Retail Sites Research Articles

Can involvement increase trust in a confusing online setting? Implications for marketing strategy

Purpose: Customer trust toward e-commerce has been unsettled by recent unethical events. Involvement, the level of personal relevance of an object or event, has been proved to enhance trust. Nevertheless, in a complicated online shopping environment, the relationship between involvement and trust might undergo changes. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how consumer involvement can be translated into trust that is crucial to the success of online transactions in such a confusing setting. Design/methodology/approach: This study explores the relationships between involvement (i.e., purchase and product involvement) and trust (i.e., trust in e-vendors, retail websites and brands). This study also tests the moderating effects of confusion on the purchase involvement–trust relationship. Using 570 effective samples randomly collected in Guangdong, China, this study employed structural equation modelling to test a proposed hypotheses. Findings: The results show that purchase involvement has a negative impact on trust in e-vendors, retail websites and brands, whereas product involvement demonstrates a positive effect. Moreover, confusion reinforces the negative relationship between purchase involvement and trust in e-vendors. Practical implications: To increase customer trust, marketers should invite regular customers to recommend their products and services, become associated with e-service providers and brands and design distinct logos, slogans and advertising styles. Originality/value: This paper explores the direct effect of involvement on trust in multiple online contextual situations (e.g., platforms, brands and e-vendors), as well as the moderating effect of confusion on the involvement–trust relationship.

COVID-19’s Effects on Turkish Online Retail Consumers’ Retail Website Visiting Behavior

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the economy on a global scale with its impacts on the way people work, socialize, shop and more. With many people started working remotely, and adopting self-quarantine like measures, the changes they make in their lives inevitably shaped a new normal where they change their daily habits, shopping included. This study aims to find out how the online shoppers’ online retailer website visits are affected by the revealed daily new cases, deaths, and recoveries from COVID-19 pandemic. Results of the study shows that there is a strong correlation, in general, between the daily online retailer website visit numbers and daily COVID-19 progression in Turkey between the dates of 10/04/2020, the day Turkish government first announced a curfew in all major cities, and 01/08/2020. Further, 28/06/2020 is identified as the start of the “normalization period” as it was the date President Erdoğan made it public that Turkey was to resume intra-country transportation, public transportation services, and public places were to re-open on 01/07/2020. When the data is split from the start of the normalization process, it was seen that the correlations still exist with some exceptions in pre-normalization and normalization periods within the studied dates. Also, three patterns that websites from the same online retail category follow are defined. The results suggest that the online retailer websites’ number of visits are correlated with the COVID-19 statistics revealed by the Turkish Ministry of Health; ergo the online consumers’ behavior is affected by COVID-19 pandemic.

Інноваційні методи підходу у маркетинговій діяльності торговельного підприємства

The article is about innovative methods of approach in marketing activities of commercial enterprises. Generated the urgency of this issue and clarified the role of the importance of using innovative methods. Conducted content analysis of the concept of «innovation» and discussed four types of innovations encompassing a wide range of changes characteristic of enterprises activities: product, process, organizational and marketing. The aim of the article is analysis of modern innovative methods of approachto marketing activities and the rationale for their implementation to improve the commercial enterprise. Objectives: to implement the essence of the concept «innovation», to review the results of successful innovation. It was determined that in trade the main task of innovation is to improve the development phase, sale and management of commercial premises, quality of customer service and other retail operations.Analyzed that the rapid development and accessibility of the Internet provides new opportunities for goal achievement. The benefits of innovative technological method to get yourself a trading company and buyers. Commissioning of various online strategies that will give a positive result only then when it will be organized in close cooperation with all the open and existing resources. It will provide an opportunity for more effectiveinteraction and providing endless possibilities for buyers to make a purchase anytime, anywhere, any most convenient way.It was determined that only all stages of development and a close relationship will provide significant advantages to the enterprise: innovation marketing, innovation strategy, innovation. It is the introduction and use of these methods provide for the modernization, enhancement, improvement and optimization of trading activities of the enterprise. Is the key to increasing the attention of customers to the retail site. We see prospects for further research in determining the relationship of stakeholders of a trading company.

Prevalence, characterization and antimicrobial resistance of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from beef meat in Meknes city, Morocco.

Listeria monocytogenes is one of the most pathogenic bacteria related to the consumption of contaminated food. This study aims to determine the prevalence of L. monocytogenes in raw beef meat in Meknes city of Morocco, to evaluate its pathogenicity and resistance to antimicrobials. During four seasons, a total of 140 samples were collected from supermarkets, butcheries and Souk (weekly traditional market). The PCR method was used to examine the presence of specific and virulence genes in the isolated strains, and also to identify their serotypes. The antimicrobial resistance was determined. The results show a prevalence of 7.14% which depends on retail sites and also on the season's variation. The majority of the strains were detected in butcheries (6 strains), and supermarkets (4 strains). Moreover, the majority of strains were detected during summer (50%). Concerning virulence genes, the seven researched genes were detected in 100% of isolated strains. The majority of strains were of the (1/2a, 1/2c, 3a and 3c) serogroup (70%), while two of them were of the (1/2b, 3b, 4b and 4d) serogroup (20%). All isolates were resistant to at least one antimicrobial, while three strains were resistant to nine tested antimicrobials. However, they were highly susceptible to amikacin, imipenem, gentamicin, sulfamethoxazole and chloramphenicol. According to results, isolated L. monocytogenes from analyzed beef meat shows a high level of pathogenicity and resistance to the most used antimicrobials in listeriosis therapy, which calls for the severe application of quality systems at the slaughterhouses and retail sites level.

NLP based Extraction of Relevant Resume using Machine Learning

Today, the proportion of bits of knowledge making is incredibly tremendous. Dependent upon the adjustments of estimations, immense information involves social Data, machine data, and trade-based Data. Social estimations gathered from Facebook, Twitter, etc. Machine information is RFID chip examining, GPRS, etc. Trade based bits of knowledge consolidate retail site's information. Around the assortments of different sorts of estimations first segment is printed content real factors. Content information is sorted out information. Deriving of high five star sorted out records from the unstructured printed content is artistic substance examination. Changing over unstructured real factors into critical records is a book assessment process.CV parsing is one of the substance examination strategies. It is keep parsing or extraction of CV.CV parser combines the candidate's resume with selection gems flow and thusly systems moving toward CV's. This paper proposes a CV parser adjustment of the usage of artistic substance examination. The proposed CV parser interpretation isolates substances required in the enlistment methodology inside the associations

Are the Nutrient and Textural Properties of Australian Commercial Infant and Toddler Foods Consistent with Infant Feeding Advice?

Abstract Objectives Australian Infant Feeding Guidelines recommend first foods be iron rich with no added sugars and that nutrient poor discretionary foods be avoided. They also encourage exposing infants to a variety of foods and flavours with increasingly complex textures. Here, we compare nutritional and textural properties of commercially available infant and toddler foods with established guidelines. Methods Infant and toddler food products available as of August 2019 were identified by searching for ‘baby food’ on retailer websites and by location in the ‘baby food’ section of major supermarket chains (Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and Foodland) in Adelaide, South Australia. Manufacturer websites were cross checked to identify all available products. Nutrient composition of foods was obtained from the nutrient information panel on the product label, manufacturer or retailer websites. In total, 446 products from 17 brands were reviewed, which accounted for over 90% of the market share. Results Most products were poor sources of iron, and 80% of first foods were fruit-based. Half of all products were purees in squeeze pouches and one third of all products were discretionary foods. The nutritional content of many products was inconsistent with guidelines, being low in iron, sweet, smooth in consistency, or classified as discretionary. Conclusions Reformulation of products is warranted to improve iron content, particularly in mixed main dishes, expand the range of vegetable only foods, and textural variety. Greater regulatory oversight and front of package labelling are needed to better inform parents and caregivers. Frequent consumption of commercial baby foods low in iron may increase risk of iron deficiency. Excessive consumption of purees via squeeze pouches may also have implications for overweight and obesity risk. Funding Sources There are no funding sources to declare for this research.

Site Selection Improvement of Retailers Based on Spatial Competition Strategy and a Double-Channel Convolutional Neural Network

The issue of site selection has become a critical challenge in the development of the retail industry with the growth of the Chinese economy and the improvement in the level of household consumption. Previous studies have considered the area of stores as the main factor of retail competition; however, the actual business performance of different stores in these studies was ignored. In addition, few studies have considered the differences in the spatial distribution of the factors of site selection. In this study, we discuss the improvement of site selection of small retail shops. A spatial competition index model was proposed as one of the features in estimating region market potential, and a market demand regression model of a double-channel convolutional neural network (CNN) was constructed based on the spatial correlation range of features. The study area was Guiyang, China. The experiments were based on the monthly sales data of fast-moving consumer goods retail stores in Guiyang. On the basis of the estimated results of the model, 18 sites with high potential for market demand were recommended. The performance of the proposed model was the best among well-known regression methods. Moreover, in comparison with a single-channel CNN, the proposed model decreased the root mean square error by 22.61%. Evaluation results showed that the proposed method could provide effective decision support for the issue of retail site selection.

Are the nutrient and textural properties of Australian commercial infant and toddler foods consistent with infant feeding advice?

Infant feeding guidelines worldwide recommend first foods to be Fe rich with no added sugars and that nutrient-poor discretionary foods are to be avoided. Feeding guidelines also recommend exposing infants to a variety of foods and flavours with increasingly complex textures. Here, we compare nutritional and textural properties of commercial infant and toddler foods available in Australia with established infant feeding guidelines. Nutrition information and ingredient lists were obtained from food labels, manufacturer and/or retailer websites. In total, 414 foods were identified, comprising mostly mixed main dishes, fruit and vegetable first foods and snacks. Most products were poor sources of Fe, and 80 % of first foods were fruit-based. Half of all products were purées in squeeze pouches, and one-third of all products were discretionary foods. The nutritional content of many products was inconsistent with guidelines, being low in Fe, sweet, smooth in consistency or classified as discretionary. Reformulation of products is warranted to improve Fe content, particularly in mixed main dishes, expand the range of vegetable-only foods and textural variety. Greater regulatory oversight may be needed to better inform parents and caregivers. Frequent consumption of commercial baby foods low in Fe may increase the risk of Fe deficiency. Excessive consumption of purées via squeeze pouches may also have implications for overweight and obesity risk.

Clustering consumers' shopping journeys: eye tracking fashion m-retail

PurposeDespite the rapid adoption of smartphones among digital fashion consumers, their attitude to retailers' mobile apps and websites is one of increasing dissatisfaction. This suggests that understanding how mobile consumers use smartphones for fashion shopping is important in developing digital shopping platforms that fulfil consumer' expectations.Design/methodology/approachFor this research, mobile eye-tracking technology was employed in order to develop unique shopping journeys for 30 consumers, using fashion retailers' websites on smartphones, documenting their differences and similarities in browsing and purchasing behaviour.FindingsBased on scan path visualisations and observed shopping experiences, three prominent mobile shopping journeys and shopper types were identified: “directed by retailer's website”, “efficient self-selected journey” and “challenging shopper”. These prominent behaviour patterns were used to characterise mixed cluster behaviours; three distinct mixed clusters were identified, namely, “extended self-selected journey”, “challenging shoppers directed by retailer's website” and “focused challenging shopper”.Research limitations/implicationsThis research argues that mobile consumers can be segmented based on their activities and behaviours on the mobile website. Knowing the prominent shopping behaviour types any other complex behaviour patterns can be identified, analysed and described.Practical implicationsThe findings of this research can be used in developing personalised shopping experiences on smartphones by feeding these shopper types into retailers' digital marketing strategy and artificial intelligence (AI) systems.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to consumer behaviour literature by proposing a novel mobile consumer segmentation approach based on detailed shopping journey analysis using mobile eye-tracking technology.

Competing Through Keyword Advertising

ABSTRACT The impressive growth of online shopping has had a significant impact on firms’ strategies and customer behavior, bringing to the fore new forms of trademark exploitation that may affect competition. A prominent role is played by keyword advertising services provided by internet search engines. Keyword advertising systems have been the subject of several litigations with regard to the legality of the use of keywords which correspond to trademarks, since trademark holders complain that the essential functions of trademarks might be detrimentally affected. However, given the importance of search engines for attracting customers to the websites of retailers and competitors, online advertising restrictions also raise anticompetitive concerns on both sides of the Atlantic. Indeed, the E-commerce Sector Inquiry carried out by the European Commission reported that some retailers are limited in their ability to use or bid on the trademarks of certain manufacturers to get a preferential listing on search engines’ paid referencing service or are only allowed to bid on certain positions. Furthermore, the UK Competition and Markets Authority encountered brand-bidding restrictions in the markets for broadband, credit cards, energy, flights, and home insurance, while the Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets analyzed the hotel sector. Moreover, in the US, the Federal Trade Commission has ruled that the largest online retailer of contact lenses unlawfully entered into a web of anticompetitive agreements with rivals, preventing them from bidding for search engine result advertisements that would inform consumers that identical products were available at lower prices. The aim of this paper is to shed light on the economic rationales and legal implications of keyword advertising to strike a proper balance between trademark protection and freedom of competition.

Impact of online social media on consumers’ purchasing intention via social network sites

With the continuous development of the internet and e-commerce in Vietnam recently, there is much research on online purchasing behaviors through retail websites. However, there are few studies on consumers’ purchasing behavior via social network sites (SNS) despite a rapid increase in the use of such websites. This study, therefore, tries to build a research model describing (i) the impact of motivations of using SNSs on social e-WOM and (ii) the relationship among social e-WOM, consumers’ trust, attitude and purchasing intention via SNSs. After adjusting the measurement scales by a focus group’s discussion, a quantitative survey was executed using the data collected from 509 SNS users and by testing Cronbach’s Alpha reliability, EFA, CFA, and SEM to comment seven proposed hypotheses. The results showed that motivations of social media usage (utilitarian and hedonic) had positively impacted on social e-WOW, social e-WOW influenced positively consumers’ trust and attitude towards brands of goods/service on SNSs, and that both consumers’ trust and attitude had positive impacts on their purchasing intention. Accordingly, the study suggested some practical implications for managers to adjust their social communication strategies in the digital era.

A descriptive study of brand equity of india's popular online shopping sites

The focus of this research was to measure consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) of India’s most popular online retailing websites Amazon and Flipkart. However, for the sake of confidentiality and copyright, their names were not revealed anywhere in the paper. This was done with the help of Aaker’s and Keller’s concept of brand equity. A sample of 1000 respondents from across the state of Gujarat, India was examined. CBBE was measured by calculating mean scores of overall brand equity and its factors like brand loyalty, perceived quality, brand awareness, brand association, attitude and purchasing intention. The correlation coefficient between factors and brand equity was considered as weight. The research revealed through the data which retail site had a higher brand equity. One interesting fact that was identified was how keenly both the brands are trying to woo their customers. The results showed very similar trends. A positive relation was found between brand equity and its factors. Based on this relationship the research concluded with a regression model where brand equity was the dependent variable and factors were independent variables. It was observed that the factor ‘brand loyalty’ had the lowest mean value suggesting that with competition and wider choice to consumer, brand loyalty tends to be lower. Favorable attitude was observed for both brands with highest mean values among all factors.

Violation of US regulations regarding online marketing and sale of e-cigarettes: FDA warnings and retailer responses

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to characterise all 2018 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning letters specific to e-cigarette products and to evaluate whether online retailers complied with FDA...

E-commerce mercantilism-practices and causes

Purpose This paper aims to highlight in particular one commercially influential but subtle constituent of China’s mercantilist stratagem – asymmetrical internet access. The wider aim of the paper is to provide a solid basis of real-world facts and knowledge to the e-commerce discussions at the World Trade Organization and the ongoing plurilateral e-commerce negotiations. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses an empirical approach to reflect the general experiences of consumers connecting from China to e-commerce platform websites in other countries and vice versa consumers connecting from other countries to China’s e-commerce platform. Findings The empirical data show that Chinese potential customers trying to connect to the websites of foreign internet retailers in 17 other sample countries are faced with prohibitively long waiting times. In contrast, the average waiting time that it takes for customers in those other 17 countries to link up to China’s major internet retail platforms is much shorter. Practical implications The hard evidence presented here serves to strengthen the arguments that such internet censorship is used by China to establish unfair e-commerce advantage. This paper further argues that the General Agreement on Trade in Services is restrained from providing systemic solutions to the digital mercantilism problem. It is essential, therefore, that the ongoing plurilateral e-commerce negotiations address this issue. Originality/value This paper is the first to publish detailed results of a systematic survey designed to analyze the impact of asymmetrical internet access in China. It is also the first to examine the extent and effect of differing internet connection speeds in the context of international trade. The outcome of the survey provides a factual base for future rule-making at the multilateral level.

The effect of 360-degree rotatable product images on purchase intention

In three experiments, we tested the effectiveness of 360-degree rotatable product images on retail websites. In Study 1, participants reported higher purchase intention in response to a 360-degree rotatable image than a two-dimensional static image. In Study 2, participants who were primed for cognitive busyness by writing about activities that kept them busy (vs. writing about typical daily activities) reported lower purchase intention than in Study 1. In Study 3, we found a similar effect by directly manipulating cognitive busyness: participants memorized long or short number strings while performing a shopping task. Furthermore, sensory vividness fully mediated the effect of 360-degree rotatable images on purchase intention for the less busy participants, not the highly busy participants. Theoretical and practical implications for virtual product presentation are discussed.

Top online luxury apparel and accessories retailers: what are they doing right?

Many luxury firms have successfully adopted online sales and online sales growth has outperformed offline sales growth. As online luxury sales continue to grow, service expectations in digital and instore channels are also expected to grow. To add to the research literature, the top performing 46 luxury apparel and accessories websites identified in the Luxury e-Commerce Report from Internet Retailer were content analyzed to determine the state of the art in top performing luxury retail websites in providing needed information (international customer service attributes). Those top performing websites were then compared to 44 randomly selected similar websites on the same attributes to determine how the two groups of websites compared in terms of international customer service attributes. Although top performing luxury retail websites are providing important customer service information that facilitates online purchasing, there is room for improvement. In comparing the two groups of online luxury merchants, each group had strengths and weaknesses. Overall, merchants performed at a suboptimal level on provision of many customer service attributes, need improvement on others, and performed well on a few attributes. These luxury fashion online retailers are at an early stage in providing important customer service attributes on their websites.

Sustainable reverse supply chains and circular economy in multichannel retail returns

AbstractThe percentage of products being returned in multichannel retail are high and further increasing, yet many retailers and manufacturers are unaware of the importance and scale of this issue. They consider dealing with returns as a cost of doing business and are oblivious of the potential for conflicts between their corporate social responsibility commitments and their returns practices. This article investigates how far sustainable practices and circular economy concepts have been implemented in retail returns systems; it identifies vulnerabilities, barriers, and challenges to the implementation of sustainable, circular practices and suggests ways to overcome them, as sustainability, loss prevention, and profit optimisation can go hand in hand with the right approach to the organisation of the reverse supply chain. Implications of this research on strategic management are outlined. The research was conducted using in‐depth interviews and observations with four major retailers in the United Kingdom, 17 structured interviews, 100 retailer website reviews, and three retail community workshops, all with British and other European retailers.

Competing through Keyword Advertising

The impressive growth of online shopping has had a significant impact on firms’ strategies and customer behavior, bringing to the fore new forms of trademark exploitation that may affect competition. A prominent role is played by keyword advertising services provided by internet search engines. Keyword advertising systems have been the subject of several litigations with regard to the legality of the use of keywords which correspond to trademarks, since trademark holders complain that the essential functions of trademarks might be detrimentally affected. However, given the importance of search engines for attracting customers to the websites of retailers and competitors, online advertising restrictions also raise anticompetitive concerns on both sides of the Atlantic. Indeed, the E-commerce Sector Inquiry carried out by the European Commission reported that some retailers are limited in their ability to use or bid on the trademarks of certain manufacturers in order to get a preferential listing on search engines’ paid referencing service or are only allowed to bid on certain positions. Furthermore, the UK Competition and Markets Authority encountered brand-bidding restrictions in the markets for broadband, credit cards, energy, flights and home insurance, while the Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets analyzed the hotel sector. Moreover, in the US, the Federal Trade Commission has ruled that the largest online retailer of contact lenses unlawfully entered into a web of anticompetitive agreements with rivals, preventing them from bidding for search engine result advertisements that would inform consumers that identical products were available at lower prices. The aim of this paper is to shed light on the economic rationales and legal implications of keyword advertising in order to strike a proper balance between trademark protection and freedom of competition.

Value of Promotions with Delayed Incentives: An Empirical Investigation of Gift Card Promotions

A gift card promotion provides customers an incentive to spend more than an expenditure level on regularly priced (as opposed to discounted) products, by rewarding customers with a gift card to be redeemed against a future purchase. This type of promotion is widely used by luxury fashion, department, and consumer electronic stores. In this paper, we empirically test and quantify the causal effects of gift card promotion on the retailers' revenue and the mechanisms through which it impacts customers' purchase behavior. To do so, we collaborate with a major U.S.-based fashion retailer that regularly runs gift card promotions on its online channel by targeting its customers through promotion emails. We utilize our partner retailer's targeting policy to run a regression discontinuity design analysis. We find that gift card promotion increases retailer's revenue by up to 113%. The magnitude of this effect, however, reduces with the customers' recency of purchase from the retailer's website and becomes insignificant for customers who made their last online purchase more than 13 months ago. We also find that frequent purchasers, who are likely to have lower cost of redeeming a gift card, are more likely to participate in the promotion. Using our estimations, we attribute $554K to $1.14M (i.e., 18.50% to 38.14%) of the retailer's $2.99M total online channel revenue during promotion days to gift card promotion, on average. We find that the gift card promotion email increases sales even among customers who do not participate in the promotion. Specifically, advertising the gift card promotion through an email increases customers' preference for the retailer but has no significant informative or reminder effects. We attribute 70 to 89% of the promotion's total impact to this advertisement effect. We also run a propensity score matching analysis and find that customers who redeem their earned gift cards increase their expenditures (beyond the face value of the gift card) by 23.3%, on average. Therefore, we show that redemption of gift cards induces additional expenditure and, hence, can be profitable for the retailer offsetting any promotional costs incurred.

Content analysis of online product descriptions from cannabis retailers in six US states

BackgroundAs the purchase of cannabis becomes legalized in US states, cannabis marketing presents an unexplored regulatory landscape. Research examining other consumer products indicates marketing informs consumer product perceptions, use expectancies, and behavior. The current study examined how cannabis products are described on US cannabis retailer websites. MethodsWe used the National Cannabis Industry Association website to identify 27 retailers, linked to brick-and-mortar locations in six states, who advertised cannabis flower products online, and thematically coded descriptions of each product sold (N=428). ResultsCannabis strain product descriptions fell into six categories: psychoactive effects, physical effects, social effects, sensory profile, therapeutic and curative claims, and negatives/warnings. Relaxation/stress relief (47.4%) and happiness (43.9%) were the most commonly described psychoactive effects, and relaxation/sedation was the most common physical effect (41.6%). Many products noted sensory characteristics, such as fruity (38.1%) or sweet (31.3%) taste/smell. A significant number of retailers claimed that strains could relieve pain and depression. Reports of potential side effects or warnings were less common. ConclusionOnline cannabis retailers are making potentially unsubstantiated product claims. Future work should examine the potential for these claims to inform consumer behavior. Regulations should ensure that cannabis labeling does not mislead consumers or promote unsafe use.