Editorial

Citation

Towers, N. (2014), "Editorial", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 42 No. 8. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-04-2014-0043

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Volume 42, Issue 8

There is a strong international retail emphasis throughout the five submissions to this issue. The topics of the submissions include fast-fashion consumers’ post-purchase behaviours, store choice behaviour of Indian apparel shoppers, consumer behaviour towards store preferences in Oman, the performance of fresh fruit and vegetables departments with a special attention being paid to the deterioration of product quality in France, and mobile phone platform (Android vs Apple iOS) and their use for purchasing and information-sharing activities.

The first contribution by Joung explores fast-fashion consumers’ post-purchase behaviours and examines relationships among fast-fashion purchase, disposing, hoarding, participation in recycling and environmental attitudes. Using a survey questionnaire of college students descriptive statistics were used to summarise the data and Pearson correlations were conducted to examine relationships among the variables. The results of Pearson correlations indicated that fast-fashion purchase was positively related to disposing and hoarding, but negatively related to participation in recycling. Apparel hoarding was positively related to recycling, but no relationships were found between environmental attitudes and any of the following: fast-fashion purchase, disposing, hoarding or participation in recycling. It was also suggested that fast-fashion suppliers should encourage consumers’ participation in recycling and should take responsibility for collecting their post-purchase products. Finally this study showed that fast-fashion consumers had positive attitudes towards the environment, yet they did not participate in recycling.

The second paper by Basu, Guin and Sengupta investigates store choice behaviour of Indian apparel shoppers and analyses the factors influencing their choice of retail formats from an emerging market perspective. The research uses structured questionnaires with adult urban Indian respondents to understand their perceptions about organised and unorganised apparel store formats. The exploratory study uses a comprehensive list of demographics, shopping situations and format stimuli parameters along with two established psychographic scales to assess the extent of their effect on the store choice of apparel shoppers. Factor analysis revealed five well-defined store attributes influencing the apparel shoppers’ decision. The growing market for organised retail with a preference for multi-brand stores is highlighted. The study establishes that the shoppers’ perception of single-brand stores is still going through a formative phase. Further at the micro level of the decision process, significant differences are established by a number of variables.

Hypermarkets have emerged as an important retail format in many parts of the world. The third contribution by Belwal and Belwal examines consumer behaviour towards store preferences, particularly hypermarkets in Oman. Following a mixed method approach mainly using questionnaires and focus groups revealed consumer preferences. After pilot testing data respondents’ characteristics were also measured using socio-demographic variables and compared with their purchasing behaviour. By offsetting traditional markets hypermarkets have emerged as one of the important retail formats in the urban areas of Oman. Their emergence has impacted trade in the traditional markets, the Souqs. A weekly trip to the hypermarket is becoming an established feature of Omani life. Employed, educated or prosperous Omani consumers and expatriates prefer hypermarkets and these preferences surge during hot weather conditions. Consumers visit hypermarkets not only for purchases but also for recreation. Several factors affect consumer choice of hypermarkets in Oman, and these are listed in the outcomes of the study. The findings will help in the planning of certain retail policies to assure the notion of accessibility, affordability and availability of global products and services to Omani consumers and also in striking a balance between traditional and modern retail formats to maintain diversity, growth and overall consumer satisfaction.

The strategic nature of the fresh fruit and vegetables (FFV) department for supermarkets and hypermarkets is unquestioned. Yet both practitioners and researchers have difficulty optimising its performance. The aim of the fourth contribution by Saucede, Fenneteau and Codron is to identify the key specific drivers of the performance of FFV departments with a special attention being paid to the deterioration of product quality. Using a two-step inductive modelling process interviews were conducted with experts from within the sector and a multiple case study of four FFV departments belonging to a French retail brand. After highlighting that the deterioration of product quality on the shelves is a key particularity of FFV departments, we identify department upkeep and shrinkage control as key intermediate variables impacting the performance of FFV departments. The paper attempts to show how these two parameters can be controlled using three main actionable levers of marketing, in-store logistics and procurement. The research shows managers that optimising department upkeep allows turnover to be generated which exceeds the sector average without impeding the productivity of the department. We stress that it is imperative to control shrinkage in order to meet margin performance objectives.

Mobile applications, or apps, are an increasingly important part of omnichannel retailing. While the adoption and usage of apps for marketing purposes has grown exponentially over the past few years, there is little academic research in this area. The final contribution by Taylor and Levin examines how the mobile phone platform (Android vs Apple iOS), interest in the app and recency of store visit affect consumers’ likelihood to use the apps for purchasing and information-sharing activities. The paper tests a model by analysing survey data collected from customers of a major US retailer using partial least squares regression. The analysis finds that the level of interest in a retail app is positively related to the consumer's intention to engage in both purchasing and information-sharing activities. In addition, the recency of the consumer's last visit to the retail store has a moderating effect on both types of activities; the more recent the last visit, the larger the effect-size of interest in the app on intention to share information and make a purchase. While marketing and advertising managers may have suspected that Apple iOS users are more receptive to retail mobile apps, this study provides empirical support for the proposition. In addition, the moderating effect of recency of visit suggests that in-store promotions may be effective in increasing usage of the retailer's mobile apps.

Neil Towers