A glimpse of the future retail customer experience – Guidelines for research and practice

Retailing has undergone significant changes over the years, tremendously impacting how the retail customer experience is managed. We use this opportunity to present the key findings of the contributors to our Special Issue, along with our observations, to introduce new approaches to retail customer experience management. Buoyed by the research presented in this Special Issue, we highlight the key trends and shifts in retail customer experience management in terms of consumer behavior and what drives the decision-making process of retail customers today and in the future.     

零售企业战略性企业社会责任与消费者响应

企业社会责任活动应当服务于企业的战略目标。文章以零售企业所面临的环境保护主题为背景,探讨了顾客中心和利润中心两种战略性企业社会责任的消费者响应。结果表明,顾客中心的企业社会责任与利润中心的企业社会责任相比,能够使顾客对企业产生更积极的企业社会责任联想,形成更好的态度,并提高其惠顾意愿。同时,从顾客价值的不同角度,消费者的企业社会责任支持对于顾客中心的企业社会责任的消费者响应具有正向或反向调节作用。     

零售企业顾客忠诚影响因素分析

文章利用零售业顾客忠诚调查数据,以重购意向、口碑效应、钱包份额和重购频次四个指标为中间变量,对顾客期望差异、顾客满意和顾客忠诚之间的关系进行了实证研究。结果表明,顾客期望差异与顾客忠诚存在显著正相关关系,是顾客忠诚的主要决定因素,零售商应在产品、服务、价格和购物环境等四个方面加以改善,以使顾客获得超过期望的感知绩效,提高顾客忠诚度;顾客满意和顾客忠诚之间存在正相关关系,但并非顾客忠诚的充分条件,零售商应在努力提高顾客满意度的同时,走出“满意制胜”的误区;态度忠诚与行为忠诚之间不存在显著相关关系,零售商应以态度和行为双向顾客忠诚为目标,追求最终的顾客忠诚。     

直销、传销等经济学概念辨析

从市场营销学的角度明确无店铺销售中的人员销售才是通常所说的现代直销。曾经在我国是中性词的"传销"现在依据法规指非法行为,其内涵大于"金字塔销售",包括国际上通行多层次直销的做法。金字塔销售是国际上对非法多层次直销的一个通称,即多层次直销也有合法和非法之分,关键看是否以主要通过拉人头加入获得佣金。直销与以DELL公司为代表的直复营销不同,也与特许经营也不同。     

The making of the modern retail market: economic theory,business interests and economic policy in the passage of the 1964 Resale Prices Act

This article makes a critical examination of the economic case made for the prohibition of individual resale price maintenance (IRPM) in 1964. The Resale Prices Act had major implications for the future structure of British retailing and was lobbied for by multiple grocery retailers. This article demonstrates how a government enquiry which preceded the legislation privileged one side of the debate and marginalised other – arguably more rigorous – analysis. The article endorses a central role for the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and is a case study of the role of economic theory in business–government relations and the development of economic policy.     

Analysing the fulfilment of service recovery paradox in retailing

The literature dealing with the Service Recovery Paradox (SRP) is vast, but some results are confusing and contradictory. In addition to this, scarce attention has been paid to service recovery in the context of retailing. This paper aims at verifying the compliance of the SRP in the context of retailing. Considering a sample of consumers that experienced a failure in the service delivered by a retailer and are very satisfied with the solution provided by the store employee, we test first the fulfilment of the SRP in the context of retailing. Secondly, we test the existence of significant differences in the customer satisfaction levels with the store before and after experiencing the problem considering several factors potentially influencing the impact of service recovery on customer satisfaction, therefore providing an encompassing analysis of the SRP and its main influencing variables, including some potential factors not previously explored. While we do not find evidence of the fulfilment of the SRP in retailing, differences in customer satisfaction before and after service recovery are highly related with consumer sociodemographic characteristics and shopping experience. Findings raise some practical implications.     

Enforced informalisation: The case of liquor retailers in South Africa

After a decade of unsuccessful efforts to migrate informal businesses to South Africa's formal economy there remains little understanding of the dynamics in this sector, especially as regards micro-enterprises. International literature discusses ‘exit’ and ‘exclusion’, holding that poor law enforcement is the reason for the persistence and growth of the informal economy. Through examining the informal liquor retail (shebeen) sector, we demonstrate that enforcement actually produces informality in this sector. Illustrated with examples from one of our sites in Delft South, Cape Town, the article describes key aspects of shebeen business practice, including the responses to greater law enforcement. Notably, instead of closing shop or facing the hurdles of compliance, the great majority of shebeens continue to evade the law by downscaling their activities. This finding has implications not just for liquor policy in South Africa, but for understanding both theories of formalisation and theories of the informal economy.     

Examining consumer food waste through grocery retailers' customer data: Segments and practical implications

Grocery retailers have a large amount of societally relevant data on food purchases in their databases, which they have traditionally used merely for marketing purposes. However, despite the potential, the data have so far been rarely used in sustainability-related research. This study addresses a key sustainability challenge—the reduction of food waste—by using retailers' customer data and a questionnaire. This paper's purpose is to identify and analyse household food waste segments and discuss their actual purchasing behaviour patterns. By doing so, we also illustrate and exemplify the potential use of customer loyalty card data to address global challenges related to food at the consumer level. The study utilizes an extensive data set of food purchases together with a survey of self-reported reasons for food waste in households. Utilizing cluster analysis, Phase 1 identifies six household segments: no food waste; trust in date labels; safety first; occasional wasters; overpurchasers and overpreparers; and family first. These segments differ in their sociodemographic and purchase profiles. In Phase 2, these segments' purchasing behaviour is examined further by applying tree-based methods. This study contributes to food waste research and studies on sustainable retailing. It also has practical implications for how retailers can facilitate household food waste reduction.     

新零售下生鲜连锁零售企业城市前置仓选址问题研究

文章研究了在新零售环境下,生鲜连锁零售企业为服务C端及B端市场,改变城市配送模式,建立了一个以最小成本为目标,以拟改前置仓数、门店面积、前置仓服务半径等为约束条件的前置仓选址模型,据此进行门店改造选址方案决策。最后以贵阳某生鲜连锁零售企业为实例进行测算,给出了贵阳市区前置仓选址方案。     

Switching behavior of U.S. mobile phone service customers after providers shift from contract to no contract mobile phone service plans

The study examines the impact of the recent shift of the mobile phone service providers in the U.S., from contract to no contract mobile phone service offerings, on the switching behavior of customers in different age groups. Consistent with previous research, the findings ascertain that switching barriers related to relational benefits, availability and attractiveness of alternatives, service recovery and retention in the mobile phone industry are perceived differently by customers in different age groups. However, counter to previous research in the retail banking industry, the research finds that younger customers in the mobile phone service industry are more likely to perceive relational benefits, the effort providers exert to recover a service and are less likely to switch to other providers than older customers. The research findings have implications to theory and practice.