Marketing in retailing: a research agenda

Although specific retailing subjects related to marketing have been extensively

researched and presented in academic literature, the overall topic of marketing in

retailing has received little attention. This paper identifies and discusses some

principal marketing in retailing issues that warrant empirical assessment.

Research attention to the questions raised in this paper will provide strategic

Guidelines to retailers seeking to improve the marketing performance of their

organizations.     

第四方物流的协调机制研究

第四方物流的运作过程中,参与的企业多、物流任务多而复杂、各企业的文化差异等因素增加了物流任务完成的不确定性。为了使物流环节在时间和地理上精确配合,实现准时无缝连接、降低物流成本、提高物流服务水平,第四方物流需要对物流过程进行全面协调管理。本文首先分析了第四方物流协调的必要性,然后分析了第四方物流的协调机制,最后建立了基于MAS的第四方物流层次协调模型。     

Rural Retailing: Challenges to Traditional Handicrafts

ABSTRACT

The expansion of tourism into villages has provided craft traders of Kerala with significant opportunities in rural retailing. However, village artisans with limited resources fail to reach global consumers. This study aims to clarify the challenges faced by rural craft cooperatives in selecting retail channels for their products. Testing the hypotheses at two levels using primary and secondary data, the author identifies the retail channel that offers the maximum returns to producers and satisfaction to consumers. The results indicate that those cooperatives owning exclusive retail channels guarantee sustainable market relationships for rural artisans.     

Customer retailer loyalty in the context of multiple channel strategies

With an increasingly competitive retail environment and decreasing customer switching costs, customer retailer loyalty is a critical goal for merchants of all types. We investigate customer retailer loyalty in the context of multiple channel retailing strategies. Results show that multiple channel retail strategies enhance the portfolio of service outputs provided to the customer, thus enhancing customer satisfaction and ultimately customer retailer loyalty. These results suggest that multiple channel retailing can be a useful strategy for building customer retailer loyalty.     

跨国零售企业中国市场营运模式比较及启示

纵观跨国零售企业中国市场的营销运作,显现出创新的竞争作为和卓越的竞争成效,因而有必要关注跨国零售企业中国市场营销个性的差异,尤其需要研究其营销共性的特征,将其营销运作模式进行对比分析,提炼核心能力的基本框架,把握核心能力关键所在,探索零售企业核心能力与行业竞争态势、目标市场竞争环境、以及总体竞争趋势的关联度,寻求我国零售企业跨入国际市场参与竞争的借鉴之路。     

‘Touch it,swipe it,shake it’: Does the emergence of haptic touch in mobile retailing advertising improve its effectiveness?

This article illustrates that haptic touch, the sensation of gaining and sending information through the hand, can improve mobile retailing advertisements’ effectiveness. To date, (haptic) touch has been predominantly thought of as a sensation only possible for physical retail settings, with limited theoretical or empirical evidence of its existence in mobile retailing advertising in the current literature. This study presents a model which includes interactivity, value, involvement, brand attitude and purchase intentions in a singular model for the first time. The model is comparatively examined across haptic touch (n = 303) versus non-haptic touch (n = 359) conditions using structural equation modelling (SEM) multi-group test of invariance. The findings demonstrate haptic touch improves the experience of advertisements and this strengthens purchase intentions, whereas for the non-haptic touch condition, results demonstrate the actual brand being advertised should be leveraged to increase purchase intentions. These findings present a new theoretical perspective that haptic touch is now a sensation which can be engaged in mobile and digital retail settings and provides an important foundation for future research.     

机场零售业的营销特征分析

机场零售业对机场总体营业额、航空运输业客户满意度有重大意义。与普通零售业不同,机场零售业的客户群按照其行为特征可以分为“情操享受型”、“随机发现型”和“应急需求型”。消费行为的主要诉求是集个性化、舒适性、便利性、尊重感和成就感于一体的。相应的营销组合是,满足客户需求创造客户价值、按创造的客户价值定价、建立多渠道交互性的有效沟通、为顾客提供便利服务,同时兼顾创造性的差异化供给,防止同业竞争者间产品与服务的雷同。     

Pricing dynamics in US fresh produce channels: new empirical evidence

Despite many valuable contributions, prior research has not completely explained retail pricing behavior. This study employs scanner data for 36 fresh produce items analyzing the relationship between costs of goods sold and retail prices to provide further insight into retail pricing behavior. Implications include: (1) where ‘natural’ variation in produce prices do not already exist from the supplier, retailers appear to introduce the variation themselves, independent from shipping point price; and (2) to the extent that supplier-retailer contracts for fresh produce develop, the resulting stabilizing influence on costs may have the preserve effect of increasing retail price variability to consumers.     

The moderating effects of in-store marketing on the relationships between shopping motivations and loyalty intentions

This study attempts to understand the moderating roles of in-store marketing by incorporating the effects of shopping motivations on repatronage and word-of-mouth intentions in the context of fashion apparel by applying theories related to self-determination and social impact. Structural equation modeling using data collected from young adult fashion apparel shoppers in Thailand reveals positive effects of shopping motivations. The utilitarian shopping motivation shows a greater effect in predicting loyalty intentions than hedonistic shopping motivation. In-store marketing is shown to have a moderating effect on loyalty intentions, although the influence of each moderator on the investigated direct effects varies. The findings can prove helpful to fashion apparel retailers in developing effective advertising and promotional strategies that correspond to the specific needs of the shoppers to promote store loyalty intentions.     

Are consumers sensitive to large retailers' sustainable practices? A semiotic analysis in the French context

This paper seeks to discover consumer perceptions related to the adoption of sustainable transport practices by the French large retail industry. Using 20 semi-structured interviews and the semiotic square method, this research sheds light on a set of structured postures of consumers' perceptions according to a semantic axis: conjunction vs. disjunction. The recourse to a socio-semiotic reading here favours a deeper comprehension of the question of consumers' trust in large retailers. It proposes a typology of four distinct virtual strategies responding to the diverse consumer perceptions brought to light: persuasion, rejection, suspicion, and alignment. This leads to a discussion of the strategies offered by different large retailers to meet their consumers' perceptions and expectations. Lastly, the results outline the importance of deploying targeted communication and of aligning sustainable transport practices in accordance with the identified consumer postures.     

Dynamics of Customer Response to Promotional and Relational Direct Mailings from an Apparel Retailer: The Moderating Role of Relationship Strength

Although direct mails have traditionally been used to sell a product or service, they can also be effective in enhancing retailer-customer relationships. This study examines how customers respond to ‘promotional’ (‘call to action’) and ‘relational’ (‘retailer-image enhancement’) direct mailings. The study develops a model that includes: (i) the dynamic effects of both types of direct mailings over time; and (ii) the moderating role of strength of the relationship that a customer enjoys with the retailer. Past purchase behavior is also considered. The model is then used in a study of customers of a Belgian apparel retailer. The results show that relational mailings positively affect customer response, irrespective of when they are sent. In contrast, the effects of promotional mailings are less clear-cut: although they work well in the short term, their effects can vary in the longer term. In addition, the study finds that a direct-mailing strategy should be planned in accordance with the strength of the relationship between the retailer and the target customers. The results of the study provide valuable insights for retailers in optimizing the effectiveness of their direct-mail initiatives.