Marketing at the retail shelf: an examination of moderating effects of logistics on SKU market share

Given that the impact of retail shelf facings and price on a product’s market share is of substantial interest to marketing managers in the retail supply chain, we examine whether these relationships may be interdependent with the firm’s supply chain activities. We offer predictions regarding the interdependence of the marketing and supply chain variables using monthly in-store observations from 62 different retail stores from five different chains, taken over a 24-month period. The in-store observations included price and number of facings, which is combined with data obtained from the manufacturer on case pack quantity and market share data from the ACNielsen HomeScan consumer scanner panel. Results indicate that shelf facings impact the effects of price and case pack quantity on market share. In addition, we explore the strength of relationships across retailers employing everyday low price versus HiLo pricing strategies. Generally, our findings suggest that retailers and suppliers must work to integrate marketing activities and supply chain processes both within and across firms to most effectively serve the consumer at the retail shelf and increase market share.     

Transaction utility effects when quality is uncertain

The existing literature finds that price discrepancy, which represents the difference between expected and observed price, helps explain brand choice and purchase intention. This effect is often attributed to transaction utility, that is, the incremental utility associated with the surprise of observing a price lower or higher than expected. This research considers the possibility, however, that transaction utility is a less important determinant of choice when quality is uncertain. We propose and find that acquisition utility (perceived value for the money) tends to dominate the explanation of purchase intention, but transaction utility is significant only when consumers are more certain about quality. Our discussion considers the relative role of transaction utility in explaining consumer decision making and how the informative and allocative roles of price might be distinguished. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from Ohio State University and his B.S. from Ohio State University. His research interests include information economics and pricing. Previously, he taught at the University of South Carolina. He has published in theJournal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing, andJournal of Retailing, among others. He received his Ph.D. at the University of South Carolina, his M.B.A. from the University of Georgia, and a B.S. degree from Clemson University. Previously, he taught at the University of Alabama. His research interests include consumer perceptions of value and interpersonal influences. He has published in theJournal of Consumer Research and theJournal of Marketing Research, among others. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from the University of South Carolina and has a Bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Delhi. His research interests include price bundling, price effects on perceived quality perceptions, and segmentation of business-to-business markets. He has published in theJournal of Business Research and theAdvances in Consumer Research series, published by the Association of Consumer Research. He previously taught on the faculty of Valdosta State University. She received a B.S. in statistics, a Ph.D. in marketing from the University of South Carolina, and a M.S. in statistics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. She previously taught at Lehigh University. Her research interests include market segmentation, discrete data analysis, and pricing. She has published in theJournal of Marketing Research, as well as in theProceedings of the American Marketing Association and theAssociation for Consumer Research.     

The client as consumer: Marketing the law,clinic-style

In 1977 the Supreme Court ruled that lawyers could not be prevented from advertising their prices for routine services, thus outlawing a long standing restriction imposed by the legal profession on its own members. This decision prompted a ferocious controversy (even for lawyers) over the proprieties of advertising legal services, not to mention the effect that “marketplace ethics” might wield on the delivery pricing, and quality of services offered to the great lay public. This article looks at how legal consumers are affected by the kind of high-volume, low-priced delivery of routine services that can only be offered profitably through aggressive marketing. Then it discusses how one firm used segmentation strategy and a consumer orientation to introduce the clinic concept on the East Coast. Finally, some implications of the immediate future of lawyer marketing for marketing professionals are analyzed.     

非线性定价下寡头垄断行业的市场格局分析

通过分析非线性定价下寡头垄断行业的消费者行为和市场格局,发现当两个企业的固定费用与边际价格的差异不一致时,高类型的消费者偏好高固定费用、低边际价格的产品,而低类型的消费者的偏好则相反,同时还存在某种类型的消费者对两企业的产品感觉无差异,从而使市场被分割为两部分。     

The consumer retail search process: A conceptual model and research agenda

Consumers are continually faced with the task of finding their way through a wide variety of retail environments. Surprisingly, very little research has addressed questions about how consumers physically search through retail settings. This article explores this important, yet little researched behavior. A conceptual model of the consumer’s retail search process (CRSP) and several research propositions are advanced. The CRSP model integrates research findings relevant to an understanding of consumer retail search behavior. Literature from such diverse fields of scientific inquiry as environmental psychology, human factors, architecture, and marketing are reviewed and serve as the theoretical basis of the CRSP model. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from Pennsylvania State University in 1991. His current research interest concerns how consumers interact with the physical environment and how this interaction influences subsequent behavior. His research has been published in theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing and theJournal of Marketing Education. His teaching and research interests focus on marketing and the environment and services marketing. He has carried out extensive research under sponsorship of federal, state, and local agencies on consumer behavior and urban travel and energy consumption. He received a B.S. degree in psychology from the University of Washington in 1966 and a Ph.D., also in psychology, from the University of North Carolina in 1972.     

Coping with organizational role stress: Intrinsic motivational orientation,perceived role benefits,and psychological withdrawal

Researchers have long recognized that individuals in stressful marketing roles find ways to cope with organizational role stress. This study examines the effects of three psychological coping strategies—intrinsic motivational orientation, perceived role benefits, and psychological withdrawal—in a model of organizational role stress. Results indicate that intrinsic motivational orientations reduce perceptions of role conflict and role ambiguity, and increase job satisfaction; that perceived role benefits positively influence job satisfaction; and that job dissatisfaction is the primary cause of psychological withdrawal. The study supports the importance of coping efforts in models of organizational role stress among marketing personnel. Dr. Keaveney’s research interests focus on retailing issues including retail buyer behavior, retail store image, and retail price promotions. Dr. Keaveney has also published in the areas of marketing organizational behavior, services marketing, and international marketing. She is co-author with Philip R. Cateora ofMarketing: An International Perspective, which has been published both in English and in Japanese. Dr. Keaveney has published articles in theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Promotion Management, Journal of Marketing Channels, andJournal of Volunteer Administration. Dr. Nelson’s research interests include topics in marketing research, consumer behavior, and advertising. He has published in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Marketing Research, and serves as occasional reviewer to these publications as well as to theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science. He teaches courses in marketing management, marketing research, and multivariate statistics.     

The moderating role of the price frame on the effects of price range and the number of Competitors on consumers’ search intentions

The Internet and Internet shopping agents (ISAs) are likely to have a substantial impact on the way consumers shop and conduct price searches. This article examines how the price frame (the relative position of a retailer’s price presented by ISAs) moderates the effects of the price range and the number of competitors carrying a product on consumers’ search intentions. Building on prospect theory and range theory, the authors predicted that the effects of price range and the number of competitors on consumers’ search intentions would be more pronounced in a negative price frame than in a positive price frame. The results of two experiments provide support for these predictions. Dhruv Grewal (dgrewal@babson.edu), Ph.D., is the Toyota Chair in Commerce and Electronic Business and a Professor of Marketing at Babson College. He is currently co-editor ofJournal of Retailing (2001-present). His research and teaching interests focus on e-business, retailing, global marketing, pricing, and value-based marketing strategies. He has published over 65 articles in journals such asJournal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Retailing, and Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. He cochaired the 1993 AMS Conference, the 1998 Winter AMA Conference, and the 2001 AMA Doctoral consortium. He will be cochairing the AMA 2006 Summer Educator’s Conference. Joan Lindsey-Mullikin (jmullikin@babson.edu), Ph.D., is an assistant professor of marketing at Babson College. Her research and teaching interests focus on pricing, retailing, and consumer behavior. She has published in journals such asJournal of Retailing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Journal of Social Psychology, andJournal of Product and Brand Management. She serves on the review board ofJournal of Product and Brand Management.     

Exploring the implications of the internet for consumer marketing

Past commentaries on the potential impact of the Internet on consumer marketing have typically failed to acknowledge that consumer markets are heterogeneous and complex and that the Internet is but one possible distribution, transaction, and communication channel in a world dominated by conventional retailing channels. This failure has led to excessively broad predictions regarding the effect of the Internet on the structure and performance of product and service markets. The objective of this article is to provide a framework for understanding possible impacts of the Internet on marketing to consumers. This is done by analyzing channel intermediary functions that can be performed on the Internet, suggesting classification schemes that clarify the potential impact of the Internet across different products and services, positioning the Internet against conventional retailing channels, and identifying similarities and differences that exist between them. The article concludes with a series of questions designed to stimulate the development of theory and strategy in the context of Internet-based marketing. Robert A. Peterson holds the John T. Stuart III Centennial Chair in Business Administration and is the Charles E. Hurwitz fellow at the University of Texas at Austin. A former editor of theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science andJournal of Marketing Research, he currently chairs the board of governors of the Academy of Marketing Science. His research interests include the competitive and cooperative interface between electronic and traditional retail channels, customer equity modeling, and the application of options theory in marketing. His research interests are psychological models of economic behavior, consumer choice and choice protocols, and advertising. His work has been published in theJournal of Marketing Research, Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Service, andR&D Management.     

基于山东半岛零售业自有品牌消费者行为意向的实证研究

当前我国零售业快速发展,零售企业间的竞争日趋激烈,发展自有品牌成为零售企业获取竞争优势的重要途径,对自有品牌的消费行为进行研究具有重要的现实意义。本文在总结国内外研究的基础上,从品牌认可、感知形象、感知质量、感知价格、价格意识及促销刺激六个方面探究其对自有品牌消费者行为意向的影响,并通过问卷调查对模型进行验证,以期为零售企业开发和推广自有品牌提供营销策略上的依据和借鉴。     

Effects of price framing on consumers’ perceptions of online dynamic pricing practices

The viability of online dynamic pricing, or differential pricing for the same product from the same seller, is still debatable given the contradictory findings reported in both modeling and behavioral price research. This paper examines tactical ways for online merchants to mitigate consumers’ negative reactions when adopting dynamic pricing strategies. In three experiments, we show that using various price-framing tactics, compared to no framing, can induce price-disadvantaged consumers to perceive their ostensibly similar transactions differently relative to their comparative other parties. As the degree of perceived transaction dissimilarity increases, price-disadvantaged consumers’ perceived price fairness, trust, and repurchase intentions are enhanced. We further compare different price framing tactics and demonstrate that they have different effects on consumers across different product price levels, customer segments, and framing formats. The paper concludes with theoretical and managerial implications of the research.     

消费者选择理论的重构——品牌与数量选择的两步法经济分析

传统经济学中的消费者选择理论中的效用函数只考虑了商品数量对效用的影响，而在品牌时代，随着可供选择的多样化，消费者在选择数量之前必然首先对品牌做出选择。我们分两步来构建消费者选择理论：第一步是研究品牌与选择行为，消费者依据约束条件下选择成本最小化原则进行品牌选择；第二步是数量与选择行为，消费者依据约束条件下的效用最大化原则进行数量选择。将这两方面结合起来，可以重新构建品牌经济时代较为完整的消费者选择理论。     

山东半岛零售业视阈下自有品牌与消费者行为意向的实证研究

当前我国零售业快速发展,零售商间的竞争日趋激烈,发展自有品牌成为零售商获取竞争优势的重要途径,对自有品牌的消费行为进行研究具有重要的现实意义。在总结国内外研究的基础上,从品牌认可、感知形象、感知质量、感知价格、价格意识及促销刺激六个方面探究其对自有品牌消费者行为意向的影响,并通过问卷调查对模型进行验证,以期为零售商开发和推广自有品牌提供营销策略上的依据和借鉴。     

The effects of expertise,end goal,and product type on adoption of preference formation strategy

The global preference formation model identifies several preference formation strategies (i.e., own-based, other-based, or hybrid) that consumers use to select among alternative product offerings. This article examines how consumers’ expertise level (novice vs. expert), their end goals (satisficing vs. optimizing), and product type (search vs. experience product) collectively influence the preference formation strategy likely to be adopted. Results from an experiment indicate that the adoption of a given strategy is influenced by interactions between subjects’ expertise level and their end goals and the product type. Novice satisficers employed a higher proportion of own-based strategies than novice optimizers, but expert satisficers used a lower proportion of own-based strategies than expert optimizers. When compared to novices choosing a search product, novices selecting an experience product used a lower proportion of own-based and a higher proportion of other-based strategies. Similarly, when compared to experts choosing a search product, experts selecting an experienced product used a lower proportion of own-based strategies, but this was accompanied by a higher proportion of hybrid strategies. Implications and directions for future research are discussed. Her current research interests include consumer choice processes, electronic decision aids, and measurement issues in marketing. His research interests include consumer information search, marketing communications, and measurement issues.     

How European retailers view American imported products: Results of a product image survey

With the dimensions of international trade widening each year, and the oil generated U.S. balance of payments deficit unacceptably high, the need for American firms to export their products to overseas markets has never been greater. Formulation of a successful export marketing strategy for the European Community can be greatly assisted by gaining some insight into how the consumers and businessmen in the various European member nations view American products. With this in mind, a total of 163 retail store managers in Britain and France were asked to rate products “made in the U.S.A.” on each of 13 product image dimensions, and to “vote” for which of the 3 countries offered the products of greatest value in 6 different consumer product categories. The results offer some useful insights for U.S. firms seeking to tap the potential consumer markets in Britain and France.     

Extending the concept of shopping: An investigation of browsing activity

In many previous studies of consumer behavior, shopping has been equated with buying. This research examines the concept of browsing—the examination of a retailer’s merchandise without a current intent to buy. Results indicate that for the product classes of clothing and personal computers, browsing is related to perceptions of relevant dimensions of the retail environment. In addition, heavy browsers are more involved with the product, are more knowledgeable, and are more likely to be opinion leaders than are other consumers. Suggestions for future research are also noted.     

Explaining the variation in short-term sales response to retail price promotions

This study focuses on the short-term sales response to price promotions in retail grocery stores and attempts to explain its variation using frequency of price promotions and the consecutive scheduling of price promotions. Retail managers’ expectations and tenets from behavioral theories provide the basis for the hypotheses that the frequency of price promotions and consecutive scheduling of price promotions affect short-term response to price promotions. The hypotheses are tested on three frequently purchased product categories, using store-level data from retail chains in three major markets. The analysis is validated with additional data on the same product categories and markets. A variety of managerial implications are drawn from the results and suggestions for future research are offered. He has been recognized with numerous teaching and research excellence awards. Dr. Kumar has published numerous articles in many scholarly journals in marketing and forecasting. He has coauthored a text titledMarketing Research and is currently working on two other textbooks. He is on the editorial review board of many journals. Dr. Kumar has lectured on marketing-related topics in various universities worldwide. His research interests include developing forecasting models, international marketing strategy and international marketing research issues, models for sales promotions, and new methodologies for product positioning and market segmentation. Dr. Kumar received his doctoral degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He has published articles about retailing and marketing strategy in scholarly journals such as theJournal of Retailing, International Journal of Research in Marketing, andJournal of Business Ethics. His current research interest focuses on models for sales promotions and marketing strategy. Dr. Pereira received his doctoral degree from the University of Houston.     

A test of the share/price market planning relationship in one retail environment

Over the past few years two important approaches to marketing strategy planning have been developed. A key planning relationship in each approach is the relationship between prices and market share. The Boston Consulting Group suggests that market share leaders match the prices of their lowest priced competitors while the Profit Impact of Marketing Strategies study has found that share leaders have higher prices. Which is correct? This empirical study tests the direction of the share price relationship in one specific retail environment, namely gasoline retail markets. The results strongly indicate that the share leaders in gasoline retailing consistently have higher prices then their lower share competitors. The study represents the first time that marketing planning relationships such as that between share and price have been extended to retail operations from their more traditional areas of application in marketing by manufacturers.     

试论认知价值定价法在产品定价中的运用

影响消费者认知价值的主要因素有产品质量、包装、价格、品牌知名度、消费者口碑以及顾客满意度等。企业制定价格时不仅要考虑成本、竞争者价格、企业利润目标等因素,而且要注重消费者对产品的认知价值。可通过提高产品的质量、改善产品的包装、提高产品的品牌知名度和树立产品的良好口碑形象等措施来提高消费者对产品的认知价值。     

Can price dispersion in online markets be explained by differences in e-tailer service quality?

It has been hypothesized that the online medium and the Internet lower search costs and that electronic markets are more competitive than conventional markets. This suggests that price dispersion of an item with the same measured characteristics across sellers at a given point in time for identical products sold by e-tailers online should be smaller than it is offline, but some recent empirical evidence reveals the opposite. Based on an empirical analysis of 105 e-tailers comprising 6.739 price observations for 581 items in eight product categories, the authors show that online price dispersion is persistent, even after controlling for e-tailer heterogeneity. The general conclusion is that the proportion of the price dispersion explained by e-tailer characteristics is small. Also, after controlling for differences in e-tailer service quality, prices at pure-play e-tailers are equal to or lower than those at bricks-and-clicks e-tailers for all categories except books and computer software. Xing Pan is a doctoral candidate in marketing at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland. His research interests include pricing, electronic commerce, industrial organization, and consumer economics. His dissertation, which investigates price dispersion and price competition in online retail markets, won the 12th Annual Doctoral Research Fellowship awarded by the Economic Club of Washington. He has published in theAdvances in Applied Microeconomics and has presented several papers at Marketing Science conferences and MSI conferences. Brian T. Ratchford holds the Pepsico Chair in Consumer Research at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. He holds M.B.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Rochester. His research interests are in economics applied to the study of consumer behavior, information economics, and marketing productivity. He has published more than 30 articles in the leading journals in marketing and related fields, includingJournal of Consumer Research, Marketing Science, Management Science, andJournal of Marketing Research. He is past editor ofMarketing Science and currently on the editorial review boards ofJournal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Research, andJournal of Retailing. Venkatesh (Venky) Shankar is the Ralph J. Tyser Fellow and a professor of marketing and entrepreneurship at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland. His research interests include e-business, competitive strategy, international marketing, pricing, innovation, and supply chain management. His research has been published in journals such as theJournal of Marketing Research, Marketing Science, Marketing Letters, and theJournal of Retailing. He is an associate editor ofManagement Science and is also on the editorial boards ofMarketing Science, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Retailing, and theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science. He was a visiting faculty member at the Sloan School of Management, MIT, last year and has also taught at the Chinese European International Business School, Shanghai.     

Assessing the predictive validity of two methods of measuring self-image congruence

The predictive validity of two measurement methods of self-image congruence—traditional versus new—were compared in six studies involving different consumer populations, products, consumption settings, and dependent variables (brand preference, preference for product form, consumer satisfaction/dissatisfaction, brand attitude, and program choice). The traditional method is based on tapping the subject’s perception of product-user image and the subject’s perception of his/her self-image along a predetermined set of image attributes and adding the self-congruity scores across all image dimensions. Three problems were identified and discussed in relation to the traditional method: (1) the use of discrepancy scores, (2) the possible use of irrelevant images, and (3) the use of the compensatory decision rule. The new method is based on tapping the psychological experience of self-congruity directly and globally. The findings demonstrated the predictive validity of the new method over and beyond the traditional method. His research interests are mostly in self-concept, quality of life, and systems theory. His research interests are mostly in pricing and product quality. Her research interests are primarily in family decision making. Her research interests focus on the social psychology of clothing and patronage of clothing retailers. His research interests are mainly in the social psychology of travel and leisure behavior. His research interests are mainly focused on self-concept, quality of life, environmental marketing, and sports marketing. His research interests are mainly in self-concept and value-expressive advertising. He is the Academy of Marketing Science Distinguished Professor of Business and is the founder of the Academy of Marketing Science. He currently serves as the organization’s executive director. His research interests are mostly in consumer behavior and advertising.