Store Service Research Articles

Peran Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM) dalam Memediasi Pengaruh Social Media Activity dan Customer Experience terhadap Customer Behaviour Outcome

This research aims (1) To determine the effect of Customer Experience on Customer Behavior Outcome, (2) To determine the effect of Customer Experience on Customer Relationship Marketing, (3) To determine the influence of Social Media Activity on Customer Relationship Marketing; (4) To determine the effect of Social Media Activity on Customer Behavior Outcome; (5) To determine the effect of Customer Relationship Marketing on Customer Behavior Outcome; (6) To determine the role of Customer Relationship Marketing in mediating Customer Experience on Customer Behavior Outcome; (7) To determine the role of Customer Relationship Marketing in mediating Social Media Activity on Customer Behavior Outcome. This study's population is an unknown number of Instagram Store service users. The sample amounted to 108 respondents. The data collection method was questionnaires. This study used SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) analysis. The results showed that (1) Customer Experience positively and significantly affects Customer Behavior Outcomes. (2) Customer Experience positively and significantly affects Customer Relationship Marketing. (3) Social Media Activity positively and significantly affects Customer Relationship Marketing. (4) Social Media Activity positively and significantly affects Customer Behavior Outcomes. (5) Customer Relationship Marketing positively and significantly affects Customer Behavior Outcomes. (6) Customer Relationship Marketing cannot increase the influence of Customer Experience on Customer Behavior Outcomes. (7) Customer Relationship Marketing can increase the influence of Social Media Activity on Customer Behavior Outcomes.

Implementation of the Independent Housing Stimulant Assistance Program in the Provision of Livable Houses in Soloy Agung Village, West Kulisusu District, North Buton Regency

This study aims to determine the implementation of the Independent Housing Stimulant Assistance Program in the provision of livable houses in Soloy Agung Village, West Kulisusu District, North Buton Regency. This research uses a qualitative approach. The informants in this study were selected using a purposive sampling technique, so that the informants in this study consisted of communities receiving uninhabitable housing assistance. The data in this study were obtained through interviews, observations and documentation. The data obtained was then analyzed qualitatively with an interactive model consisting of data reduction, data presentation and conclusion drawn. The results of the study show that there are three steps in the implementation of Self-Help Housing Stimulant Assistance in Soloy Agung Village, West Kulisusu District, first , community preparation, which includes recipient organization, socialization, household needs identification, store services, and proposal writing, is a process designed to enable potential recipients to be ready for the program and to guarantee success and sustainability; Second, Pre-execution activities are a series of arrangements made before the start of construction or restoration activities of the primary house. This regulation includes the identification of aid recipients, the distribution of assistance, and the completion of assistance; and third, the use of BSPS funds is regulated to ensure that the funds are used efficiently and in accordance with the program's objectives, which are to improve housing standards for low-income communities. This includes the creation of DRPBs, shop contracts, hiring handymen, purchasing building materials, performing real work, paying workers' wages, and reporting. BSPS software helps people build and repair livable homes, reduce financial burdens, and create healthy homes with good lighting, sanitation, and durability.

Sharia Retail Store Service Standards Based on Customer Preferences in the Cooperative Ecosystem

Sharia Retail Store Service Standards Based on Customer Preferences in the Cooperative Ecosystem

Customer Segmentation of Pabuaran Store on Shopee E-Commerce Using RFM Model Analysis (Case Study of H&M Brand Sales Products)

E-Commerce creates business activities that make it easier for people to be more effective because business transactions between sellers and buyers are not limited by space and time. Pabuaran store is one of the personal shopper service providers which started its business in 2019, the marketplace phenomenon in that year has increased massively and online business players in one of the marketplaces have also reached 7 (seven) million in 2019. Product graph seen in the Pabuaran Store's Services business tends to decline, this requires business actors to take strategic steps to maintain their existence in the business world. This is used encouraged service business owners to gain profits in the midst of the phenomenon that is occurring. In determining the variables, the general model used to group customers is the RFM (Recency, Frequency, Monetary) Model, which groups customers based on the time interval of the customer's last visit, frequency of visits, and the amount of value issued as company royalties(1). The recency value can determine the time span since the customer's last transaction. The frequency value can indicate how many transactions each customer conducts with the company. Additionally, the monetary value can reveal the amount of expenditure made by each customer in each transaction with Pabuaran Store on Shopee. The three segments have different campaign strategies. For Segment 1, a reactivation campaign is implemented, such as conducting live videos on Shopee. In Segment 2, a broadcast retention message is delivered to customers who have previously purchased products from Pabuaran Store. As for Segment 3, where loyal customers are identified, a loyalty point system is introduced to keep these customers engaged. Keywords: E-Commerce, Frequency, Monetary, Personal shopper, Recency.

Sentiment Analysis of DANA Application Reviews on Google Play Store Using Naïve Bayes Classifier Algorithm Based on Information Gain

DANA is a digital payment platform that provides various features to make it easier for users to make payments, transfers, and balance replenishment online. DANA application users provide a variety of reviews that include both constructive and critical opinions, which can be valuable input for DANA application developers. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the results of sentiment classification of DANA application user reviews on the Google Play Store service using the Naïve Bayes Classifier method and Information Gain feature selection. In addition, this study aims to assess the effect of applying IG feature selection on the performance of the resulting model. In this study, reviews are divided into two categories, namely positive and negative based on lexicon-based labeling. Furthermore, data weighting, feature selection, and data division are carried out with a proportion of 80% train data and 20% test data before model building. There are two models, namely a model without feature selection (NBC model) and a model with feature selection (NBC-IG model). The evaluation results showed that the NBC model with 1106 features performed well, with 82.91% accuracy, 83.96% precision, and 90.23% recall. Meanwhile, the NBC-IG model with 536 features showed higher performance, with 85.09% accuracy, 85.79% precision, and 92.09% recall. The application of IG feature selection with the IG value limit parameter > 0.01 in the NBC model successfully reduced the number of features by 570, and improved model performance with an increase in accuracy by 2.18%, precision by 1.83%, and recall by 1.86%.

Does integrated store service quality determine omnichannel customer lifetime value? Role of commitment, relationship proneness, and relationship program receptiveness

PurposeBuilding on the relationship marketing and stimulus-organism-response (SOR) theory, the purpose of this paper is to study the impact of the integrated store service quality (ISSQ) on the omnichannel customer lifetime value (CLV). The mediating role of customer commitment (affective, normative and continuance) and relationship program receptiveness with the moderating role of customer relationship proneness were relied upon to better understand the omnichannel customer profitability metric (CLV).Design/methodology/approachThe study is descriptive and relies upon the cross-sectional data collected using the self-administered structured questionnaires from 785 omnichannel shoppers. A purposive sampling technique was performed in the study. Structural equation modeling was performed using the SMART-PLS 4.0 software to analyze the data.FindingsThe results indicate that omnichannel customer commitment (affective, normative and continuance) differentially mediates the relationship between ISSQ and relationship program receptiveness, subsequently impacting the omnichannel CLV. The customer relationship proneness significantly and positively moderated the relationships between different dimensions of customer commitment and relationship program receptiveness.Research limitations/implicationsThe study relied upon the cross-sectional data from the Indian population aged above 18 years for testing the proposed model. Further studies could test the model across different populations to generalize the study results.Originality/valueThis study addresses the need to investigate the omnichannel retail store customer profitability and their relationship performance with the store. By testing the customer relationship management model in the omnichannel retail store context, this study is the first to show that ISSQ will impact the customer profitability and relationship performance metric (CLV) through omnichannel customer commitment and relationship program receptiveness. The moderating effect of customer relationship proneness on a few proposed hypotheses was also tested to give managerial recommendations.

Analysis of Marketing Strategies of Milk Tea Brand - Taking HeyTea as an Example

Now milk tea has become the main daily drink for young people. Especially among young people, milk tea has become an indispensable part of daily consumption. Therefore, various milk tea shops have emerged. In such a saturated industry, Heytea, as a relatively new brand, has quickly gained space with its new style of tea drinks, becoming one of the most popular beverage brands in the industry. This paper researches the factors and marketing strategies of HeyTeas success by using SWOT analysis to analyze the current situation and marketing strategies of HeyTea, based on the literature reviewed on the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and makes recommendations: strengthening the efficiency of store services, using social media to promote, planning branding campaigns for overseas markets, and strengthening staff training and management.

The strategic value of buy online and pick up from store service to the dual channel coordination

Buy online and pick up from store (BOPS) has been widely practiced in the business market. However, prior studies in literature have not addressed what is the strategic value of BOPS to supply chain performance, who should pay the cost of BOPS, and what is the optimal strategy to implement the BOPS to maximize channel coordination. To fill this gap, we first examine the effect of this newer type of service on supply chain performance. Further, we compare various scenarios to examine which channel member should pay the cost of the BOPS, and how BOPS impacts supply chain performance. Finally, we initiate a new coordination mechanism to solve the dilemma where the manufacturer likes to share the BOPS cost, but the physical reseller prefers to pay fully for it. Our paper provides novel findings: (1) using only the cost-sharing strategy of the BOPS or the reseller's full payment for the BOPS is not an optimal way to improve supply chain performance; (2) quantity discount cannot behave effectively to motivate the reseller to implement the cost sharing strategy of the BOPS; however, (3) profit sharing can perform as an valuable contract to stimulate the reseller to implement the cost-sharing strategy of the BOPS and create higher supply chain performance. Moreover, our research shows a counter-intuitive result: if profit sharing contract is not offered, the reseller's full payment for the BOPS is a better choice to achieve higher supply chain performance than the cost sharing strategy of the BOPS; however, if profit sharing contract is offered to complement the cost sharing strategy of the BOPS and the physical reseller's full payment for the BOPS cost respectively, the result is reversed.

Does integrated store service quality explain omnichannel shoppers' online brand advocacy behaviors?: role of memorable shopping experiences, store attachment, and relationship strength

PurposeThe online brand advocacy behaviors of omnichannel shoppers, who mainly rely on integrated brick-and-mortar stores (recognized as a vital channel for delivering a seamless shopping experience and meeting the dynamic needs of the shoppers), are still understudied. This study aims to investigate how integrated store service quality (ISSQ) may elicit both positive and negative emotions that contribute to a memorable omnichannel shopping experience and have an impact on shoppers' attachment to the store, leading to their exhibition of online brand advocacy behaviors (brand defense, brand positivity, brand knowledge sharing and virtual positive expression).Design/methodology/approachThe study is a cross-sectional, descriptive and quantitative investigation. The research participants were chosen using a purposive sampling technique. Using a validated self-administered questionnaire, data were gathered from 886 Indian omnichannel shoppers who often purchase at the integrated brick-and-mortar store. The proposed conceptual model was tested using Smart PLS software for partial least squares-structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results indicate that positive and negative emotions mediate the relationship between ISSQ and memorable omnichannel shopping experiences, subsequently impacting omnichannel shoppers' attachment to the store and leading to online brand advocacy behaviors. The relationship strength perceived by shoppers significantly positively moderated the relationship between store attachment and different online brand advocacy behaviors (brand defense, brand positivity, brand knowledge sharing and virtual positive expression).Research limitations/implicationsThe study relied upon single cross-sectional data from the Indian population, where omnichannel retailing is still nascent.Originality/valueThis study addresses the need to investigate the different emotions that arise while evaluating service quality in omnichannel retail purchase journeys leading to memorable shopping experiences. Emphasizing post-purchase behaviors like different online brand advocacy behaviors (brand defense, brand positivity, brand knowledge sharing and virtual positive expression), this study is the first to show that ISSQ might affect four different OBAs through memorable omnichannel shopping experience and the shopper's sense of attachment to the store. The moderating effect of relationship strength perceived by shoppers with the retailer on a few proposed hypotheses was also tested to give managerial recommendations.

Does integrated store service quality turn omnichannel shoppers into price-insensitive, cross-category purchasers, and loyal webroomers? Moderating role of perceived relationship investment and alternative retailer attractiveness

PurposeBuilding on stimulus organism response theory, this study aims to examine the influence of Integrated store service quality (ISSQ) on omnichannel shoppers’ attachment to the integrated store with the mediating role of omnichannel customer engagement (CE) dimensions (absorptive attention, enthusiastic participation and social connection). This research demonstrates the effect of customers’ attachment to the integrated store on the willingness to pay more for omnichannel services and products of the retailer, their cross-buying behaviors in future purchases and loyal webrooming intentions. The moderating role of perceived relationship investment and alternative retailer attractiveness (ARA) in a few proposed relationships was also tested.Design/methodology/approachThe research is descriptive, quantitative and cross-sectional investigation. A purposive sampling technique was used for selecting the study respondents. The data was collected from n = 589 Indian omnichannel shoppers who have experience shopping in the brick and mortar store of channel-integrated stores using a validated self-administered questionnaire. The proposed conceptual model was tested using PLS-SEM.FindingsThe results indicate that omnichannel CE dimensions (absorptive attention, enthusiastic participation and social connection) positively mediate the relationship between ISSQ and customer attachment to the store. Customer attachment to the store significantly impacts their willingness to pay more, cross-buying behaviors and loyal webrooming intentions. The moderating effect of the customer-perceived relationship investment and ARA revealed that it significantly impacted the relationship between ISSQ and willingness to pay more, cross-buying behaviors and loyal webrooming intentions. This research also demonstrated the direct impact of ISSQ on willingness to pay more, cross-buying behaviors, loyal webrooming intentions and the indirect impact through different CE dimensions and attachment with the store.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is conducted in the Indian population, where omnichannel retailing is still nascent.Originality/valueThis study addresses the need to investigate the impact of CE and their attachment to stores driven by the in-store service quality of integrated stores on the various postpurchase consumer behaviors. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to show that ISSQ might affect their willingness to pay more, cross-buying behaviors and loyal webrooming intentions through different CE dimensions and their attachment to the store. The moderating effect of customer-perceived ARA and their perception of retailers’ investment in a relationship on proposed hypotheses was also tested.

Effects of perceived values on affective and conative attitudes in cashierless store services

Purpose Despite the growing number of cashierless stores, few studies have examined the factors that influence the success of such stores. This paper aims to identify the influence of store attributes in customers’ affective attitudes regarding cashierless stores and to understand how customers’ need for interaction and risk reduction affect the relationship between customer experiences and evaluation. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative research is conducted using a partial least squares structural equation model. Data was collected from 174 customers with cashierless store experience. Findings The results identify the influence of hedonic and utilitarian characteristics on affective attitudes and the impact of attitudes on behavioral intentions. Also, multigroup analysis reveals that hedonic features are stronger indicators of customer attitudes among those with a low need for interaction, whereas utilitarian attributes are more important among customers with a low need for risk reduction. Customers’ affective attitudes are stronger influences on behavioral intentions among members of customer groups with a low need for both interaction and risk reduction. Originality/value To add to the limited research in customers’ experience with unstaffed stores, this study provides useful insights to achieve sustainable growth in the retailing context. Managerial considerations suggest that operators of cashierless stores should design store environments to guarantee customers’ purchasing and recommendation intentions.

Pengaruh Electronic Customer Relationship Management terhadap Kualitas Pelayanan dan Customer Satisfaction

The background of this research is that most consumers come to fulfill their needs. This is in accordance with Alfamart's mission of providing satisfaction to customers or consumers by focusing on superior quality products and services. CRM as an integration of processes, human capital and technology seeks the best understanding of the company's customer place and focuses especially on customer retention and relationship management. . This research uses field research, namely research in which the data is extracted through observations and data sources in the field, which means that researchers use data collection methods in qualitative research. With a qualitative approach because it is intended to understand the phenomenon of the research object and present the required data in a descriptive form. This technique is direct research in the field using interviews or observation. The influence of E-CRM on service quality greatly facilitates work in today's era because business strategies that integrate processes, people and technology can help attract sales prospects, convert them into regular customers, get comprehensive information about consumer behavior, retain existing customers and make consumers satisfied. the Alfamart Pakel 2 Karanganyar store to respond to problems related to the influence of E-CRM on the quality of this store's service is expected to always be consistent such as providing information to consumers

Research on the influence mechanism of key halo effect and Matthew effect on product online word-of-mouth: considering the moderating role of online store service quality

Research on the influence mechanism of key halo effect and Matthew effect on product online word-of-mouth: considering the moderating role of online store service quality

How integrated store-service quality promotes omnichannel shoppers’ word-of-mouth behaviors: the moderating role of perceived relationship investment and the shopper’s perceived value

PurposeThe post-purchase behavioral responses of omnichannel shoppers, who mainly rely on physical stores (acknowledged as a crucial channel in providing a seamless shopping experience and fulfilling the dynamic needs of the shoppers), are still understudied. The purpose of this paper is to examine how integrated store service quality (ISSQ) can contribute to a more optimal shopping experience (cognitive, affective and relational) and have a subsequent impact on shoppers’ psychological ownership toward the store, resulting in the generation of (face-to-face, online and social media) word of mouth (WOM).Design/methodology/approachThe research is descriptive, quantitative and cross-sectional investigation. A purposive sampling technique was used for selecting the study respondents. The data were collected from 786 Indian omnichannel shoppers using a validated self-administered questionnaire. The proposed conceptual model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results indicate that all three dimensions of omnichannel customer experience (cognitive, affective and relational) positively mediate the relationship between ISSQ and psychological ownership, subsequently impacting all three WOM behaviors of omnichannel shoppers (face-to-face, online store and social media). The customer’s perceived value with the store and their perceived retailer relationship investment significantly moderated the relationship between ISSQ and different WOM behaviors (face-to-face, online store and social media). This research also demonstrated the direct impact of ISSQ on WOM and the indirect impact through different customer experience dimensions and psychological ownership.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample used in the study was not probabilistic and, therefore, presents limitations for the possibility of generalizing the results. The study was performed in a cross-sectional methodology in the Indian context; there is a need for longitudinal investigation.Originality/valueThis study addresses the need to investigate different dimensions of omnichannel customer experience that might influence various post-purchase behavioral responses. This study is the first to show that ISSQ might affect omnichannel shoppers' online, offline and social media word-of-mouth behaviors through different customer experience dimensions and the customer’s sense of belongingness to the store. The moderating effect of customer perceived value with the retailer and their perception of retailers’ investment in a relationship on proposed hypotheses was also tested to give managerial recommendations.

How service operations, perceived benefit, and psychological ownership enhance customer retention in retail - evidence in Vietnam supermarkets

In a world with enormous opportunities and challenges from the 4.0 revolution and the lingering COVID-19 pandemic, customer retention is more important than ever for retailers. While marketing and advertising can be more or less limited during the pandemic, retailers pay more attention to the supply and service operations of products as salvage to satisfy the essential demands of customers. However, few scholars discuss the effects of service operations on customer retention in retail because it is lower consumer awareness and challenging to measure accurately and adequately. Therefore, with the foundation of commitment-trust theory, this study examines service operations’ direct and indirect effects on customer retention through perceived benefit in omnichannel retailers. Simultaneously, it assesses how psychological ownership affects customer retention and moderates the effect of perceived benefit on customer retention in the Vietnamese supermarket as empirical evidence. The combination of a qualitative method (with 32 in-depth interviews) and a quantitative method (through a survey conducted with 374 shoppers) is implemented. Partial least-squares structural equation modelling with SmartPLS software is utilized for data analysis and hypothesis testing. From the findings, the study offers an operations perspective and a customer view of how to store service operations contribute to customer perception of benefits and customer retention. Interestingly, the study discovered that psychological ownership is not only a critical antecedent of customer retention but also enhances the effect of perceived benefit on customer retention as its moderating role.

Does integrated store service quality stimulate omnichannel shoppers' augmenting, co-developing, influencing and mobilizing behaviors? Moderating role of perceived relationship investment

PurposeBuilding on Stimulus Organism Response theory, the current study examines the influence of Integrated store service quality (ISSQ) on the omnichannel customer experience dimensions (Cognitive, Affective and Relational), subsequently leading to their psychological ownership of the store, which eventually explains their Augmenting, Co-developing, Influencing and Mobilizing behaviors. The moderating role of omnichannel shopper perceived relationship investment in a few proposed relationships was tested.Design/methodology/approachThe research is a descriptive, quantitative and cross-sectional investigation. A purposive sampling technique was used. It was conducted using data collected from 554 Indian omnichannel shoppers using a validated self-administered questionnaire. The proposed conceptual model was tested using PLS-SEM.FindingsThe results indicate that ISSQ positively impacts all three dimensions of omnichannel customer experience (cognitive, affective and relational). All three dimensions directly affect psychological ownership, eventually impacting their (Augmenting, Co-developing, Influencing and Mobilizing) engagement behaviors. The moderating effect of the omnichannel shopper, perceived relationship investment, revealed that it had a significant positive impact on the relationship between dimensions of omnichannel customer experience and psychological ownership of shoppers towards the store, which eventually fosters the customer–retailer value co-creation like engagement behaviors.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is conducted in the Indian population, where omnichannel retailing is still nascent.Originality/valueThis study addresses the need to investigate other dimensions (apart from cognitive and affective) of the omnichannel customer experience that might eventually influence various service firms' customer engagement behaviors. This study is the first to show that integrated store service quality might stimulate (Augmenting, Co-developing, Influencing and Mobilizing) engagement behaviors through customer experience dimensions and the customer's sense of belongingness to the store. The moderating role of omnichannel shoppers' perceived relationship investment in a few proposed relationships was tested.

Demographic Factors to Strengthen the Influence of Brand Image and Store Service Quality on Purchasing Decisions

The success of a company's target market is heavily dependent on purchasing decisions. The aspect that influences consumers' purchase decisions is the brand image. The buying decision is substantially influenced by brand perception. In this instance, brand image is significant for resellers as business players. Consumer service quality is another consideration. Quality of service is a manner of conducting business that tries to make ongoing quality improvements to the company's operations, products, and services. This type of research is quantitative, applying multiple linear regression techniques using moderating variables. The population of this study was all 150 customers of the Compassnyaban shoe store for the period July 2021 to June 2022 using the census method. The results showed that the brand image of Compass shoes found that Compass shoes used ideal raw materials. Compassnyaban shoe store's service quality was found to be responsive through complaint handling. The decision to purchase Compass shoes found that customers chose Compass shoes because of their trusted quality and quality. The result of this study is that brand image influences the purchasing decisions of Compassnyaban shoe store customers. The results showed that service quality did not affect the purchasing decisions of Compassnyaban shoe store customers. Demographic factors (gender, age, education) as moderating variables strengthen the influence of brand image on purchasing decisions at the Compassnyaban shoe store in Malang. Demographic factors such as education are the moderating variable that strengthens the relationship between brand image and purchasing decisions. Demographic factors (gender, age, education) as moderating variables strengthen the negative effect of service quality on purchasing decisions at the Compassnyaban shoe store in Malang. Demographic factor as education is the moderating variable that weakens the relationship between brand image and the decision to buy Compass s

PENATAAN SISTEM, PROSEDUR, DAN ORGANISASI GALERI UMKM KECAMATAN PONCOKUSUMO KABUPATEN MALANG

The purpose of opening the gallery is to add distribution channels for MSME products, in order to increase sales. Most of these MSMEs produce products with local raw materials so they play a role in increasing the added value of the area. Currently, gallery operations are handled by the UMKM Association while still implementing traditional store management. After running for more than a year, they are still unable to carry out their functions effectively. This Community Service Activity aims to organize the Gallery's Organizational, System, and Working Procedures. The m Evi Suwarni method of implementing the activities is done by transferring knowledge, simulation, and implementing the gallery's organization, system, and work procedures. Evaluation of participants' understanding was done by distributing questionnaires. The output of this service is an increase in the knowledge and skills of partners, especially in terms of gallery management and the completeness of gallery operational standards. Another outcome is an increase in the competitiveness of partner human resources, who have knowledge and skills in managing galleries, both in terms of organization and work procedures. Store services also become another competitive advantage in the production process, especially consignment sales services.Keywords: system, procedures, organisation, gallery

The Impact of Brand Image on Customer Satisfaction: An Empirical Study of Departmental Stores in Bangladesh

Over the last decade, the departmental marketing sector of Bangladesh has witnessed immense growth and is now catering to customers. To make sure that these customers remain loyal, the departmental stores are working to achieve high customer satisfaction through improved superior brand image through better service quality and reasonable prices. This study, particularly, looks at all of these aspects and their association with customer satisfaction. Data was collected from the exit corner of the store, according to the availability and interest of the customers was chosen randomly from the ten largest departmental store in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The sample size was 200 and 150 completed questionnaires were received back with a response rate of 75%. The Results of this research are favorable and will help the department store service providers to shape their products and pricing policies in such a way that they can maximize customer satisfaction and maintain their customers in order to achieve higher market share.

Coping emotional discomfort at retail checkout: Potential distractions and implications

Retail customers often wait to complete their purchases during the checkout process. Prior research suggests that long checkout lines and service delays negatively affect customers’ evaluation of store services. The present study investigates the potential customer and in-store distractions and their implication for emotional discomfort due to crowding stress. This study employed a cross-sectional research design and surveyed 385 respondents visiting the target retail outlets in Bengaluru, India. Correlation analysis explored the relationship between self-distraction, in-store distractions, and emotional discomfort. The study found that self-distraction negatively correlates with discomfort while in the queue (r = –0.119) and discomfort during the billing (r = –0.119). In contrast, in-store distractions (r = –0.161) and video displays near the checkout area (r = 0.116) effectively reduce emotional discomfort while in the queue. Additionally, point-of-purchase (POP) display (r = –0.265) and availability of refreshments near the billing counter (r = –0.175) are effective in reducing emotional discomfort during the billing. This study thus offers viable and affordable methods of improving the customer’s waiting experience while contributing to store profits.