外资冲击下的中国零售企业发展对策研究

自从中国取消了对外资零售业在地域、股权和数量等方面的限制后,以沃尔玛、家乐福等国际零售业巨头为代表的大型连锁超市蜂拥而至,对国内本土零售业造成了巨大冲击。外资零售业对我国零售业态的改革起到一定促进作用,增加了我国居民的就业就会,但同时也严重挤占了我国本土零售企业的发展空间,导致我国国内零售业地区分布进一步失衡。为应对外资造成的冲击,我国应培育本土大型零售业,营造公平竞争的市场环境,向中小城市、中西部及广大农村推进,大力提高物流配送水平。     

家电零售连锁业物流配送现状及优化研究

作为流通型企业的一员,近年来家电零售连锁业取得了前所未有的发展,本文在调查研究了国美、苏宁等数十家家电零售连锁企业门店的基础上,介绍了家电零售连锁业物流配送的现状,剖析了现状所反映的问题,最后针对家电产品配送的特点提出了优化家电零售连锁企业物流配送体系的思路。     

Associations between demographics and perceptions of unethical consumer behaviour

Retailers may lose profits as a result of shoplifting and other unethical consumer behaviour. Research focusing on consumer ethical decision making is needed. Information provided by 1117 undergraduate students from universities within the US revealed that women are less accepting of unethical consumer behaviour than men. Subjects who reported that they very consistently follow the teachings of their primary faith are less accepting of unethical consumer behaviour than subjects who reported that they do not very consistently follow the teachings of their primary faith. Relationships between consumer ethical response scores and other demographic characteristics are discussed.     

Consumer's scepticism of wine awards: A study of consumers’ use of wine awards

This study aims to explain the process by which the effect of wine awards, as an extrinsic cue, becomes the reverse of what was intended. Based on their age and commercial background, and separating those with professional affiliations, participants were placed into one of four focus groups. Thematic analysis was applied to focus groups. Most consumers are found to be sceptical about wine awards and critical of awards, as confusing and misleading. Most consumers also criticised the transparency of the awards process. Despite this, participants frequently used awards for evaluating wines. Decision-making theory (Pellemans, 1971) needs extending to include awards.     

An examination of the values that motivate socially conscious and frugal consumer behaviours

This article extends social psychological research on the motivations for sustainable consumption from the predominant domain of ecologically conscious consumer behaviour to socially conscious and frugal consumer behaviours. A UK‐based survey study examines relationships between socially conscious and frugal consumer behaviours and Schwartz's value types, personal and socio‐political materialism, and demographics among the general public. Socially conscious consumer behaviour, like its ecological counterpart, appears to be an expression of pro‐social values. In contrast, frugal consumer behaviour relates primarily to low personal materialism and income constraints. As such, it does not yet represent a fully developed moral challenge to consumerism.     

Assess the impact of subjective norms of consumers' behaviour in the Greek olive oil market

The objective of the research was to highlight the role that socio-economic and spatial attributes of consumers – households exert on their choices regarding not only the supply modes but also the price they are willing to pay for different categories of olive oil. Regarding WTP for different olive oil labels, consumers are willing to pay premiums only for olive oils being processed by either private companies or cooperatives, with the latter to gain 34% of them in case they would decide to change the olive oil they usually purchase. The most important consumer profile is the young educated consumer one.     

Do consumers act in a sustainable way using their refrigerator? The influence of consumer real life behaviour on the energy consumption of cooling appliances

Over recent decades, energy savings and resource conservation have become increasingly important issues for debate, and this includes the residential sector. Since the introduction of the European Energy Label, the energy consumption of appliances has decreased drastically. Additionally, a number of guidelines have been published to assist the consumer in adopting more energy‐saving behaviours. Refrigerators and freezers in particular are covered by these recommendations because they are large energy consumers in domestic households. In order to understand the influence of consumers' real life circumstances and their behaviour in relation to the energy consumption of refrigerators, a web‐based survey was carried out. A total of 1011 participants in four European countries completed a questionnaire to allow the researchers to gain information about refrigerator characteristics and consumer behaviour in relation to refrigerator use. As well as demographic and socio‐economic characteristics of the participants, data were collected on refrigerator configuration and specification, ambient conditions (ambient temperature, position near any heat sources), and consumer behaviours such as shopping frequency, loading of the refrigerator, door opening and food consumption. The study has shown that recommendations on energy efficient usage are not always observed. A major finding of the present study is that for 25% of refrigerators, correct operation is not ensured as these appliances are operated outside the temperature ranges specified according to their climatic classes. This suggests a lack of consumer information on this topic. Consequently, guidelines and recommendations will have to be revised and their dissemination to be improved in order to ensure the sustainable and safe use of domestic refrigerators.     

Australia's Gone Chicken!

Abstract

The gross value of Australia's agriculture industry in 2001/2002 was A$38.4 billion with 65% allocated to exports. The major exports markets are South East Asia, Japan, USA, and the EU. Products include wool, beef, wheat, cotton, sugar, and wine. For Australia there have been significant changes over time in markets and production arrangements in the international arena. This is also true of the domestic market especially in the area of meat products. Australians, once dominant red meat eaters, have now “gone chicken.” The total yearly consumption of meats averages around 110 kg per person. Beef up until recent years has always been the dominant player. However, in the last 30 years chicken consumption has risen from being a marginal food item to being a product that is expected to eclipse beef consumption in the very near future. This paper explores the trends and examines the changes as they are reflected by the behaviour of consumers and market chain drivers. The paper provides suggestions that could be gainfully employed at the consumer behaviour levels for other meat producers.     

The Greydollarfella: An endangered species or a market opportunity?

This paper identifies an ignored and endangered species: the mature male shopper, who we have named the Greydollarfella. Based on current research and interviews, we describe this fellow and attempt to differentiate him from other consumer segments. The Greydollarfella, unlike younger men, appears not to like shopping and so is often ignored by retailers or excluded from the retail environment. We argue that the Greydollarfella should be included in, not sidelined from, retail and marketing considerations. He is much wealthier and less time-poor than younger men, and deserves a retail environment that suits his preferences and consumer requirements. We present some examples of how retailers are attending (and not attending) to the Greydollarfella. We conclude that Greydollarfella is not very well understood, is undervalued, and is often marginalised by retail marketing strategies. We believe he offers great value for marketers and retailers (both niche and mass) willing to take the time to understand his psyche, product and service needs, and views on the retail experience. Finally, we call for more attention to be paid to this segment.     

Assessing consumer logistics functions in grocery shopping: Evidence from an emerging market

Abstract

Consumer logistics (CL), focuses on the role of consumers in the logistical processing of goods for the purpose of consumption from point of acquisition to the point of disposal. The objective of this study is to test and validate the CL scale as introduced by Bahn, Granzin, and Tokman for grocery shopping in a previously unexplored country setting, namely in Turkey. Our findings show in contrast to Bahn et al. only six CL functions: information search, transportation management and materials handling, storage management & inventory needs assessment, contingent inventory operations & product acquisition, intra-household communication, and interdependent transportation operations. These six CL functions are more applicable for an emerging market, such as Turkey. These findings are consistent across the different socio-demographic characteristics in our sample.     

The changing consumer in Portugal

The 1980's for Portugal was a period of remarkable changes and a number of events influenced the decade significantly. Changes in environmental variables had great impact on the behaviour of Portuguese consumers and the marketing management of firms. This article reviews the changes along a number of variables which are relevant for decision-making in marketing in Portugal. Economic environment, demographic developments, cultural and attitude changes, variables related to Portuguese consumers and changes in macro marketing-mix will be assessed. The future trends of these variables will be reviewed and their implication for marketing management in the remaining years of this century will be considered.