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1 – 10 of 96Usha Ramanathan, M. Mathirajan and A.S. Balakrishnan
The COVID-19 situation affected the whole landscape of retailing in India and around the world. However, some businesses have used the pandemic-related difficulties into…
Abstract
Purpose
The COVID-19 situation affected the whole landscape of retailing in India and around the world. However, some businesses have used the pandemic-related difficulties into opportunities. E-tailing is one of the ways that helped people in India to continue shopping their essential products and choosing their luxury products without making any physical visits during the lockdown. This research understands the current situation through an observation study and suggests the e-tailing model suitable during the COVID-19 and beyond.
Design/methodology
We used secondary data to make the observational study. We also conducted two case studies and interviews with grocery shops and an automotive company.
Findings
This research suggests a simple collaborative e-tailing model combining all supply chain players to reduce people’s movement, timely delivery and enhanced service to meet customers demand during the lockdown period.
Originality/value
This paper has considered two real cases for discussion and also obtained information from public domain. The proposed model has been discussed with the case companies, and it hoped to support business planning for online services.
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Neringa Vilkaite - Vaitone, Sigita Kirse, Karina Adomaviciute - Sakalauske, Vytautas Dikcius and Ignas Zimaitis
This study aims to explore the use of gamification elements by micro and small e-tailers to enhance customer loyalty. Additionally, this research seeks to identify the most…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the use of gamification elements by micro and small e-tailers to enhance customer loyalty. Additionally, this research seeks to identify the most promising gamification elements that can be utilised for this purpose.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors adopt a qualitative approach to examine the impact of gamification on online customer loyalty to micro and small e-tailers. Data were gathered using a combination of two types of expert interviews. Semi-structured interviews were held with micro and small e-tailers while large e-tailers served as the control group. Structured interviews based on multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) models were conducted to determine the most promising gamification elements.
Findings
The content analysis reveals that gamification has significant potential for fostering customer loyalty and offering various other benefits. However, small e-tailers often refrain from implementing gamification solutions due to the resource requirements in terms of finances, time, information technology and human capital. By assigning weights as an essential step in MCDA models, the authors determined that badges, medals, quests, avatars and competitions are the most promising gamification options for small e-tailers’ efforts to enhance customer loyalty.
Originality/value
The study makes a unique contribution to the understanding of the usefulness of gamification in augmenting customer loyalty and identifying essential gamification elements for micro and small e-tailers.
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Trishala Chauhan, Shilpa Sindhu and Rahul S. Mor
In this global digital era, health-care companies are increasing their presence on the internet through branded content that serves as a connecting link between customers and…
Abstract
Purpose
In this global digital era, health-care companies are increasing their presence on the internet through branded content that serves as a connecting link between customers and brands. However, there is a limited understanding of branded content’s impact on customers. Thus, this paper aims to empirically analyse customer engagement for branded content in the health-care sector.
Design/methodology/approach
The factors impacting customer engagement for branded content were identified and analysed using the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory approach to get their significance and the cause and effect relationship.
Findings
It emerged that co-creation is the most significant factor, having a substantial relationship with all other factors. It is substantiated that health-care companies can increase the intensity of customer engagement by delivering more authentic and relevant content and having an appealing look in a time-bound manner. This will increase the usefulness and entertaining value of the content.
Originality/value
The research findings contribute to the customer engagement dimension in the health-care sector and help the companies construct effective branded content leading towards higher customer engagement.
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Escalation in the number of online food ordering platforms, along with extensive junk food marketing, lucrative offers and discounts, innovation in food flavors, and doorstep…
Abstract
Escalation in the number of online food ordering platforms, along with extensive junk food marketing, lucrative offers and discounts, innovation in food flavors, and doorstep delivery of food, have triggered the consumption of high-calorie and unhealthy food products which pose serious threats to the health and future well-being of individuals by making them more obese. To date, several public policy frameworks have been developed to confront obesity; however, their efficacy seems debatable. Directionally, the objective of this study is to highlight the potential influence of “digital nudging” which aims at steering individuals in desired directions, at the same time delimiting their freedom of choice. The study also establishes the effectiveness of digital nudges promoting a healthy lifestyle by steering individuals toward healthier food choices. The author strongly believes that this conceptual perusal will offer immense inputs to healthy food marketers and researchers alike in addressing the matters of obesity. Addressing the menace of obesity calls for joint efforts of the government, the public, researchers, and more specifically food product manufacturers/marketers who should incorporate healthier food options into their portfolios. E-tailers are also urged to adopt such practices in virtual markets and promote healthier food options to effectively tackle obesity.
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Yu Zhang, Yafen Yuan and Jiafu Su
This study explores the factors that characterize the logistics service quality (LSQ) of cross-border e-commerce and identifies the different relationships between these factors…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores the factors that characterize the logistics service quality (LSQ) of cross-border e-commerce and identifies the different relationships between these factors with respect to customer satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
The study applied a two-stage mixed-methods design. The first stage (Stage 1) was a qualitative study of 3,000 reviews from the Amazon China e-commerce platform. The second stage (Stage 2) included a quantitative study that analyzed survey data from 590 Chinese cross-border e-commerce customers using the Kano model.
Findings
Stage 1 involved developing a conceptual framework for the LSQ of cross-border e-commerce, including six dimensions: timeliness, safety, reliability, economy, personnel contact quality and information quality. In Stage 2, the study found that only reliability and personnel contact quality indicators are linearly related to customer satisfaction. Timeliness and the safety of packaging greatly contribute to customer satisfaction, but do not cause dissatisfaction when unfulfilled. Economics and information quality indicators, and the safety of goods, are basic requirements that tend to provoke customer dissatisfaction when unmet, but do not increase customer satisfaction when they are met.
Originality/value
This study is one of the first to construct a conceptual model of LSQ that applies to cross-border e-commerce and to identify the instrumental nature of various LSQ attributes and their impact on improved customer satisfaction.
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Astha Sanjeev Gupta, Jaydeep Mukherjee and Ruchi Garg
COVID-19 disrupted the lives of consumers across the globe, and the retail sector has been one of the hardest hits. The impact of COVID-19 on consumers' retail choice behaviour…
Abstract
Purpose
COVID-19 disrupted the lives of consumers across the globe, and the retail sector has been one of the hardest hits. The impact of COVID-19 on consumers' retail choice behaviour and retailers' responses has been studied in detail through multiple lenses. Now that the effect of COVID-19 is abating, there is a need to consolidate the learnings during the lifecycle of COVID-19 and set the agenda for research post-COVID-19.
Design/methodology/approach
Scopus database was searched to cull out academic papers published between March 2020 and June 6, 2022, using keywords; shopping behaviour, retailing, consumer behaviour, and retail channel choice along with COVID-19 (171 journals, 357 articles). Bibliometric analysis followed by selective content analysis was conducted.
Findings
COVID-19 was a black swan event that impacted consumers' psychology, leading to reversible and irreversible changes in retail consumer behaviour worldwide. Research on changes in consumer behaviour and consumption patterns has been mapped to the different stages of the COVID-19 lifecycle. Relevant research questions and potential theoretical lenses have been proposed for further studies.
Originality/value
This paper collates, classifies and organizes the extant research in retail from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It identifies three retail consumption themes: short-term, long-term reversible and long-term irreversible changes. Research agenda related to the retailer and consumer behaviour is identified; for each of the three categories, facilitating the extraction of pertinent research questions for post-COVID-19 studies.
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Adesegun Oyedele and Emily Goenner
This study aims to investigate the effect of social influence and value-driven mobile marketing activities on consumers’ acceptance of mobile marketing offers.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the effect of social influence and value-driven mobile marketing activities on consumers’ acceptance of mobile marketing offers.
Design/methodology/approach
The method used is survey questionnaire. A proposed model was tested by using structural model analysis and data gathered from 356 Mexico consumers and 346 US consumers.
Findings
The study shows the number of peers and providing information are the main predictor variables of consumer acceptance of mobile marketing offers in both countries. These results suggest that social value factors are important variables for explaining consumers’ responses to mobile marketing offers across two countries characterized by dissimilar macro-environmental conditions.
Research limitations/implications
The study’s overall implication about standardization vs adaptation is that social value messages can be standardized across countries. However, the marketing tools and touch points required to communicate any message appeal must be adapted across countries. One limitation in this study is the use of a convenience sample of undergraduate college students. This study did not control for different types of mobile phones and the screen sizes of mobile phones.
Practical implications
The overall implication of standardization vs adaptation from the study results is that social value messages can be standardized across countries. However, the marketing tools and touch points required to communicate any message appeal must be adapted across countries.
Originality/value
Unlike previous studies where the emphasis is to explicate the effect of value-oriented mobile activity, this study examines the combined effect of social influence and value-driven mobile activities on acceptance of mobile marketing.
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Eonyou Shin, Doris H. Kincade and Jinhee Han
Virtual try-on (VTO) technology with three-dimensional (3D) body scanning in a mobile application is a relatively new technique for selling custom-fit apparel. VTO involves…
Abstract
Purpose
Virtual try-on (VTO) technology with three-dimensional (3D) body scanning in a mobile application is a relatively new technique for selling custom-fit apparel. VTO involves scanning and measuring one's body and visualizing the fit of a garment on a 3D avatar. The purpose of this study is to explore consumers' experiences toward the custom-fit T-shirts and online mass customization (MC) services using the VTO technology found in online consumer reviews (OCRs).
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 297 OCRs were collected from the Amazon's Made for You site that uses VTO technology for the MC process. A qualitative content analysis, within a mixed method research process, was used to determine systematically the meanings within qualitative data with quantitative results. In the qualitative approach, combinations of two coding processes were employed, which were concept-driven (i.e., deductive/a priori) and data-driven (i.e., inductive/emergent) coding processes. In the quantitative approach, the prevalence of each coding in terms of its valence was calculated based on frequencies. Intercoder reliability reached 96 per cent.
Findings
In OCRs of customized apparel products and online MC services using VTO technology, consumers described expectations, perceived performance, dis/confirmation, dis/satisfaction, outcomes of dis/satisfaction and descriptive information. Those with expectations often expressed skepticism about the product and the MC process using VTO technology at the pre-consumption stage. In OCRs, they used four product dimensions and two service dimensions of perceived performance. Consumers had positive (negative) confirmation when the performance of the T-shirts and/or services worked better (worse) than their expectations. The OCRs also included dis/satisfaction with a product and/or service, its outcomes and descriptive information.
Originality/value
This study identified a resulting framework to identify the content in OCRs of the custom-fit T-shirts and online MC services that use VTO technology. This study extends the expectation confirmation theory by adding multiple dimensions (i.e., four product dimensions and two service dimensions) as well as more outcomes of dis/satisfaction (not limited to repurchase intentions). This study provides practical suggestions for online MC companies who are using or planning to use VTO technology on how to improve consumers' satisfaction with customized T-shirts using VTO technology.
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Seth Ampadu, Yuanchun Jiang, Samuel Adu Gyamfi, Emmanuel Debrah and Eric Amankwa
The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of perceived value of recommended product on consumer’s e-loyalty, based on the proposition of expectation confirmation theory…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of perceived value of recommended product on consumer’s e-loyalty, based on the proposition of expectation confirmation theory. Vendors’ reputation is tested as the mediator in the perceived value of recommended product and e-loyalty relationship, whereas shopping enjoyment is predicted as the moderator that conditions the perceived value of recommended product and e-loyalty relationship through vendors reputation.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected via an online survey platform and through a QR code. Partial least squares analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to verify the research proposed model.
Findings
The findings revealed that the perceived value of recommended product had a significant positive effect on E-loyalty; in addition, the perceived value of the recommended product and e-loyalty link was partly explained by e-shopper’s confidence in vendor reputation. Therefore, the study established that the direct and indirect relationship between the perceived value of the recommended product and e-loyalty was sensitive and profound to shopping enjoyment.
Originality/value
This study has established that the perceived value of a recommended product can result in consumer loyalty. This has successively provided the e-shop manager and other stakeholders with novel perspectives about why it is necessary to understand consumers’ pre- and postacquisition behavior before recommending certain products to the consumer.
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Narimasa Yokoyama, Nobukazu Azuma and Woonho Kim
Despite retail digitisation and research efforts focussed on online and omnichannel shopping, there is insufficient knowledge regarding retail patronage formation in the grocery…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite retail digitisation and research efforts focussed on online and omnichannel shopping, there is insufficient knowledge regarding retail patronage formation in the grocery category, where in-store sales dominate. This study analyses the retail patronage formation in grocery in-store fill-in shopping.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors designed a questionnaire to measure retail patronage behaviour, consumer satisfaction (CS), store attributes evaluation and e-retail usage. Then, the authors analysed the path structure for retail patronage behaviour formation using structural equation modelling. Additionally, they performed a mediation analysis using the bootstrap method and a moderation analysis based on a chi-square difference test.
Findings
This study provides three main findings. First, the authors' model has two ways to increase Share-of-Wallet (SOW). One is to increase Share-of-Visits (SOV) and another is to increase CS amongst non-users of e-retailing. Second, the results of the moderation analysis suggest the influence of customers' use or non-use of e-retailing on SOW formation. Third, service evaluation plays an interesting role in the overall model: the lower the assessment of service, the higher the SOV; the higher the evaluation of service, the greater the CS; the greater the CS, the higher the SOV.
Originality/value
The authors proposed the framework for the relative retail patronage formation in grocery fill-in shopping to examine the relationship between two relative patronage indicators (SOW and SOV) in the path structure and the mediating effect of CS and the moderating effect of e-retailing usage on retail patronage formation.
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