Exploring passenger and flight characteristics' impacts on airport retail income: Evidence from Incheon International Airport

This study examines passenger and flight characteristics' impacts on airport retail income using transaction data from Incheon Airport (ICN) duty-free. Two indicators, per-flight expenditure and buyer proportion, were introduced to measure the impacts on retail revenue. This study employed the female passenger ratio per flight and the domestic passenger ratio as passenger characteristics. Flight type (LCC or not), transit passenger proportion, and flight delay were introduced as flight characteristics. Unfavorable departure gates and disadvantageous terminal locations were presented as location characteristics. Based on the multiple regression model, this study analyzed the effect of each factor on airport retail revenue. The research findings provide managerial implications to airport operators. It is financially advantageous to avoid allocating flights with many female passengers to favorable departure gates for accessing retail shops. A high frequency of purchases of Korean passengers does not lead to a significant sales amount because of the regulations. Transit passengers are low-yield customers for airlines and airport operators. Flight delay increases the per-flight expenditure and the buyer percentage to a certain level, while excessive delays can reduce the purchase amount. Also, this study identified that the impact of assigning flights to disadvantageous locations varies depending on the type of flight based on the expansion model using an interaction term. The location has a significant influence on passenger shopping behavior. Since FSC passengers have a solid impulsive buying tendency, airport operators should avoid giving FSCs to unfavorable gates. Although ICN kept operation policies to assign LCC flights to a terminal disadvantageous for shopping, this study presents that the commercial revenue contribution of LCCs is not weaker than FSCs when controlled a terminal location. Therefore, it is necessary to reconsider assigning LCCs to a terminal unfavorable for shopping without evaluating purchasing power.     

Do airport staff helpfulness and communication generate behavioral loyalty in transfer passengers? A conditional mediation analysis

The footloose nature of transfer passengers in the turbulent air transport market landscape has necessitated the need to assess service marketing constructs relevant for airport competitiveness. The current cross-sectional study examined (1) the influence of transfer passengers’ perceived airport staff helpfulness and communication (H&C) on their behavioral loyalty, (2) the mediating roles of passenger affective image and satisfaction, and (3) the interaction effects of passenger types (trip purpose & travel frequency) and airport in the direct and indirect airport staff H&C – behavioral loyalty relation. Post-hoc analysis of transfer passengers’ perceived airport staff H&C across airports and passenger types was performed. Data was collected from three international airports in China (N = 829). Findings revealed that perceived airport staff H&C has significant positive associations with the three behavioral loyalty variables, and indicated further that these associations are partly explainable via passengers’ affective image and satisfaction. Also, the perceived airport staff H&C’s direct and indirect relations with behavioral loyalty variables are sensitive to passenger types but not airports. Expectedly, the post-hoc analysis showed that transfer passengers’ perceived airport staff H&C is significantly different across passenger types but not airports. Theoretical and practical implications, limitations and directions for future studies have been discussed.     

The inter-store mobility of supermarket shoppers

The allegiance of a particular customer, and the distribution across customers of strength of affiliation to a store are important indicators of store health. It is therefore important to understand the extent and determinants of shopper mobility among competing retailers. While shoppers often patronize many stores, they typically have a primary affiliation to a “main store” that captures the majority of their purchases. We examine, in detail, the tendencies of shoppers to transition away from the current main store and adopt another in its place. That is, rather than study all types of store switching behavior, we focus on the decision to change primary allegiance. The model is established in a discrete time hazard framework and estimated as random-effects probit. Data from 548 households taking 88,945 shopping trips among five stores are used to calibrate the model.We find that state dependence is prevalent with nearly three quarters of the shoppers showing progressive attachment to their current main store. Interestingly, this finding is not simply driven by location (i.e., because shoppers are captive to a single store based on geographical distance). More likely, shoppers are unwilling to give up the benefits of store-specific knowledge of assortment, layout and prices. Second, the decision to transition from a current main store is not influenced by temporary price promotions on a common basket of items: Shoppers will cherry-pick, but this alone does not cause them to change primary allegiance. The majority of transitions occur across competing stores of the same price format, which suggests “format loyalty” is an important aspect of shopper behavior. After controlling for unobserved heterogeneity, we find little relationship between observable demographics and the transition probability. We do, however, find that shoppers who spend more per trip are less likely to change main stores, as are less frequent shoppers. Implications for retail management strategy are discussed.     

Multi-sensory congruent cues in designing retail store atmosphere: Effects on shoppers’ emotions and purchase behavior

This paper explores the effects of multi-sensory congruent cues om shoppers’ emotions and purchase behavior in designing retail store atmosphere. Prior research suggests atmospheric stimuli to contribute to establish an appealing atmosphere and studies have confirmed that shoppers react to different stimuli. However, extant studies have not examined how multi-sensory congruent cues added to a visually dominant store atmosphere might impact shopper emotions and purchase behavior. The findings demonstrate a positive effect of multi-sensory congruent cues on shoppers’ emotions, through valence, and purchase behavior, through time spent and purchase. It is evident that shoppers perceive multi-sensory cues, such as auditory and olfactory ones, to be more effective in a dominant visual store atmosphere compared to only adding new visual stimuli. For retailers, a visually dominant store atmosphere should be designed more in the direction of a multi-sensory atmosphere in offering shoppers more appealing experiences of the retail setting.     

Spending time,spending money: passenger segmentation in an international airport

Changes within the air transport sector have required many European airports to either develop or expand their commercial activities. Strategies have included the expansion of retail space, a broadening of the tenant and merchandise mix and the development of a passenger segmentation strategy. This paper explores the efficacy of this approach by identifying the behaviour of different passenger segments while in an international airport. Using a framework of strategic market segmentation, it identifies how travellers allocate their time having entered ‘airside’ and details any purchases made. Using observational research and a face-to-face quantitative survey, 301 passengers were tracked and interviewed. Through a broad based, a priori form of segmentation, significant differences in shopping behaviour are identified. Such findings assist with the development of the airport's commercial strategy and allow a number of observations to be made about the value of market segmentation from both a theoretical and managerial perspective.     

The effect of mental availability on snack food choices

This research evaluates how mental availability affects consumer choice of specific branded packaged snacks versus unbranded non-packaged snacks. Mental availability captures the probability of concepts coming to mind when making decisions. Concepts nested within a broad network of memory associations (e.g., those created by marketing for branded packaged goods) are more likely to come to mind and be chosen - potentially disadvantaging unbranded non-packaged foods. However, our research shows that some unbranded non-packaged snacks actually have greater mental availability and are more likely to be chosen, countering concerns over the detrimental effect of marketing food and inadvertently encouraging sub-optimal choices. The effect of mental availability holds when taking into account established drivers of snack food choice, such as hunger, self-control and past behavior.     

Non-seatbelt use and associated factors among passengers

Seatbelt use is the most effective way to save lives and reduce severe injuries. However, the percentage of non-seatbelt use is still high among drivers and passengers. Although the factors related to non-seatbelt use among drivers have been widely studied, the factors associated with non-seatbelt use among passengers have not been well documented. In addition, recent surveys showed that the driver's attitude has a significant impact on the passenger's seatbelt use. However, the lower response rate and less accurate of self-reported seatbelt use in survey studies, especially among participants who had a high level perception of penalty for non-seatbelt use. Therefore, we examined the association between passenger's seatbelt use and driver's seatbelt use with a statewide injury surveillance system. 36,012 passengers who were involved in motor vehicle crashes (MVC) in 2004–2013 were included in this study. Our results showed that if a driver wore a seatbelt, 92.6% of his/her passengers also wore seatbelts while if a driver did not wear a seatbelt, only 19.1% of his/her passengers wore seatbelts. Compared to the passenger whose driver wore a seatbelt, the passenger had a significantly higher probability of non-seatbelt use (odds ratio = 46.7; 95% confidence intervals, 42.7–51.1) if his/her driver did not wear a seatbelt. The driver has the greatest influence on the passenger's seatbelt use. The findings will provide important information for future public health practices to increase seatbelt use at the highest possible rate for passengers, such as educational interventions for drivers and seatbelt reminders use.     

Do shoppers choose the same brand on the next trip when facing the same context? An empirical investigation in FMCG retailing

The most basic manifestation of brand loyalty is repurchasing – making the same choice on the next category occasion. This study tests to which extent the stability of contextual cues across purchase occasions affects repurchasing. We investigate these effects by analyzing a total of 1.6 million brand choice pairs (i.e., two consecutive choices) of 20,587 German and 23,036 British shoppers in three FMCG categories. We find that stable contextual cues (same retailer, basket size or weekday as on previous occasions) further repurchasing whereas unstable contextual cues (different retailer, basket size or weekday as on previous occasions, a promotion chosen on one of the occasions or a different assortment size) hinder repurchasing. Furthermore, our results stress the importance of inertia and the power of private labels to foster repurchasing. This study provides generalizable insights regarding trip-to-trip stability in shoppers’ choices, proposes a metric to benchmark brand performance across multiple retail outlets, and pinpoints opportunities for manufacturer-retailer cooperation in order to nurture repurchasing.     

The effect of arrival time of travelers at the airport on consumption in commercial establishments

In the last decade, several Brazilian airports were privatized, bringing initial investments to airport infrastructure, including improvements in commercial facilities. This research analyzes the commercial activities of the São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport regarding the airport layout, number of stores and opening hours, and scheduled flights. In addition, this research addresses as a main study a survey carried out with travelers to verify consumer behavior in the restaurant and/or shopping segments in relation to the traveler's arrival time at the airport through a multinomial logistic regression model. The results show that as for the concentration of stores at the airport, there are more stores in Passenger Terminal 2 in the public area for the dining segment, while in Passenger Terminal 3 most stores correspond to the restricted area in the shopping segment. The main contribution to the literature was the finding that travelers who arrive around 9 a.m. and between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. are more likely to consume higher amounts than other groups throughout the day.     

Identification of elderly drivers whose crash involvement risks are alleviated by passenger presence

It is essential to find measures to compensate for the decline in elderly drivers’ driving ability in order to meet their mobility needs and ensure their safety when driving. Although it has been well documented that elderly drivers’ risks of crash involvement are alleviated by the presence of passengers, few studies have investigated whether the protective effect of passengers is influenced by driver characteristics including the degree of cognitive impairment. This study aimed to identify subgroups of elderly drivers whose crash involvement risks are more effectively alleviated by passenger presence. After dividing elderly drivers into three levels of cognitive impairment, as measured by the Short-Memory Questionnaire, and two gender groups, the present study found that only male drivers in the middle cognitive level benefited from passenger presence. The effectiveness of passenger presence may be more successfully achieved by proper selection of the appropriate range of cognitive decline and gender.     

Visual cues during shoppers’ journeys: An exploratory paper

The visual cues shoppers view at the point of purchase during the shopping process is vital to product selection and sales. We aimed to identify the intrinsic and extrinsic visual cues or touchpoints customers use to select a product (live plant) in retail stores. Eye-tracking technology (ETT) has enabled market researchers to conduct cost- and time-efficient studies. Few studies have been conducted in a retail setting to pinpoint how shoppers attend to visual cues in situ. Using ETT gave researchers insight into the cognitive processes leading to purchase. We recruited four retail greenhouses in Michigan to collaborate on the study, and researchers invited customers from the store’s email list to participate. Researchers used eye-tracking glasses to record eye movement during a <12-min shopping trip to purchase a $10 plant. We analyzed 150 useful videos to identify attention to marketing and non-marketing cues at the point of purchase (e.g., reading a sign, product interaction, cell phone use). Time spent in specific store areas (e.g., annuals, perennials, shrubs, etc.) was measured. For 67 shoppers who purchased an annual plant, we analyzed which cues and touchpoints influenced the shopping time spent. Results showed that the most frequently accessed cue/touchpoint was intrinsic: product interaction (looking at or touching a plant). Participants read, on average, 6.7 signs with price and 4.5 signs without price. Conversely, only 34% interacted with employees, and 19.4% used their cell phones. Building on this exploratory study, future research could investigate signage elements attracting attention and motivations for employee interaction and cell phone use.     

The impact of customised mobile marketing on passenger shopping behaviour in the airport terminal

With growing popularity of mobile devices, digital marketing strategies are increasingly important for modern airports. This paper studied context-aware mobile marketing strategies in the airport retail environment. An on-site mobile marketing experiment was conducted at a partner airport to explore how preference and/or location-based mobile coupons could affect passengers’ retail behaviour. Results show that retail shopping became more efficient (less browsing time) with mobile marketing influence, but not necessarily more effective (not higher spending amount). Randomly pushed mobile marketing information is effective in keeping passengers in shops for longer but context-aware mobile marketing is more effective in increasing spending amount.     

Factors associated with child passenger motorcycle helmet use in Cambodia

This study examines factors associated with child passenger helmet use in five Cambodian provinces. We performed an analysis of periodic roadside observations of helmet use over a four-year period. A total of 62,039 child passengers 12 years of age and younger met inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. Overall, 1369 (2.1%) of child passengers were observed to be wearing a helmet. Most significantly, children were six times more likely to wear a helmet if the driver was wearing a helmet (OR 6.2; 95% CI 5.1–7.5). In addition, the odds of helmet use were noted to be significantly different depending on province, day of the week, time of day and number of passengers on the motorcycle. This study highlights the extremely low rate of child passenger helmet use in Cambodia, and provides priorities for interventions and enforcement to ensure all children are protected from head injury.     

How Product–Environment Brightness Contrast and Product Disarray Impact Consumer Choice in Retail Environments

A conceptual model is developed to predict how consumers respond to in-store displays as a function of the extent to which a product’s brightness level (i.e., its perceived light-emitting quality) contrasts with that of its background environment and the product’s level of disarray. We show that products whose brightness levels contrast more with those of the retail environment are more preferred because they visually “pop out” (e.g., a dark product in a brightly lit store environment). However, this preference reverses when the products that pop out appear in disarray (i.e., are perceived to have been previously touched by other shoppers). Because most stores are bright environments, darker (vs. lighter) products in disarray are more likely to be perceived as contaminated and less pleasant, leading to avoidance behaviors, evident in reduced sales and preference. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Apparel catalog patronage: Demographic,lifestyle and motivational factors

This study was designed to profile catalog shoppers of apparel and to examine their frequency of shopping. Specifically, it focused on the relative importance of consumers' lifestyle, demographic, and motivational factors in catalog shopping patronage. Data from 680 respondents were analyzed. The data indicated a relationship between consumers who shop for apparel from catalogs and some of the variables included in the study. A multiple regression model indicated that when several variables were considered, the frequent catalog shoppers tended to be older and better educated than infrequent catalog shoppers. They were also more likely to engage in inactive pursuits rather than sports activities and were more likely to perceive convenience as an important factor in their decisions to shop from catalogs than were infrequent catalog shoppers.     

Ketchup with your fries? Utilizing complementary product displays to transfer attention to a focal product

Does placing a display of complementary condiments (e.g., ketchup, mustard, buns,etc.) next to a display of hamburgers make shoppers more likely to attend to the hamburgers? Prior work has established that in-store marketing strategies play an important role in drawing attention to products in a retail setting. Building on this research, the present study develops a framework to better understand how shoppers in a natural retail environment attend to displays of complementary products, and how this attention transfers to a focal product. The results suggest that assortment complexity of a display positively affects initial attention capture.. Further, initial attention capture leads shoppers to spend longer evaluating the complementary products in the display, which, in turn, increases evaluation and choice of the focal product. As such, our framework indicates that complementary product displays can be effective at increasing attention to and choice of an associated focal product.     

The Effects of Nutrition Label Comparison Baselines on Consumers' Food Choices

Recent legislative changes in the European Union have mandated nutrition labeling for the majority of pre‐packaged foods. This research compared effects of several nutrition labeling formats on consumers' food choices (i.e., the nutrition table, GDA 100 g/ml, and GDA portion). We primarily focused on whether nutrition label information was standardized to a fixed or varying comparison baseline. Fixed baselines (e.g., 100 g/ml) allow consumers to make direct, relative comparisons of products, while varying baselines (e.g., portion size) often require consumers to undertake complex mathematical calculations. Findings suggest that consumers' food choices are likely to be healthier when nutrition label information is presented on a fixed baseline. Gender was found to moderate these effects such that women made healthier choices—but only when the nutrition label baseline was fixed. Thus, the type of comparison baseline is an important characteristic of nutrition labels for public policymakers, public health officials, and academic researchers to consider.     

Positive gender congruency effects on shopper responses: Field evidence from a gender egalitarian culture

This field study examined how customer-employee interactions are affected by the congruency between an employee's gender and the perceived gender image of the consumption context in one of the most gender equal cultures in the world (Scandinavia). Mystery shoppers had a service encounter with an employee across a set of physical commercial settings that were classified according to their gender image. The mystery shoppers noted the gender of the employee, provided employee evaluations, and indicated word-of-mouth (WOM) ratings. Shoppers who had a gender congruent service encounter (e.g., a female employee in a “feminine” consumption context) reported more favorable employee evaluations and WOM ratings than shoppers who had a gender incongruent service encounter (e.g., a female employee in a “masculine” consumption context), with the impact of gender congruency on WOM ratings mediated by employee evaluations, particularly with respect to competence inferences. These findings highlight the ethical dilemma of a positive gender congruency effect, as it can generate superior consumer responses but also risks resulting in gender occupational segregation.     

Probability and Mode of Acquisition Effects on Choices Between Hedonic and Utilitarian Options

We examine the effects of probability and mode of acquisition on choices between hedonic and utilitarian alternatives. The results suggest that the lower the probability of receiving the selected item, the more likely individuals will be to choose the more hedonic alternative in a choice set. Mode of acquisition (i.e., whether subjects are choosing in a windfall or a standard purchase situation) is also found to affect preferences, even when probability of acquisition is held constant. Hedonic options appear to be more popular as prizes than as purchases, whereas utilitarian options appear to be more popular as purchases than as prizes.     

Clockwise versus counterclockwise turning bias: Moderation effects of foot traffic and cognitive experience on visual attention

The current research aims to examine how turning bias can affect the attention-capturing of bottom-up factors in endcap displays. In three experimental studies using eye-tracking, this paper contributes to the literature by proposing moderators that shape turning bias effects on retail endcap displays. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrate that consumers' counterclockwise (vs. clockwise) rotation reduces visual attention on endcap displays. Furthermore, Study 3 indicates that longer trips and higher loop diversion increase the number of fixations for clockwise (vs. counterclockwise) turning shoppers. In addition, higher cognitive anchors and shorter shopping lists boost fixation rates when shoppers rotate in a clockwise (vs. counterclockwise) direction. This research has important theoretical and practical implications for understanding shoppers’ visual attention and cognitive experience in retail settings.