Personalization and hedonic motivation in creating customer experiences and loyalty in omnichannel retail

This study examines the effects of personalization and hedonic motivation on customer experience and its loyalty outcomes in omnichannel retail context. The study develops eight hypotheses which are tested using two survey samples (Finland (n = 2084) and Sweden (n = 2334). In addition, empirical analysis includes 20 semi-structured interviews. The findings support all the hypotheses confirming the positive relationships personalization and hedonic motivation have on cognitive and emotional customer experience components. Further, the positive effects of customer experience on loyalty are confirmed. The results provide both theoretical and managerial insights for improved CX and customer loyalty.     

Understanding the user satisfaction and loyalty of customer service chatbots

The artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot is emerging as a significant corporate customer-facing application, potentially increasin customer service efficiency while reducing costs. However, little work has sought to assess the quality of service they provide consumers. This study applies the e-service quality by incorporating conversational AI quality to predict users' satisfaction and loyalty to customer service chatbots. The proposed model was empirically evaluated using survey data collected from 219 users responding about their perceptions of customer service chatbots. The findings indicate that AI chatbot service recovery quality and AI chatbot conversational quality significantly influence user satisfaction. On the other hand, core AI chatbot service quality and satisfaction significantly influenced chatbot user loyalty. This study contributes to researchers and practitioners by proposing and evaluating a more comprehensive chatbot e-service quality that combines both fundamental (core service and service recovery qualities) and human-like (conversational quality) aspects of e-service. The results are of value in devising future AI chatbot services and related strategies.     

Sustainable growth for the self-employed in the retail industry based on customer equity,customer satisfaction,and loyalty

In Korea, traditional retail districts face a serious situation whereby businesses in downtown areas face collapsing as local population declines: resulting in a decrease in self-employed sales and a declining local economy. Traditional retailers use ambiguous accounting and are reluctant to use credit cards, and thus, the overall reliability of their customer data is low. This paper solves this problem by applying the concept of customer equity (CE). We conducted an empirical analysis through questionnaires to identify differences in CE between traditional and new retail formats. The questionnaire consisted of questions related to CE (value equity, brand equity, relation equity), satisfaction, loyalty, and demographic characteristics. CE and satisfaction were measured on a 5-point Likert scale. A total of 400 surveys were completed, resulting in 391 usable returns for analysis in this study. In the regression analysis between CE and customer satisfaction, both old and new retail firms showed statistically significant effects. In the traditional retail industry, value equity and brand equity were statistically significant, while relation equity were not.     

Customer satisfaction and customer behavior: The differential role of brand and category expectations

Previous research has suggested that consumers use multiple strands to evaluate their satisfaction with a product and to establish postpurchase behavioral intention. However, prior empirical research has focused on which individual standard best predicts satisfaction. In contrast, this article develops and tests a model of consumer satisfaction and postpurchase behavioral intention in which consumers simultaneously use multiple standards—perceptions of performance, brand expectations, and category expectations. The results of an experiment for a simulated service encounter provide support for the proposition that consumers use multiple standards and that these standards have differential effects on such postpurchase outcomes as satisfaction, repurchase intention, and willingness to recommend. Brand expectations are shown to be better predictors of affective outcomes (such as satisfaction), while category expectations are shown to be better predictors of behavioral outcomes (repurchase and recommendation). Consistent with prior research, perceived performance is shown to have a strong effect on both satisfaction and behavioral intention.     

Qualitative analysis of customer behavior in the retail industry during the COVID-19 pandemic: A word-cloud and sentiment analysis approach

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a paradigm shift in customer behavior within the retail industry. Pandemic-induced restrictions and fear of product scarcity led to a change in purchasing frequency, with customers stockpiling non-perishable products such as basic foods and hygiene items. Media and social networks also played a significant role in fueling panic-buying behavior. Although sales decreased, consumption in all food categories increased due to the closure of restaurants and the need to prepare meals at home. The pandemic had a significant impact on both customers and retailers, resulting in staff reductions and a change in business strategies.To explore how Romanian food retailers’ representatives responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and adjusted to changing consumer behavior, the authors employed a qualitative research approach based on an interview guide. The data collected were analyzed using the statistical software R. In data analysis with R, the choice of functions used depends on various factors, such as the type of data, research questions, and analysis methods. Generally, commonly used functions in R for data analysis include data cleaning and manipulation functions such as subset, merge, and transform, data visualization functions such as ggplot2, and statistical modeling functions such as lm and glm, resulting in world clouds and a sentiment analysis.The results show that to develop effective business strategies, qualitative analysis helps identify the root causes of these changes. Sentiment analysis can reveal how retail chains representatives perceived the safety measures implemented in stores, such as social distancing and mask-wearing mandates, and how these measures affected customers’ shopping behavior. It also sheds light on how customers shopped and whether they planned to continue using these methods post-pandemic. Understanding these insights is crucial for retail companies to adapt their operations and better serve their customers in the post-pandemic world.     

Determinants of customer brand loyalty in the retail industry: A comparison between national and private brands in South Korea

Finding motivations for customer brand loyalty is one of the most popular academic and practical research fields; in this regard, some scholars have explored motivations in the retail industry. As the concept of private brands has been one of the most widely employed strategies for business success in the industry, comparing private and national brands in terms of customer loyalty is an important topic in the retail industry. Thus, the current research focuses on exploring antecedents of customer loyalty in private and national brands, as well as investigating whether there are notable structural differences between the brands. The results, based on 1,631 responses, indicate that customer perceived service/product quality, satisfaction, trust, and cost are notable determinants of brand loyalty, while the relationship between customer satisfaction and service quality of private brands is not supported. Moreover, both indirect and direct effects of the employed factors on customer brand loyalty are reported.     

From customer experience to human experience: Uses of systematized and non-systematized knowledge

The conceptual framework proposed herein reveals how firms might establish a human experience focus, using both systematized and non-systematized knowledge to identify points of pain and gain. Such efforts align with the critical need for firms to develop their approaches to the customer experience, by moving beyond addressing how customers respond to their offerings and toward thinking about the human experience of how firms respond to customers’ ambitions, beliefs, values, and feelings to interact in the manner customers prefer. To create a human experience, firms must manage it in relation to touchpoints, personalization, operations, and company culture, using systematized knowledge to monitor the experience, identify problems, and make improvements, together with non-systematized knowledge to innovate in relation to the experience.     

Exploring the impact of chatbots on consumer sentiment and expectations in retail

Retailers are increasingly using conversational AI (chatbots) for customer service due to the perceived benefits and reduced operational costs of this emerging technology. Yet our understanding of how consumers perceive interactions with chatbots, and how these interactions may influence other consumer service programs, remains limited. This paper investigates the differences in consumers' sentiments towards chatbots across retail sectors, and the influence chatbots have on consumers’ sentiments and expectations towards other service interactions with online human agents. Using a hybrid automated sentiment analysis approach, we identify that (1) overall sentiment towards bots are less negative than sentiment towards online human agents; (2) these sentiments differ across fashion and telecommunications sectors, and finally (3) sentiments towards online human agents in both sectors become more negative after a retailer implements a chatbot.     

The antecedents of customer loyalty: A moderated mediation model of customer relationship management quality and brand image

This study examines the mediating role of customer relationship management (CRM) quality to better explain the effects of service evaluation variables (service quality, customer satisfaction and customer value) on customer loyalty. The study also investigates the moderating effect of brand image on these mediated relationships. The mediating role of CRM quality on the relationship between the service evaluation variables and customer loyalty is supported. Further, it is found that the indirect effect of customer satisfaction on customer loyalty via CRM quality is stronger when perceived brand image is high than when it is low. The results have implications for relationship managers, brand managers and scholars who use service evaluation and relational metrics to predict customer loyalty.     

Service quality dimensions and superior customer perceived value in retail banks: An empirical study on Mexican consumers

This study concerns the service quality topic in the retail bank sector. A sample of 209 retail bank clients was taken, measuring the performance of service quality attributes of their principle retail bank. Behavioral performance variables such as satisfaction, loyalty and customer perceived value were also measured. In a factor analyses the attributes were separated into three factors. These three independent factors explain a considerable amount of variability of a satisfaction–loyalty factor. On the other hand, they could not explain the superior perceived value; and no differences between the service quality performances of the bank brands were found. In conclusion, regardless of the degree of satisfaction and loyalty, the customer is not willing to pay more for banking services at his regular bank than he would at other brands. This implies that superior perceived value is not being achieved via service quality, which suggests a lack of differentiation between brands in this sector.     

The impact of customer awareness of manufacturer name disclosure on retail brand attitudes and loyalty in Korea

This paper explores the impact of exposing the name of the manufacturer on a retail brand product upon national brand loyalty, retail brand loyalty and store loyalty, It does so by exploring customer attitudes towards retail brands in South Korea, where there is a legal requirement for retail brands to portray the manufacturer׳s name. For international retailers entering markets where such disclosure is a legal requirement an understanding of the implications of this for retail brand management is essential. The findings suggest that in the Korean case revealing the name of the manufacturer who supplies the retail brand on the product packaging has a positive influence on attitudes towards retail brands, although it did not mitigate the perceived risks held by customers towards retail brand products in general.     

Understanding Customer Engagement and Loyalty: A Case of Mobile Devices for Shopping

This study aims at developing and validating a measurement model for customer engagement with specific focus on mobile devices for shopping. Further, role of customer engagement in building customer loyalty is explored. The research in this investigation used three studies for developing customer engagement scale and validating the proposed model. The study involved data collection from experts and users through varied methods including in-depth interviews, and surveys. Further structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Findings of this study include development and validation of customer engagement as second order construct arising out of six different customer experiences - social-facilitation, self-connect, intrinsic enjoyment, time-filler, utilitarian and monetary evaluation experiences. Further, the study established significant role of customer engagement in predicting customer loyalty in addition to existing constructs of satisfaction and convenience. This study contributes to evolving scholarly research on customer engagement. This study further provides a framework to retailers for devising matrices to track experiences and engagement of customers on mobile devices for shopping. Further, retailers may be able to use customer engagement to differentiate themselves from competition in attracting merchants and advertisers.     

From crinkly sheds to fashion parks: the role of financial investment in the transformation of retail parks

The retail park is one of the most ubiquitous and significant forms of off-centre retailing in the UK. Originally designed as low-cost accommodation for 'bulky goods', retail parks now include high-rent 'fashion parks' which are eagerly sought by institutional investors for long-term ownership. This paper explains why retail-park ownership, originating in the early 1980s in one-off schemes by locally based property developers, has become the province of major property companies, financial institutions, and asset managers. Growth in rents and capital values has been fuelled by increasing institutional investment, and by fears of a growing scarcity of high-quality developments because of town-planning restrictions. This pressure is now leading to attempts to realize the full capital value of older developments, through processes of 'active management' by the new breed of retail-park owners. In turn, this is leading to increasingly rapid changes of retail occupiers, involving in some cases the expulsion of the original 'bulky goods' retailers for whom retail parks were created. A parallel with the 'Wheel of Retailing' model of institutional change is suggested.     

Understanding communal and individual customer experiences in group-oriented event tourism: an activity theory perspective

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study, grounded in activity theory, is to empirically investigate the communal and individual mechanisms that simultaneously shape the customer experience in group-oriented event tourism. Based on a survey of 389 respondents with group travel experience to major events, the results confirm the research model, suggesting that the customer-experience construct constitutes a multidimensional structure comprising second-order components reflecting individual and communal experiences, with each containing first-order constructs. The results further confirm that the customer-experience construct predicts post-consumption evaluations of perceived value and satisfaction. Limitations of the study are outlined, and implications for research and managerial practice for the creation of customer experiences that are valuable and satisfying for group-travel consumers to events are discussed.     

Comfort in brick and mortar shopping experiences: Examining antecedents and consequences of comfortable retail experiences

This paper explores the comfort construct in brick and mortar retail settings. As a psychological construct, consumer comfort reflects a sense of ease and peace of mind during a shopping experience. Previous research suggests comfort carries a number of positive consequences for managers, such as strengthening customer relationships and increasing customer satisfaction (Gaur and Xu, 2009). However, these studies take a more interpersonal relationship theory approach and have not considered the impact of non-social aspects of retail environments on consumers' comfort. Moreover, these extant studies have not considered how comfortable environments create value for consumers. Consequently, this study examines how atmospheric elements contribute to creating consumer comfort, and how comfort impacts consumers' perceptions of shopping value. Findings from survey data demonstrate that not all atmospheric elements influence consumers' comfort levels. Moreover, comfortable environments were found to increase both utilitarian value and hedonic value. The implications of the findings for academics and managers are discussed.     

The antecedents of in-store hoarding: measurement and application in the fast fashion retail environment

This study raised scholarly inquiry about the construct of in-store hoarding and investigated the antecedents of in-store hoarding in the fast fashion retail environment. As the market becomes dynamic and volatile, more retailers are moving toward fast fashion by constantly delivering new products throughout the season. As a result, a product life span is dramatically reduced, thereby accelerating perishability of fashion items. Moreover, in order to make constant room for new products and minimize markdowns, fast fashion retailers deliberately limit product availability, creating a sense of scarcity on the part of consumers. Based on the literature review and one-to-one interviews, perceived perishability, scarcity and low price were identified as primary drivers of in-store hoarding. Overall, results from a field study supported the proposed model. However, the findings indicated that perceived perishability and scarcity were central to understanding in-store hoarding, whereas low-price perception was least important with a marginally significant effect on in-store hoarding. This study made a significant contribution to the consumer and retailing literature by introducing, defining, and operationalizing new constructs and new measurements, including scales for perceived perishability, perceived scarcity, and in-store hoarding. This study also provided many implications for practitioners in developing and implementing marketing and merchandising management strategies.     

Understanding customer journey from the lenses of complexity theory

The present article develops an argument that conceptualizing the customer journey as a complex system provides both a systematic portrayal of the complex and holistic nature of customer experience and an opportunity to serve as an integrative framework for differing definitions in the service literature. A comprehensive literature review reflecting the contemporary understanding of the concept of customer journey is presented. Theoretical and practical implications of adopting a complexity theory-based stance in customer experience research are discussed under five fundamental tenets of complexity theory.     

Employee versus supervisor ratings of performance in the retail customer service sector: Differences in predictive validity for customer outcomes

Based on data from Maxham and Netemeyer [Maxham, J. G. and R. G. Netemeyer (2003). “Firms Reap What They Sow: The Effects of Employee Shared Values and Perceived Organizational Justice on Customer Evaluations of Complaint Handling,” Journal of Marketing, 67, 46-62], the authors present two field samples to examine predictive validity differences of service employee ratings of their performance versus supervisor ratings of employee performance with respect to customer satisfaction and customer likelihood of spreading positive word-of-mouth (WOM) after a service recovery attempt. The results generally show that supervisor ratings are more strongly positively related to customer satisfaction and WOM than are employee ratings of their own performances. The results also show that both supervisor ratings and employee ratings are related to customer satisfaction and WOM in a curvilinear fashion (as well as linear fashion). Employee extra-role performances (toward customers and the firm) show increasing returns at the higher levels of performance, and employee in-role customer performance generally shows a decreasing return at the higher level of customer in-role performance.These results suggest two managerial implications. First, supervisor ratings of customer service employee performances may be the preferred form of measurement for predicting customer outcomes. Second, maximizing in-role performance inputs may have decreasing returns for customer evaluations in the service recovery context; but maximizing extra-role performance inputs may actually “delight” customers, i.e., increasing returns for customer evaluations.     

Marketing mix and customer equity of SPA brands:Cross-cultural perspectives

Globalization has substantially transformed the fashion industry. Firms that conduct innovative marketing campaigns for SPA brands, also known as fast fashion, are operating worldwide. Because SPA brands tend to have short trend cycles, corporate profitability is sensitive to consumers' attitudinal changes. The authors of this study establish a theoretical framework by examining research trends related to customer equity at home and abroad by delving into the current state of global SPA brands, defining customer equity, developing customer equity measurements, and conducting empirical analyses. This study uses structural equation models to analyze corporate marketing activity effects on customer lifetime value through brand attitude. Although earlier studies identify customer equity as driving value equity, brand equity, and relationship equity, the authors introduce social network equity as another driver.     

Multichannel customer journeys and their determinants: Evidence from motor insurance

This study focuses on channel choices in motor insurance. Our aims are twofold: to fill a gap of empirical studies on the determinants of multichannel behavior in the insurance industry and to help companies improve their retail strategies by better predicting customers’ channel decisions. The paper adopts a broad set of personal and digital channels and several dimensions of customer profiling, including psychographic and channel-experience variables. We identify four different customer journeys, based on channel combinations. Our web-based survey, which has turned out 338 valid responses, shows that the majority of insurance customers adopt multichannel search behaviors. However, although most of the search is carried out through digital media, such channels generate low search-to-purchase conversion rates. Most customer journeys are, instead, finalized in the personal channels (namely, the insurance agents), thus evidencing an interesting webrooming effect. We test our set of hypotheses on the determinants of customer journeys with a multinomial logistic regression. Our findings show that multichannel journeys can serve several purposes: they may reflect the customer need to collect more information, the customer preference for shopping innovation, and his/her preference for shopping convenience. Corporate channel management strategies and practices shall consider such determinants and be revised accordingly.