issue of understanding consumers’ responses to different levels and types of change in a retail website is beginning to receive increased attention. This study extends research which has been conducted to date by examining the cognitive side of consumer response to change. Specifically, this paper develops and tests an empirical model that explores the role of curiosity, control, performance, utilitarian value and hedonic value as cognitive components of consumer's response to change. The results of an online experiment demonstrate significant cognitive responses from both types of change, with the overall response from task-relevant change demonstrating negative impacts, and non-task-relevant change demonstrating positive impacts. In addition, a number of mediated paths are identified.

Medicina herbal china ofertada en páginas web en español: calidad de la información y riesgos

ObjectiveThe growing use of purchase online via Internet retailers favours the access to potentially toxic natural products. It also contributes to the quick dissemination of the claims made by the retailers on efficacy and safety, these claims being not always based upon reliable information. Here, we have conducted an online search to find Spanish-language retail websites for Chinese herbal medicine and we have analysed them for the quality of product information and the potential health risks. Methodsi) Online search in Google España to find Spanish-language retail websites for Chinese herbal medicine in which we analysed both the claims regarding possible health benefits and adequate safe use indications ii) Identification of potentially toxic herbs in the websites iii) Quantification of Chinese herbal medicines withdrawn by the Agencia Española de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios (AEMPS). Results1) Only one third of the 30 Spanish-language retail websites found which sell Chinese herbal medicine observe the law, given that the other websites include illegal Western disease claims as marketing tools, 2) Five websites provide some safety information, 3) Two websites offer potentially toxic herbs and 4) Chinese herbal medicine adulterated with sibutramine, silfenafil or their analogues make a considerable percentage of the total products withdrawn by the AEMPS. ConclusionOnline health seekers should be warned about misinformation on retail websites for Chinese herbal medicine and directed to a Spanish government Web site for guidance in safely navigating the Internet for buying Chinese herbal medicine.

Three dimensional product presentation quality antecedents and their consequences for online retailers: The moderating role of virtual product experience

This study investigates the impact of three-dimensional (3D) product presentation quality (3D-Q) on attitude toward presented product and attitude toward website, which in turn affect users’ satisfaction. Therefore, this research developed a hypothetical online retailer website, which presents a variety of 3D laptops that allows users to control the content and form of the 3D flashes. We measured 3D-quality based on a multi-dimensional construct. In other words, we define and operationalize 3D-quality based on information quality, system quality, authenticity, and enjoyment (second-order). We employed a non-student sample (n=410) to collect the data. We find that 3D-quality determines perceptions of attitude toward presented product and attitude toward website, which in turn influence users’ satisfaction. Furthermore, we find that virtual product experience moderates the relationships between attitude toward presented product, attitude toward website and users’ satisfaction. Our study provides important implications for e-tailers.

Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS): Mapping the Indian Online Retail Market.

Motivating tobacco consumers to change their behavior, and harm reduction strategies, are the predominant traditional approaches to tobacco cessation. Recent trends worldwide have shown the emergence of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), such as electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), as a purported harm reduction strategy to traditional cigarettes. Considering the global rise in the popularity of ENDS, our study aims to survey the online retail market for ENDS in India. The current study was conducted in September-October, 2015 and 4 keywords were used to search Google India to identify online retail websites marketing ENDS. Each website was searched using the same keywords and all specific website pages displaying ENDS models were considered. Thus, data was obtained for various measures of ENDS present on the model descriptions. A total of 6 retail shopping websites were searched which revealed 65 different models of ENDS (34 brands). Forty-five models (69%) were flavored and 21 models (33%) mentioned about nicotine strengths. Seventeen models (26%) provided health warnings in their product descriptions. "No tar no tobacco" was most common claim accounting to 34 models (51%). This article provide insight into the current status of evident online sales of ENDS in India. There is urgent need to implement regulations on online sales of these products and protect the future from such approaches of tobacco control which still have divided opinions. The study permits the use of web search engine to explore market availability of ENDS at various online retail websites. Recommendations from the study can be used to guide policy makers in developing strategies tailored to regulate availability and online sales of ENDS in India.

Effect of eWOM Valence on Online Retail Sales

Online retail sector in India has witnessed a phenomenal growth in recent times. Online shopping has also become a popular trend among the younger generation in India. Increasing number of shoppers visit online retailer websites and read online reviews before making their purchase decision. The online reviews or electronic word of mouth (eWOM) becomes an important guiding tool for the online shoppers with its intrinsic product information and evaluation characteristics. The present study aims to analyze the effects of various eWOM antecedents on online sales by considering the effects of positive and mixed-neutral eWOM (MNWOM) valence (stimuli) on sales. It also explores the role of market-level eWOM factors, such as price, on online sales of security products like antivirus software. The confirmatory bias of these factors was noted, while the elaboration likelihood model (ELL) has been used to understand the relative importance of these factors in influencing customers’ purchase decision and sales. Further, a content analysis method supplemented by a multiple regression method was used to analyze 205 real-time online sales (reviews from verified purchasers) data pertaining to popular and top-selling antivirus products taken from two leading e-commerce websites. The study contributes as a pioneering effort in the domain with the use of innovative methodology of capturing real-time online data with a subsequent kappa statistics validation. The results showed a new insightful perspective of eWOM valence and price on sales, and provided further research directions.

Occurrence of Clostridium perfringens in sausages sold in Meknes city, Morocco.

In Morocco, the consumption of meat products has experienced a sharp increase in recent years despite the presence of pathogenic bacteria due to hygiene failure. The present study was designed to determine the prevalence of Clostridium perfringens in sausages sold in Meknes city (Morocco) and to study the different factors affecting it contamination with this bacterium. To this end, 156 samples of sausages were taken in various shopping sites during one year from March 2014 to February 2015. The microbiological analysis was carried out using the specific medium for isolation and identification of C. perfringens. ANOVA test was used for Statistical analysis (p< 0.05). The results of this study showed the presence of C. perfringens in 77.56% (121 of 156) samples, with 88.88% (32 of 36) in street vendors, 79.16% (19 of 24) in a weekly market, 70.83% (51 of 72) in butchery and 62.5% (15 of 24) in a supermarket. The average rate was 2.42 Log CFU/g, with a minimum value of 0 CFU/g recorded in several outlets and a maximum value of 6.05 Log CFU/g recorded in butchery. This study reveals that the contamination rate of sausages with C. perfringens is related to the sausages origin, retail sites and seasonal variations related to temperature increase.

Modified Importance-Performance Analysis of E-service Quality

This study develops a comprehensive framework of e-service quality, and measures the e-service quality based on modified importance-performance analysis. Based on 300 consumer surveys of four popular retail websites, this study develops an e-service quality scale derived from previous studies, and compares the importance and performance of e-service quality by “regression coefficient approach” and “partial correlation approach”. Modified importance-performance analysis covers the verification of reliability and validity with critical statistical analysis, and offers different e-service quality management strategies for each attribute depending on the quadrant that it is positioned in both “regression coefficient approach” and “partial correlation approach”. 5 attributes are in the “concentrate here” quadrant. 1 attribute is in the “keep up the good work” quadrant. 2 attributes are in the “low priority” quadrant. 7 attributes are in the “possible overkill” quadrant. The results help practitioners to identify what problems exist, and formulate strategies to meet the consumers' needs.

Demand management to mitigate impacts of plug-in electric vehicle fast charge in buildings with renewables

Plug-in electric vehicle penetration is increasing due to technical advancements and environmental concerns. Along with residential plug-in electric vehicle charging, the public charging infrastructure is much needed to reduce plug-in electric vehicles' range anxiety and foster their adoption. Renewable energy and demand management programs are considered viable options that can reduce the impacts of widespread plug-in electric vehicle penetration on the electric grid. This research studies the impacts of plug-in electric vehicle direct current fast charging on a simulated standalone retail building's peak demand and energy consumption, and presents the ability of renewable energy and demand management options to reduce their impacts. Additionally, insights into a public charge station usage are presented by monitoring different types of plug-in electric vehicle charge behaviors at a retail site. Research findings indicate that demand management of building end-use loads along with the use of solar photovoltaic can contribute to absorbing plug-in electric vehicle penetration at the building level ranging from the average of 7% for the demand management option alone to an average of 38% for the combination of demand management and solar photovoltaic, and contributing to shifting building peak demand to late evening hours.

Retail Planning for Regional Development: The Design of Resilient Scenarios in Trentino (Italy)

The paper presents the recent evolution and development of Trentino retail planning policies and discusses an experimentation of a meta-evaluation methodology, namely TIE (Territorial Integrated Evaluation), for designing retail resilient scenarios. A research team from the Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning of Politecnico di Torino applied this methodology experimentally to the practices of spatial planning in order to integrate territory and retail in the Trentino development policies. The application of TIE set out to design territorial retail scenarios that integrated various topics—retail, tourism, infrastructure, nature and landscape. On the base of TIE principles and criteria, each VC (Valley Community) is now implementing how to design its territorial scenarios assuming different approaches and visions according to its retail opportunities and risks. Starting from some best practices, the paper focuses on the innovative perspective for retail planning and for retail sites designed in Trentino. The emerging regional policy is aimed at linking quality of territorial retail development with environmental sustainability, respecting attractiveness and balance among different retail sites

Recall en la industria alimentaria: una estrategia sanitaria por implementar en Colombia

Las medidas sanitarias y fitosanitarias en los mercados internacionales han llevado a que la industria alimentaria cuente con alarmas técnicas durante sus procesos de comercialización; una de las estrategias utilizadas por algunos estados para regular las alarmas es el Recall. Este proceso, que consiste en el retiro de productos del mercado, previene impactos negativos en la salud de la población y en la reputación de la industria del sector alimentario ya que garantiza la inocuidad y calidad de los alimentos que llegan al consumidor. El Recall obliga a un plan de retiro en anaquel en los sitios de venta o en alguna de las fases de producción, para lo cual se debe implementar un sistema de trazabilidad que permita rastrear un producto durante toda la cadena productiva a través de una adecuada codificación. Del mismo modo, esta estrategia demanda un marco jurídico y regulatorio en cada país que requiere colaboración de la industria, el consumidor y las ligas y asociaciones de consumidores. Colombia tiene acciones de gestión de alerta sanitaria para tomar decisiones a fin de proteger la salud pública del país, pero están limitadas a dos sistemas de alerta que trabajan en coordinación con las alertas sanitarias emitidas por organismos reguladores internacionales que cuentan con un sistema propio.

Construal Levels and Online Shopping: Antecedents of Visits to and Purchases from Online Retailers’ Websites

Purpose - This study explores the role of construal levels in predicting online consumer behavior on a retail website. It builds on the conceptualization that simply browsing a website and making actual purchases can be an outcome of how abstractly or concretely one thinks about that experience. This study examines the differential effects of intermediary websites' attributes and seller's product offerings in predicting frequency of visits and actual purchases. Research design, data, and methodology - Data were collected from 188 undergraduate students in a large university of Korea. Hierarchical regression model was utilized to test the proposed effect of website characteristics and seller attributes on visit and purchase. Results - We propose and find that online shopping website visits and purchase frequency have different antecedents. The results reveal that website visit frequency and purchase have different predictors and this can be explained through construal level theory. Specifically, we find purchase frequency is predicted more by website image and financial benefits can be more predictive in actual purchases. Conclusions - Consumer behavior on the internet can be delineated into website visits and actual purchases. First, uplifting the image of the website itself is much more important than just making offerings cheaper. Online shopping website should try to match its features to mental representations that customers go through from just visit (abstract) to purchase (concrete).

Selling Health and Fitness to Sporty Sisters: A Critical Feminist Multi-Modal Discourse Analysis of the Lorna Jane Retail Website

In this paper, I conduct a feminist multimodal critical discourse analysis (FMCDA) of the Lorna Jane (LJ) retail website (www.lornajane.com.au), an Australian fitness fashion company, to examine the discursive strategies used by the company to authorize a particular notion of “active living” for women. Specifically, I shall examine how the semiotic choices on the LJ website signify key discourses and themes related to health and fitness and how they are used to place the responsibility for fitness and health onto individual women. In particular, I focus on the discourses inscribed through the technologies, styles, fabrics, colors, cuts, and sizing of LJ clothing items. I am also interested in the underlying choices, assumptions, and biases of these constructions and the power relationships underpinning them. I conclude that “empowerment” for women on the LJ website is imagined in a limited, individualistic way.

Engaging customers during a website visit: a model of website customer engagement

Purpose A customer’s visit to a retail website is a critical “moment of truth” during which contemporary retailers attempt to simultaneously, during a single web navigation, capture customers’ attention, build rapport, and prompt them to act. By showing how to capture customer commitment over the course of a single website visit, the concept of customer website engagement, defined as “the process of developing cognitive, affective and behavioural commitment to an active relationship with the website”, addresses strategic concerns. Drawing from literature on engagement, the purpose of this paper is to consider how retail websites can engage customers during the course of a website navigation. A conceptual model of website customer engagement underpinned by relationship marketing and communication knowledge, shows how perceptions of the website’s exploration and sense-making potential can activate consumer engagement, and is then empirically tested. Design/methodology/approach Using survey data, measures of the four dimensions of engagement (interaction engagement, activity engagement, behavioural engagement, and communication engagement) and of three drivers are developed and validated. The model is tested empirically (n=301) using structural equation modelling. Findings The results support the process conceptualisation of engagement, which identifies organismic as well as conative stages, and show the distinct roles played by perceptions of informational exploration, experiential exploration and sense-making in activating engagement. Practical implications The study provides online retailing practice with an organising framework enabling online retailing managers to consider how, depending on their product category and their size, they might (re)design their website to optimally produce customer engagement. Originality/value The study contributes to online marketing and retailing knowledge by showing the relevance of the concept of engagement as it pertains to customers’ single navigations on retail websites, and by empirically showing, through a parsimonious model, how engagement can be activated and unfold.

How perceived cognitive needs fulfillment affect consumer attitudes toward the customized product: The moderating role of consumer knowledge

Voluntary participation in adaptive customization (AC) entails consumers’ own mental engagement that evokes perceptions of cognitive needs fulfillment (CNF). This study examined the effect of CNF perceived during the process of AC services on felt emotions and consumer attitudes toward the customized product, and the moderation role of consumer knowledge. A total of 327 Americans participated in an online survey after experiencing AC services at 3 actual retail websites. The results revealed the following: (a) Perceived CNF (competence and autonomy) increased positive felt emotions (pleasure and arousal); (b) out of the two emotions, felt pleasure (not arousal) significantly contributed to positive consumer attitudes toward the customized product; (c) subjective levels of consumer knowledge showed a partial moderating effect in the relationships between CNF and felt emotions, (d) but did not do so in the relationships between felt emotions and consumer attitudes toward the customized product.

Online E-cigarette Marketing Claims: A Systematic Content and Legal Analysis.

Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), or e-cigarettes, are heavily marketed online. The purpose of our study was to perform a systematic identification and evaluation of claims made within ENDS retailer and manufacturer websites, and the legal status of such claims. We employed a systematic search protocol with popular search engines using 6 terms: (1) e-cigarettes; (2) e-cigs; (3) e-juice; (4) e-liquid; (5) e-hookah; and (6) vape pen. We analyzed English-language websites where ENDS are sold for implicit and explicit health-related claims. A legal analysis determined whether such claims are permissible under the US Food and Drug Administration's regulations. The vast majority of ENDS manufacturer (N = 78) and retailer (N = 32) websites made at least one health-related claim (77% and 65%, respectively). Modified risk claims and secondhand smoke-related claims were most prevalent, with an average of 2 claims per site. Health-related claims are plentiful within ENDS manufacturer and retailer websites. Results demonstrate that these sites focus on potential benefits while minimizing or eliminating information about possible harmful effects of ENDS. These claims are subject to the current regulatory authority by the FDA, and pose a risk of misinforming consumers.

Biosampling strategies for emerging drugs of abuse: towards the future of toxicological and forensic analysis

The term “new psychoactive substances” refers to emerging drugs of abuse whose chemical structure and psychoactive effects are similar to other already known compounds, often providing a “legal” alternative to internationally regulated drugs and mostly available via on-line retail sites. There are several categories of new psychoactive substances, such as synthetic cannabinoids, cathinone analogues, phenethylamines, tryptamines, and the need to identify and quantify an unprecedented and growing number of new compounds represents a unique challenge for toxicological and forensic analysis.The purpose of this review is to highlight biosampling, sample preparation and analysis of the most important classes of emerging drugs of abuse in biological matrices, focusing on alternatives to classical blood and urine “in tube” approach, still representing the standard routine for bioanalysis, despite inherent flaws regarding handling, stability and process feasibility.Chromatographic techniques coupled to mass spectrometry are usually exploited to identify and quantify new psychoactive substances; due to their high sensitivity and selectivity, it is possible to determine low concentrations not only in plasma and urine, but also in alternative matrices like dried blood spots, oral fluid, hair, other body fluids and tissues. Current literature on analytical methodologies applied to these samples is still limited and a more thorough validation is often required, including a comparison among the results obtained from conventional approaches and from innovative strategies, in order to determine their actual suitability.

The Impact of Review Environment on Review Credibility

Research problem: Increasingly, professional and technical communicators analyze, synthesize, and respond to user-generated content, including online consumer reviews of products, as the influence of user-generated content on consumers' purchasing decisions grows. But product reviews vary in the degree to which people perceive them to be credible. Research questions: (1) To what extent does a product review's environment—a retailer or brand site—affect review users' ratings of that review's credibility? (2) To what extent does review valence (positive versus negative) affect review users' ratings of review credibility? (3) What is the strength of the relationship among credibility and its two main components, trustworthiness and expertise? Literature review: Recent research has made clear the spread and the influence of user-generated comments and, thus, the need for sophistication in handling it. Review credibility has two main components: trustworthiness (which equates to honesty or sincerity) and expertise (which equates to accuracy). Prior research also shows the effects of valence (positivity or negativity) in reviews, noting that negative reviews have more influence than positive reviews on readers' perceptions of review credibility and purchasing decisions. Methodology: We tested the effect of a consumer review's environment (brand or retailer site) and the effect of review valence (positive or negative) on the perceived credibility of that review, as well the degree of correlation among credibility, trustworthiness, and expertise. Through an online survey, we exposed respondents to the same review text with different star ratings (4-star and 2-star) in two types of sites: brand and retailer. We asked participants to evaluate the review's credibility, trustworthiness, and expertise. In half of the exposures, participants evaluated a review in the site of a high-credibility company (Apple or Amazon), and in the other half of exposures, participants evaluated a review in the site of a midlevel-credibility company (Dell or Walmart). Results and conclusions: Credibility strongly correlated with both trustworthiness and expertise. Participants rated 4-star reviews as more credible than 2-star reviews on high-credibility sites, but star ratings had no impact on midlevel credibility sites. We found no difference between ratings of reviews displayed on brand and retailer sites for midlevel-credibility companies but a small difference between reviews displayed on brand and retailer sites for high-credibility companies. Professional communicators should attend to reviews posted both to retailer and brand sites. Conclusions: Professional communicators charged with managing user-generated content need not spend resources on channeling it into retailer and other independent review site environments as opposed to brand site environments. Our findings indicate that professional communicators looking to identify credible reviews should attend to review valence, or the positivity or negativity of a review. When managing user-generated product reviews, they should try to make credible content more noticeable to review users.

An Empirical Investigation of Online Gray Markets

A gray market is an unauthorized distribution channel of genuine branded products. Worldwide gray markets compete with authorized distribution channels of branded products and pose significant challenges to brand owners on the management of global supply chains. Therefore, it is important for brand owners to understand sellers’ and buyers’ behavior in gray markets in order to better address this threat. In recent years, online gray markets, a rapidly growing form of gray marketing, have seen significant growth and provide us an unprecedented opportunity to empirically investigate this phenomenon. In this study, we tracked the number of online gray market sellers and transactions on the largest Internet retail website in China for a 34-week period. We focus on two channel control strategies that brand owners can proactively adopt to manage online gray market incidents: controlling product availability and pricing. The results show that less expensive styles are offered by a larger number of gray market sellers and have more transactions. While product availability is positively associated with the number of online gray market sellers, its impact on online gray market transaction quantities is insignificant. This study provides important implications on managing global supply chains that are relevant for researchers and practitioners alike.

An examination of retail website design and conversion rate

Retailers and manufacturers widely use Internet retailing as part of a multichannel promotion and distribution strategy. The rate at which site visitors convert to customers is low for online retail, resulting in high customer acquisition costs. Almost 96% of website visits end with no consumer purchase. This study examines empirical associations between website features and online conversion rates through regression analysis. Results indicate that certain website design features do explain a sizeable portion of the variance converting e-commerce visitors to purchasers. Features that promote flow, a psychological state of immersion into an activity, positively associate with conversion.