Using workplace population statistics to understand retail store performance

We explore the value of recently released workplace geographies and accompanying census-based workplace zone statistics (WZS) and an associated classification of workplace zones (COWZ). We consider how these data could support retailers in their operational and strategic decision-making, including the evaluation of retail demand and retail store performance in localities where trade is driven by non-residential demand. In collaboration with major UK grocery retailer The Co-operative Group we explore the relationship between workplace population composition and store trading characteristics using a series of case study stores within Inner London. We use empirical store trading data to identify store and product category level temporal sales fluctuations attributable to workplace populations. We also use census-derived flow data to identify the spatial origins of workplace population inflow. We identify that store performance exhibits characteristics attributable to demand driven by these populations. We conclude that workplace population geographies, WZS and the COWZ afford considerable potential for understanding drivers of store performance, observed store trading patterns and evaluation of retail store performance. We suggest that the next step is to build these populations and their micro geography spatial and temporal characteristics into predictive models and evaluate their potential for store performance evaluation and location-based store and network decision-making within this sector.     

Reciprocal Effects of the Corporate Reputation and Store Equity of Retailers

Retailers aim to strengthen their ability to influence consumer behavior by building corporate reputation and store equity: for instance, by making promotional investments. However, little is known about the directionality of consumers’ corporate and store associations, that is, how reciprocal relationships between consumers’ perceptions of corporate reputation and store equity affect store loyalty. To illuminate this issue, we draw upon a study with a cross-sectional design and two studies with longitudinal designs. We find that retail store equity interacts with corporate reputation and is a more important driver of increased loyalty than corporate reputation. We conclude that retailers should pay attention to reciprocal effects, especially in determining the relative allocation of investments across corporate and store levels.     

Store Manager–Store Performance Relationship: A Research Note

Despite the critical role that store managers play in linking top management teams and service/retail employees, as well as in fulfilling corporate strategy within chain store environments, service management research infrequently addresses the factors that may promote store managers’ effective exchange relationships within the firm and subsequent effects on store operations and profitability. This study focuses on how store managers’ performance orientation, trust of a regional manager’s capabilities, and organizational commitment affect a manager’s relationships relative to regional managers and frontline employees. The direct effect of store managers’ relationship capacity on store performance is also examined. The results, based on survey data from managers of stores of a retail and service chain and company financial reports, generally support the suggested hypotheses. Specifically, a store manager’s relationship with his/her supervisor has a strong influence on how the manager views the supervisor’s leadership support and leadership style, which ultimately influence store performance (primary goods/service sales and store profits).     

Consumer service and loyalty in Spanish grocery store retailing: an empirical study

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of consumer service on loyalty in retail establishments. Based on a theoretical discussion regarding the relationship between waiting time, product quality, store atmosphere and loyalty, an empirical research was conducted to test the proposed relationships. Multiple‐item indicators from previous studies were used to measure the constructs. Results from the study provide empirical support, suggesting that consumer service through three dimensions influences loyalty. Research results suggest that consumer service in retail establishments can be viewed as a threshold factor in order to maintain satisfied and loyal customers. Additionally, managers should consider that loyalty depends on waiting time, product quality and store atmosphere. The present study provides useful information on the relationship between consumer service and loyalty in retailing.     

When nature calls: The role of customer toilets in retail stores

The scarce previous literature indicates that the customer toilet facilities influence shopping value and should be a concern for retailers. However, customer toilets are often inadequately capitalised in retail stores. This study aims to provide a scientifically robust argument about the critical role of customer toilets in retail stores. The explanatory survey data (n=655) from a Finnish out-of-town department store is examined to explore (1) the importance that consumers place on the customer toilets and (2) the effect of toilet usage on actual shopping behaviour. The results support the assumptions of previous literature by suggesting that customer toilets are considered as an important store attribute and, more importantly, the use of toilets is associated with prolonged in-store time which, in turn, increases spending. The findings offer both academic and managerial contribution and encourage academics and practitioners to regard customer toilets as more than mere an unwanted property expense and discover their full marketing potential.     

Estimating small-area demand of urban tourist for groceries: The case of Greater London

Tourist retail demand within urban areas brings both opportunities and challenges to the local economy. Taking Greater London as the study area, this paper integrates conventional statistics and survey datasets with novel crowdsourcing big data sources to identify and estimate four types of tourist grocery demand at the small-area scale: travellers staying with Airbnb, tourists using traditional commercial accommodation, guests staying with relatives or friends and day trip visitors. Based on this combined tourist retail demand layer we show the spatial variations at the small-area level and as an illustration of the demand uplift, we estimate additional grocery expenditure that is associated with this tourist demand. Thus, the paper indicates the neighbourhoods with significant grocery demand uplift from tourist stays. We argue that the new retail demand layer has tremendous potential to be used as an additional input to retail location modelling tools to support new store revenue estimation and store performance evaluation within the grocery retail sector.     

Location effects: Geo-spatial and socio-demographic determinants of sales dynamics in brick-and-mortar retail stores

For brick-and-mortar retail operators, store location is an essential prosperity factor, affecting the volume and structure of sales. Understanding the complexity of location effects on sales dynamics and utilizing such information may be the key element of corporate success in a competitive market environment. In general, store locations can be characterized by representative sets of geo-spatial and socio-demographic features. Nowadays, multiple sources of location-related data are available from public authorities and other open sources. However, using such data may be a complex task: distinct location factors can have divergent effects on sales of different types of products. Hence, our objective is to quantify the effects of different measures of location on sales dynamics over a wide range of product categories. For this purpose, we introduce a methodology combining econometric modeling and cluster analysis. The presented empirical analysis is performed using data on 479 brick-and-mortar shops of a major drugstore chain operating in Czechia (2019 data are used to avoid distortions due to COVID-19). Besides estimating location effects on sales at the product-category level, we identify and evaluate groups (clusters) of product categories with similar sales dynamics. Both the methodology proposed and the empirical results presented can be utilized by different retail chains to assess and plan brick-and-mortar store locations. Also, the research presented can be instructive for academic researchers and other stakeholders in the fast-moving consumer goods sector.     

The influence of in‐store personnel on online store value: An analogical transfer perspective

In today’s multichannel retail environment, consumers’ experiences in one channel influence their perceptions of another channel. Specifically, consumer evaluations of a firm’s online store have been found to be influenced by consumer interactions with the firm’s in‐store personnel. This paper is among the first to address this assumption and test it empirically. Drawing upon the analogical transfer paradigm, we propose hypotheses and accordingly model in‐store personnel’s competence and friendliness as determinants of online store usefulness, online store enjoyment, and online store value. Using consumer data collected from two Dutch multichannel retailers, we test this model with partial least squares modeling. The results provide clear support for the model and confirm that consumers may use characteristics of in‐store personnel as analogies when evaluating a firm’s online store. Implications for research and retail managers are discussed.     

Influence of salesperson characteristics and customer emotion on retail dyadic relationships

Retail salespeople often serve as a critical nexus between retailers and their customers. Salespeople can provide information and service that assist customers during the purchase process. Through buye–seller interaction, salespeople conceivably will influence how customers feel when shopping; in essence, salespersons are likely to have an impact on customers' emotions. Prior research has found that customer emotions have beneficial effects for both the store and the salesperson. Although previous work has considered the effect store environment has on customer emotions, no extant research has examined how customer emotions emerge after interacting with salespeople or what the outcomes of those emotions are. Consequently, this paper examines potential precursors of customers' emotions that arise during interaction with retail sales personnel, as well as consequences of those emotions. A conceptual framework is developed, propositions are posited, and retail management and research implications are presented.     

Female consumers: Decision-making in brand-driven retail

This article is a theory-building exploratory study conducted to investigate how female shoppers make meaning in a branded-retail store shopping experience. This study extends research on retail consumers' decision-making and the retail shopping experience using hermeneutic phenomenology. The authors conducted in-depth interviews with respondents, who were self-identified customers of a leading intimate apparel retailer. The results suggest that consumers' retail shopping decision-making incorporates a complex set of interactive components that are brand-driven and simultaneously affect and are affected by the interaction of in-store shopping and retail setting. The findings show a rich understanding of the consumer decision-making process is achievable by including the actual in-store experience, consumers' prior contextual experiences and expectations regarding retail visits.     

The importance of importance: Its impact on decision-making in mall retail categories during an economic downturn

The study examines how, during an economic downturn, the perceived importance of the value offering of retail store categories, as identified by a major international mall operator based in Australia, influences the relationship between consumers’ shopping attitudes and likelihood of purchasing in those categories. The findings show variance in the importance pertaining to retail store categories between those that have and those that have not altered their shopping behaviour. Different mediating effects were found in the major, mini-major, leisure, apparel, and mobile phone categories, suggestive of each group having differing levels of self-interest in the value offerings of each category, thus, symptomatic of dissimilar decision-making strategies for each group. Contributions to theory and practice are discussed.     

Understanding Retail Managers’ Role in the Sales of Products and Services

This research investigates the influence of retail chain-level activities (e.g., district supervisor directives and policies) and store manager behaviors on the sale of physical products versus services. Using data gathered within a U.S.-based retail automotive parts chain, the authors discover that to sell services, especially in competitive environments, store managers should focus on sales planning and transformative leadership behaviors, which accentuate both the long-term planning horizon and the effects of managerial actions. In less competitive environments though, a more transactional approach (e.g., selling orientation) can be effective for selling services. Alternatively, to sell products, store managers’ selling effort appears to be the most important driver of success, and a transformative leadership approach may be detrimental when the retailer faces a high level of direct competition. In total, the findings suggest that corporate chain activities, such as the level and clarity of store managers’ goals and supervisor monitoring, influence store manager behaviors, which in turn affect the sale of physical products and services.     

Growth factors of store brands in different store formats in Italy

Since the beginning of the consumer crisis, which in Italy can be traced back to the second half of 2008, there has been a significant development of store brands? market share which has reached close to 25% in some leader groups (for example Coop, Conad, Esselunga). The acceleration of the rate of penetration of store brands differs by category and store format. The main reason for this result is the different consumer purchase behavior. In this framework, this work aims at analyzing the elements that have determined the store brands success in the main store format (hypermarket, supermarket, convenience store), through analysis of single retail mix levers management. The factors that have mostly influenced the growth in store brands, in each store format, are investigated throughout a complete informative retail database. The aim of this study is to verify whether the management of the individual retail mix levers produces the same results in different store formats. Additional enhancement to the understanding of store brands management and further support to modern distribution management policies are also provided. A relevant finding is that the performance of store formats depends on the use of specific retail mix levers.     

Store brands and retail differentiation: the influence of store image and store brand attitude on store own brand perceptions

Store's own brands can provide important opportunities for retail differentiation if they are considered by consumers to be uniquely associated with store image. A survey of shoppers measured attitudes toward individual stores’ images and store brand perceptions, as well as general attitudes toward store brands. A regression analysis demonstrates a positive relationship between consumers’ perceptions of individual store own brands and their associated store's image dimensions and attitudes toward store brands in general.     

Retailing as a career: a comparative study of marketers

This note reports how positions in retailing—particularly store-based positions—compare with other marketing-related positions. While much of the past literature concerning work experiences in retail settings is primarily perceptual and anecdotal, the results of this nationwide study are based on an examination of actual workplace experiences in marketing-related positions. The findings suggest that workplace experiences in corporate retailing are positive and equivalent to other marketing-related careers. However, workplace experiences in retail store management are less satisfying. The retail store managers studied were paid less, experienced less variety and autonomy on the job, felt less satisfied and committed to their work, and had greater turnover intentions compared to the other marketing managers studied. Managerial implications and recommendations are presented.     

Estimating attractiveness,hierarchy and catchment area extents for a national set of retail centre agglomerations

There is a legacy of research aiming to conceptualise and empirically estimate retail store catchment areas, however, a dearth that frames such considerations within the context of retail agglomerations and their position within regional or national networks. As a result, this paper provides an extension to single store or shopping centre retail catchment estimation techniques, and presents an empirically specified and tested production constrained model for a national network of retail centres in the UK. Our model takes into account the spatial interactions between potential customers and a hierarchical network of retail centres to estimate patronage probabilities and catchment extents. The model is tested for a large metropolitan area vis-à-vis real world shopping flows recorded through a survey of shoppers. Finally, we present an open source software tool for custom model fitting, and discuss a range of theoretical and empirical challenges that such a model presents.     

A Decision Model for E-commerce-enabled Partial Market Exit

Struggling retail chains often try to recover profitability by closing some of their stores. The challenge in this strategy lies in determining how many stores to close, as store exit has implications for both the customers and the supply chain. After a store closes, its customers are lost forever to the competition, unless there is a surviving open store nearby or an electronic alternative such as an e-store. From the supply chain perspective, after a store closes, its supporting regional distribution center is left with less business, and thus reduced viability. This paper develops a decision support model to study the profitability of alternative retail network structures by varying the proportion of stores that are closed, the average price sensitivity of demand, the price difference between the online store and the traditional retailers, and customer retention rates.     

Retail relationships and store loyalty: A multi-level perspective

An important factor in retail store loyalty is interpersonal relationships between retail salespeople and customers. However, relationships can also exist at the person-to-store level. This paper examines the linkages between trust in a salesperson, trust in the store, and repeat purchase intention. A model of store loyalty which includes relationships at both the person-to-store as well as person-to-person level is tested. The findings reveal that for those with an interpersonal relationship, trust and commitment to the salesperson are directly linked with purchase intention as well as indirectly through store attitude. For customers without a salesperson relationship, trust in the store leads to loyalty indirectly through store attitude, but does not have a direct impact on purchase intention. The results illustrate the existence of multi-level relationships between customers and stores and how those relationships link to store loyalty. The research adds to our understanding of the complexity of relationship retailing, while providing further evidence of the value of generating and maintaining interpersonal relationships as a retail strategy.     

Decision-making authority in British supermarket chains

This article analyses the authority of store managers for the stocking and merchandising of British supermarkets in the period between the mid-1960s and the mid-1980s. Using oral history and business archive data, the article assesses the case of two broadly similar retail chains. It identifies variations between the firms in relation to the extent of centralised versus decentralised control at the start of the study period. It then shows how the firms came to operate an essentially similar approach by its conclusion. Explanations for the changes identified are drawn from an assessment of the retail environment, and differences between the firms in terms of corporate culture.     

The Impact of In‐Store Greenery on Customers

The incorporation of greenery in retail areas has scarcely been explored in environmental psychology studies. In a 2 × 2 experimental design, the effect of in‐store vegetation on consumer emotions and responses toward the store was studied, considering the moderating role of the information rate of the retail setting. While introducing foliage in the store environment did not evoke feelings of excitement, it was found to elicit pleasure and to reduce stress in a “complex” store interior. Given the impact of pleasure and stress on consumers’ approach/avoidance responses, these findings support the potential of integrating greenery, particularly in “spatially dense” stores.