Trauma's effects on shopper choice confusion: The role of psychological hardiness and retailer strategies as mitigating factors

Retailers must understand how trauma influences the consumer shopping journey and identify ways to mitigate any potential adverse effects. Two studies were conducted to explore trauma in the retail environment. First, a conceptual model was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) based on survey data collected from 324 participants. Findings indicate that consumers who report previously experiencing traumatic events feel anxiety while shopping in retail environments, negatively influencing their ability to make purchase decisions. This outcome is due to challenges in adequately assessing stressful environmental stimuli and developing positive coping mechanisms. Consumer propensity for psychological hardiness was found to moderate this relationship. Next, a follow-up qualitative study from 110 consumers who reported experiencing instances of trauma identified potential ways for retailers to help consumers who have experienced trauma feel more comfortable in shopping environments. These findings extend research on trauma and consumer shopping behavior by identifying its impacts on choice confusion and stress appraisal and suggesting how retailers can support shoppers through a trauma-informed approach.     

International retail format transfer: A comparison study of Australian and U.S. warehouse club members

Costco successfully transferred its Warehouse Membership Club (WMC) format to Australia. This research: 1) develops a conceptual framework to examine the role of consumer perception of format-specific core attributes in shaping the hedonic shopping experience and customer loyalty; and 2) compares Australian consumers' responses to the novel WMC format with U.S. consumers' responses to the familiar, mature format. We collected survey data from Australian and U.S. Costco members after Costco's entry into Australia's retail market and we tested the proposed model with a multiple-group structural equation modelling technique. Our findings suggest that value and hedonic shopping experience contribute to consumer loyalty in both countries. However, value is perceived as more important in shaping hedonic shopping experience, but less important in building loyalty in Australia than in U.S. When transferring a retail format that is novel to host country consumers, global retailers should factor in the novelty effect and emphasize the management of core format attributes that embrace the differences and carry particular importance in building customer loyalty.     

Shopping mall retailing: A bibliometric analysis and systematic assessment of Chebat's contributions

Shopping malls are unique retail environments offering individual consumption experiences within a holistic retail ecosystem. Drawing on a bibliometric analysis and a systematic review of 31 articles, this research synthetizes Jean-Charles Chebat's contributions to the shopping mall literature. Findings highlight four core clusters of the shopping mall literature, namely spatial wayfinding, atmospherics, consumer differences across shopping mall experiences, and shopping mall consequences. The newly developed Shopping Mall Experience Framework extends Chebat's research proposing additional elements of interest for current mall retailing research. Managerial implications offer practical guidance on successfully designing and maneuvering shopping malls of the future.     

Impact of movie-watching on cross-selling revenue in shopping malls: Implications for post-pandemic recovery

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted consumers to postpone in-store purchases and shift to online shopping, decreasing overall retail spending. As the global lockdown eases and shoppers return to offline stores and malls, shopping malls seek to facilitate in-store consumer experiences at entertainment facilities. Given the importance of entertainment facilities to the cross-selling revenue of shopping malls, we investigate the relationship between consumers' movie-watching and subsequent (hedonistic) grocery purchases. Our analysis of a panel database that includes transaction details at the consumer level shows that movie-watching is negatively correlated with consumer spending. Furthermore, consumers’ psychological states induced by content and contextual factors moderate the negative effect of movie-watching; after watching a fantasy (as compared to thriller) genre or watching a movie in a less crowded theater, consumers are more likely to make hedonic purchases at the supermarket. These findings provide theoretical and managerial implications for retail operators exploring cross-selling opportunities post-pandemic.     

Consumer shopping value: An investigation of shopping trip value,in-store shopping value and retail format

Although delivering value is the key for retailers to create new competitive advantages, the literature on consumer shopping value is fragmented and findings are inconsistent. This study aimed to understand consumer shopping value in-depth by examining consumer shopping processes and experiences in two retail formats: mass merchandisers and department stores. This study conceptualizes consumer shopping value as having two components: shopping trip value and in-store shopping value. Shopping trip value is originated by fulfillment of general shopping motivations, and in-store shopping value stems from retail elements that create in-store shopping experiences that consumers have in specific retail contexts. Five shopping trip value dimensions and six in-store shopping value dimensions are identified from the in-depth interviews. The findings highlight how consumer shopping value is a complex and context specific construct.     

Understanding the usability of retail fashion brand chatbots: Evidence from customer expectations and experiences

The existing literature suggests that chatbots tend to provide automated and generic responses that may not fully address complex customer inquiries, particularly when additional guidance is required. To improve the usability of retail fashion brands, this study examines how socially constructed experiences and expectations influence customer interactions. Data was collected from various sources, including online reviews, semi-structured interviews, and focus group discussions, to enhance the credibility of the results. The research reveals that individuals in the retail industry demand a broader variety of fashion products and more sophisticated capabilities to bolster the reminiscence of their shopping experiences. Retail fashion chatbots hold potential in recommending items that align with customers' preferences and goals, yet it is crucial for developers and brand managers to address numerous usability challenges and provide multilingual assistance to boost user engagement. Moreover, optimizing fashion retail chatbots is vital to reduce battery consumption, curtail instances of conversation window freezing, and hasten response times. This study provides a novel research framework that offers valuable insights on how to enhance the retail customer experience by improving interactivity, compatibility, credibility, and other factors that promote the use and adoption of retail fashion chatbots.     

Satisfaction of mall shoppers: A study on perceived utilitarian and hedonic shopping values

Declining consumer footfall and diminishing sales in Indian metro cities have guided the expansion of malls in cities of central India. Shoppers of these cities are unfamiliar with the mall concept and have limited exposure of shopping values in the past. The present research focused on the influence of utilitarian and hedonic shopping values on satisfaction of mall shoppers of central India Bhopal by establishing a proposed research framework based on 288 responses from two shopping malls, using utilitarian and hedonic dimensions of shopping values. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) are used to analyze and validate the proposed research framework. The result supports the relationship between shopping values and customer satisfaction, where both the shopping values show positive significant influences on customer satisfaction. Therefore this research paper would help mall owners to focus on these shopping values effectively and efficiently while planning malls in central India for gaining competitive advantage, attracting new customer and hold their profitable customers by enhancing customer satisfaction with shopping values in the current retail scenario.     

The effects of mall personality and fashion orientation on shopping value and mall patronage intension

It is imperative for mall operators in China to gain insights into consumer shopping behaviours that will allow them to further develop their mall personalities, in order to better differentiate themselves from the competition. The overarching objective of the present study was two-fold: to increase our understanding about contemporary Chinese shoppers; and to examine the relationships among mall personality, fashion orientation, shopping value and mall patronage intention. This study presents the results of a research survey conducted in Wuhan, China. Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS SEM) was used to analyze the survey responses from 324 shopping mall patrons. The findings indicate that consumers' fashion orientation has a significant influence based on their perception of the shopping mall personality. The path model analysis revealed that consumers' perception of shopping value had the strongest effect on their shopping intentions at the mall.     

Price image and the sugrophobia effect on luxury retail purchase intention

Consumer shopping behavior in luxury retail stores continues to be a subject of interest among marketing researchers. Such a phenomenon has led us to explore how price image and sugrophobia, a psychological feeling of being taken advantage of, would influence consumers' future behavioural intention in the context of luxury retail store. Informed by a survey of 400 consumers, this study adopts the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S–O-R) model to examine how price image triggers consumer perceptions (i.e., perceived value, trust and attitude) and results in behavioral intention. Sugrophobia is included in the S–O-R model to assess its moderating effect. Data analysis using SEM-PLS demonstrates that a retailer's price image has a positive effect on consumers' perceived value, trust, attitude, and future behavioral intention. Sugrophobia, in turn, is found to weaken the relationship between price image and consumer perceptions. The study thus highlights the relevance of sugrophobia among risk-averse consumers and the necessity to manage sugrophobic consumers effectively in the context of a luxury retail store. Implications of the study are discussed.     

Effects of shopping centre re-investments and improvements on sales and visit growth

PurposeEstablished shopping centres have in recent years experienced increasing competition due to a steady increase in newer and bigger centres as well as online shopping. How could existing centres compete on such terms?Design/methodology/approachThis analysis is based on interviews with 96 shopping centre managers in charge of malls that existed in 2008 and 2014, about their improvements during a three-year period and the effects on sales and number of visitors from one year before and one year after that period. The investments and improvements are structured and analysed mainly along seven common categories of shopping centre attributes recognised as determinants of customer satisfaction and/or patronage behaviour in existing research.FindingsThe results show significant positive relationships between shopping centres' improvements and the growth in sales as well as visit rates. The effects are, however, more significant for sales than visit growth. The forms of investment that yielded the greatest positive effect are improvements in physical dimensions such as access, atmosphere the retail mix. Increased investments in less physical dimensions such as promotions, entertainment, refreshments and service had little or no effect.Originality/valuePresent studies on centre renovations and improvements are merely case studies or studies of single cases, but this study deals with larger number of cases and long-term effects. In contrast to previous research on shopping centres and the role of satisfaction and patronage, with recommend balance between physical and non-physical aspects, this study highlights the importance of physical capital dimensions.     

The Showrooming Phenomenon: It's More than Just About Price

This paper examines the factors that influence competitive showrooming, whereby consumers visit an offline retail store to gather information but make their purchase online at a competing retailer. We survey 556 respondents to study how the benefits and costs of showrooming influence the consumer's decision to showroom. Not surprisingly, we find that expected average price savings from showrooming are positively associated with showrooming. In addition, however, the perceived dispersion in online prices is also positively related to showrooming. Moreover, we find that non-price factors play a key role in consumers' showrooming decisions: perceived gains in the quality of the product purchased when showrooming (measured as the fit with a consumer's need) and waiting time for service in the brick-and-mortar store are positively associated with showrooming. Online search costs are negatively related to showrooming. Time pressure that consumers face when shopping is negatively associated with their propensity to showroom. We discuss implications for researchers and retail managers. For example, managers of offline retail stores can curtail showrooming by increasing the number of sales personnel available in-store instead of providing currently employed personnel with more training. To encourage showrooming, managers of online retailers should make it easier for the customer to search online.     

How does shopping duration evolve and influence buying behavior? The role of marketing and shopping environment

This study investigates how promotional activities, mall size, and past shopping experiences affect customer shopping duration, and elucidates how shopping duration induces immediate, transient, and long-term effects on customer decisions of whether and how much to buy in the offline shopping mall format. We simultaneously model purchase incidence, purchase amount, and shopping duration to examine empirically the constructs’ dynamic impacts. The proposed model is calibrated using six-year-long transaction data of 43,326 customers that patronize malls operated by a large retail firm. The results reveal that shopping duration leads to an immediate increase in the amount spent by customers in a given period. The transient effects of shopping duration on purchase incidence and amount are significantly positive. However, in the long term, while purchase frequency appears to increase with cumulative shopping duration, purchase amount is negatively affected. Further, shopping duration increases with the size of the mall visited and the level of promotion but tends to converge to a lower level in the long term. Managerial implications for effectively managing customer experience are discussed.     

Shopping centers revisited: The interplay between consumers’ spontaneous online communications and retail planning

This paper revisits shopping centers' characteristics in the light of consumers' choices of actual centers in spontaneous online communications. We argue that modes of shopping centers marketing, which comprise a certain set of attributes to ensure consumers' choice, need to be updated to relate to new specific consumers' needs and choices, taking into account the recent increasing role of technologies, leisure activities and changes in consumer behavior. To this end, the paper considers consumers' unsolicited communications on Twitter as an effective source of insights. Drawing upon 10,544 consumers' tweets relating to the 19 main shopping centers in UK posted in May 2019 analyzed through machine learning algorithms. Results report the interplay between consumers' unsolicited online judgments and retail planning, while suggesting new methods for understanding consumers’ insights.     

Equity ownership and control of international joint ventures in the retail sector

Abstract

This study examines the relationships that exist between consumers' perceptions of a retail environment and their emotions, satisfaction and behavioural intentions with respect to that shopping setting. A model of these relationships is developed and then tested in two distinct retail settings—shopping centres and traditional retailing areas. The results show that, in general, positive perceptions of a retail environment have a positive influence on positive emotions, on repatronage intentions, and on the desire to remain longer in the shopping area in both retail settings. However, some interesting differences emerge between shopping centres and traditional retailing areas: (i) the internal environment has a stronger effect on emotions in shopping centres than in traditional retailing areas; and (ii) the internal environment has a negative effect in shopping centres on the disposition to pay more.     

What motivates customers to shop in smart shops? The impacts of smart technology and technology readiness

With the rapid diffusion of smart technologies, a new retail mode, the smart shop, has received increasing attention from both academia and practitioners in the 5G era. However, previous studies on smart shops have largely focused on the effects of smart technologies on technology adoption rather than customer shopping behaviors. To fill this gap, this study applies the hedonic information systems acceptance model (HISAM) to identify the utilitarian and hedonic motivations affecting consumer shopping intention. In addition, we characterize a second-order formative construct, technology readiness, as a technology-related personality to test its moderating role in the research model in the marketing context when consumer behaviors may differ due to individual characteristics. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), we applied SmartPLS 3.2.8 to analyze 298 valid samples. The results show that perceived ease of use significantly affects perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment, in turn, these three factors directly influence shopping intention. Additionally, perceived ease of use will have a stronger impact on perceived usefulness and shopping intention when the customer has a high level of technology readiness. Finally, theoretical and practical suggestions and future research directions are also discussed.     

The social significance of AI in retail on customer experience and shopping practices

This paper draws on practice-informed, ethnographic research to develop an understanding of the novel social consequences and opportunities afforded from consumers' interactions with AI digital humans as part of the in-store shopping experience. We reveal and interrogate consumers’ experiences with AI digital humans in an exploratory study undertaken during the launch phase of an in-store kiosk digital store greeter in a flagship store of a large national technology and appliance chain. Our findings contribute to understanding the social significance of AI in retail on customer experience (CX) and the managerial implications of consumers interactions with AI digital humans are described and discussed.     

Why shopping pals make malls different?

The present study examines the effects of the specific type of ompanion a shopper shops with (i.e., friend versus family member) on the emotional attachment to malls. The study aims to explain this influence through two potential mediators, that is, shopping arousal, and shopping apprehension, the relevance of which has been shown in the extant reviewed psychosocial literature. The emotional attachment of shoppers to their mall depends on whom they are shopping with: shopping with friends affects both shoppers' arousal and apprehension. Only arousal mediates the relationship between shopping pal and mall attachment. Our findings provide new insight on the psychological processes explaining the relation shoppers develop with their shopping environment and give retail managers guidelines for increasing shoppers' attachment to their malls.     

Shopping orientations as antecedents to channel choice in the French grocery multichannel landscape

This paper investigates the influence of consumer shopping orientations on grocery channel attractiveness and choice. It extends the concept of shopping orientation (utilitarian and hedonic) to account for emerging motivations among French consumers: shopping in line with sustainable and ethical values. In doing so, it helps profile segments of consumers who choose to shop through new online channels (Drive through) and newly deployed store formats (city stores). A sample of 300 French customers, responsible for shopping in the household, was surveyed. Hypotheses were tested through Latent Class Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling with categorical outcomes. Our findings indicate that consumers shopping orientations influence the way consumers will combine the different channels and store formats for grocery purchase. In particular, our results highlight the importance of responsible retail practices and ethical assortments in consumers' choice of online formats whilst local product orientation influences the choice of city stores and market places.     

Shopping value orientation: Conceptualization and measurement

Consumers exhibit diversified shopping value in a highly competitive retail environment, which entails investigating multiple dimensions of consumer shopping value orientation that are important in determining an appropriate retail approach. To capture diverse aspects of consumer shopping value orientation, this study developed a comprehensive measurement which would (1) encompass both benefit and cost components, (2) embrace the domain beyond the boundary of product focus, and (3) comprise both utilitarian and hedonic aspects. Employing an extensive literature review, focus group and personal interviews, and surveys, this study developed the nine-dimensional shopping value orientation (SVO) measure. The measure was validated with multiple tests such as convergent validity, discriminant validity, and nomological validity. Its applicability in the retail setting was demonstrated with cluster analysis accompanied by correspondence analysis. Implications for retailers as well as future research directions are provided.     

Thinking Beyond Privacy Calculus: Investigating Reactions to Customer Surveillance

As interactive technologies become more pervasive, firms are increasingly conducting customer surveillance—the acquisition, usage, and storage of consumers' personal data—more covertly and with fewer resources. Privacy calculus—the rational decision to disclose personal data—has dominated the literature to explain rational or calculated reactions to customer surveillance, however, not all reactions can be explained by rational processes. This article advances our understanding of these reactions beyond the privacy calculus concept by proposing attitudes toward customer surveillance. Based on levels of consumer privacy and consumer value concerns, these attitudes are associated with four archetypes—pragmatists, protectionists, capitalists, and apathists. By understanding these attitudes, researchers and managers can gain insight into the diversity of consumers' concerns regarding both consumer privacy and consumer value in order to better explain observed marketplace behaviors.