Sustainable Retailing

As consumers seek products that cause minimal environmental harm and bring about positive social impact, and as awareness of supply chain impact grows, retailers must embrace sustainability. Given their unique position in the supply chain between upstream suppliers and downstream consumers, retailers are key to a circular economy in which products at the initial end-of-life stage are returned to the supply chain for continued use. By serving as a connection between suppliers and consumers, retail initiatives can help to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Furthermore, retailers can leverage their unique position in the supply chain to enable and legitimize a focus on social issues across the supply chain. We discuss such actions, the challenges that need to be overcome to have scalable impact, and the mechanisms retailers can utilize to make such progress.     

Hospital Retailing

The United Kingdom 1988 Health and Medicine Act offered local Health Authorities the opportunity to generate income from commercial activities unrelated to health care. Retailing offers large income potential, and some Authorities are taking full advantage, employing commercial advisers or entering into agreements with retail developers and retailers to exploit this potential. The authors set out to discover whether there was much potential in hospital retailing, assess the views of the main interest groups involved (Health Authorities, retailers and customers) and see whether any guidelines could be suggested to aid Authorities and retailers considering taking this route. Their conclusion is that there is much potential since there are advantages for all three groups providing that customers requirements were met and that developers avoid an over-commercial environment in hospitals.     

我国零售市场的竞争态势及零售企业的战略选择

随着我国零售业的进一步开放,零售市场面临新的竞争态势.本文在剖析我国零售市场竞争态势的基础上,就国内零售业的做大、做强和特色取胜提出了它的战略选择.     

From Multi-Channel Retailing to Omni-Channel Retailing: Introduction to the Special Issue on Multi-Channel Retailing

The world of retailing has changed dramatically in the past decade. The advent of the online channel and new additional digital channels such as mobile channels and social media have changed retail business models, the execution of the retail mix, and shopper behavior. Whereas multi-channel was in vogue in the last decade in retailing, we now observe a move to so-called omni-channel retailing. Omni-channel retailing is taking a broader perspective on channels and how shoppers are influenced and move through channels in their search and buying process. We discuss this development conceptually and subsequently discuss existing research in this multi-channel retailing. We also introduce the articles in this special issue on multi-channel retailing and position these articles in the new omni-channel movement. We end with putting forward a research agenda to further guide future research in this area.     

Retailing Post-1992

This article examines the attitudes of the UK's leading retail operations to the establishment of the EC's internal market, planned for 1992, and to expansion within that market.     

北京市零售商业空间分布研究

城市零售商业布局的合理化,对城市经济的发展、流通资源的合理配置、居民消费需求的满足发挥着重要作用。依据第二次基本单位普查资料,运用最临近指数、不均衡指数,地理联系率等方法来分析北京市零售商业空间分布特征,衡量北京市零售商业网点分布与人口的协调程度,从而得出结论:北京市零售商业分布离心化现象已经出现;北京市各类零售商业均呈集聚分布,但集聚强度不同,计算机及软件办公设备零售业集聚程度最大;北京市零售商业分布与人口分布协调程度较好,利于发挥其服务功能。     

Cross-Cultural Retailing Research

Abstract

Relatively little is known about consumer perceptions of retailers in Central and Eastern Europe. What store attributes do consumers in these markets emphasize? Do these attributes reflect the culture of the region? These questions are addressed in the case of Estonia. However our main objective is to contrast the Estonian situation with that of a typical Western country, Canada. Two key shopping experience constructs are selected, namely merchandise selection and the interactivity between the store and the consumer. To make the comparison meaningful we have chosen a single retail category, namely discount or low-price department stores. In both countries there were two stores that dominated their respective market, so this facilitates the collection of consumer perceptions. Structural equation modeling using AMOS software has been used to test the equivalence of the constructs across cultures. Our main findings are that (1) both merchandise selection and store-customer interaction are valid constructs across both countries, (2) that the factor patterns have configural invariance or equivalence for each construct across the two cultures and (3) that the factor patterns do not have weak factor invariance across the cultures. In short, we conclude that there are major differences in consumer's discount store shopping experiences across the two cultures.     

Discount Store Retailing in Korea

Abstract

This study examined the effects of consumers' internal shopping motives and external store attributes on excitement that shoppers may experience at discount stores in Korean markets and the mediating impact of excitement on selected behavior outcomes. Among three types of shopping motives (socialization, utilitarian and diversion), diversion significantly affected the level of excitement that shoppers experienced at the discount store. Store attributes of facility-related convenience and a neat, spacious atmosphere had an impact on shoppers' excitement at the discount stores. Excitement positively affected shoppers' satisfaction and repatronage intentions in discount store retailing in Korea. The empirical study results have major implications for multinational retailers as well as for future research in the area of international retailing.     

Emerging Issues in Retailing Research

Retailing practice and the research resulting have experienced significant changes in recent years. This article reflects on Journal of Retailing articles published during our editorial tenure (2002–2007). Although Journal of Retailing publishes articles on many retailing topics, they have chosen four categories that they believe has had the largest impact on retailing research during that time, and the potential for the greatest contribution in the future: Growth of the Internet and e-commerce; branding and customer loyalty; service success strategies; and behavioral issues in pricing and patronage. Several illustrative studies are highlighted in each category, and directions for future research are provided.     

首尔零售业发展对北京零售业的启示

北京是中国零售业最为发达的城市之一,其零售业正处于行业整合阶段,零售企业数量多规模小,分散的行业结构亟待调整,新型业态急需发展.本文结合首尔零售业的发展历程和经验,针对北京零售业发展现状提出政策建议:以连锁经营集团化,提高零售企业的竞争力;依托互联网,探索创新零售商业模式;提升服务理念,提高零售业整体服务水平;做好跨区域和国际化扩张的准备.     

零售业国际化失败及其原因分析

零售业国际化浪潮如火如荼,但是有关国际化失败的研究却很少.国际化失败的定义不同,但是零售商都没有意识到,国外的回报根本无法与国内相提并论.虽然大的跨国零售商的国际化失败鲜为人知,但是国际化失败可能发生在任何业态.国际化失败主要是由预测失败、竞争失败、适应失败和成长失败等原因造成的.     

The Future of Retailing

Retailers have embraced a variety of technologies to engage their customers. This article focuses on “The Future of Retailing” by highlighting five key areas that are moving the field forward: (1) technology and tools to facilitate decision making, (2) visual display and merchandise offer decisions, (3) consumption and engagement, (4) big data collection and usage, and (5) analytics and profitability. We also suggest numerous issues that are deserving of additional inquiry, as well as introduce important areas of emerging applicability: the internet of things, virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, robots, drones, and driverless vehicles.     

Internationalisation of Hypermarket Retailing in Poland

ABSTRACT

Retailing in Poland after 1989 was privatised rapidly. There was an explosion in the number of small shops and kiosks. By 1996 rationalisation had begun in the store network. By the mid-1990s foreign retailers were perceiving the Polish market as a potentially lucrative one. Several store formats were introduced. Hypermarket operators from Western Europe have moved into the market strongly since the mid-1990s. French and German retailers are making substantial investments in this format. There are notable implications for the supply chain, logistics and the behaviour of manufacturers of fast-moving consumer goods, particularly food. There are implications also for the training and development of a cadre of managers in operational and strategic functions. The development of hypermarkets represents a significant transfer of managerial know-how from Western to Central Europe. There are also implications for the small shopkeeper sector which has already been affected but is likely to be more heavily affected as hypermarket numbers increase. In the process of the modernisation of retailing in Poland foreign hypermarket operators are playing an important role.     

Developing the Instructional Program in Retailing

Abstract

In this third in a series of four articles the author states that no complete instructional program can be set up overnight; it is years in formation, the effect being a cumulative one. He points out that basic physical facilities are to be considered and instructional materials are to be evolved in keeping with the demands of the modern educational program.