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The purpose of this study is to determine what the history of research in marketing implies for the reaction of the field to recent developments in technology due to the internet and associated developments.

This paper examines the introduction of new research topics over 10-year intervals from 1960 to the present. These provide the basic body of knowledge that drives the field at the present time.

While researchers have always borrowed techniques, they have refined them to make them applicable to marketing problems. Moreover, the field has always responded to new developments in technology, such as more powerful computers, scanners and scanner data, and the internet with a flurry of research that applies the technologies.

Marketing will adapt to changes brought on by the internet, increased computer power and big data. While the field faces competition for other disciplines, its established body of knowledge about solving marketing problems gives it a unique advantage.

This paper traces the history of academic marketing from 1960 to the present to show how major changes in the field responded to changes in computer power and technology. It also derives implications for the future from this analysis.

El objetivo de este estudio es examinar qué implica la historia de la investigación académica en marketing en la reacción del campo de conocimiento a los recientes desarrollos tecnológicos como consecuencia de la irrupción de Internet.

Esta investigación analiza la introducción de nuevos temas de investigación en intervalos de diez años desde 1960 hasta la actualidad. Estos periodos proporcionan el cuerpo de conocimiento básico que conduce al ámbito del marketing hasta el presente.

Aunque los investigadores tradicionalmente han tomado prestadas ciertas técnicas, las han ido refinando para aplicarlas a los problemas de marketing. Además, el ámbito del marketing siempre ha respondido a los nuevos desarrollos tecnológicos, más poder de computación, datos de escáner o el desarrollo de Internet, con un amplio número de investigaciones aplicando tales tecnologías.

El marketing se adaptará a los cambios provocados por Internet, aumentando el poder de computación y el big data. Aunque el marketing se enfrenta a la competencia de otras disciplinas, su sólido cuerpo de conocimiento orientado a la resolución de problemas le otorga una ventaja diferencial única.

Describe la historia académica del marketing desde 1960 hasta la actualidad, para mostrar cómo los principales cambios en este campo respondieron a los cambios tecnológicos. Se derivan interesantes implicaciones para el futuro.

Historia, Revisión, Cambio, Tecnología, Conocimiento, Internet, Datos, Métodos

Revisión general

The purpose of this paper is to document the results and the impact of the ESRC-funded High Street UK 2020 (HSUK2020), a project designed to take the existing academic knowledge relating to retail and high street change directly to UK High Streets, to improve local decision-making and, ultimately, their vitality and viability.

Through a systematic literature review, and by following the tenets of engaged scholarship, the authors identified 201 factors that influence the vitality and viability of town centres. Through the consensus-building Delphi technique, a panel of 20 retail experts identified the top 25 priorities for action.

Taking a place management approach led to the development of a more strategic framework for regeneration, which consisted of repositioning, reinventing, rebranding and restructuring strategies (4R’s of regeneration). Collaboration with the project towns resulted in identification of the strategy area that would add the most value, and the impact of the 4R’s and the top 25 priorities is demonstrated via numerous town examples.

Knowledge exchange projects, such as High Street UK2020, have an important contribution to make, not by developing even more theory that is unlikely to get utilised, instead their contribution is to bring existing theory into practical use.

Twenty-first century online retailing has reshaped the retail landscape. Grocery shopping is emerging as the next fastest growing category in online retailing in the UK, having implications for the channels we use to purchase goods. Using Sainsbury’s data, the authors create a bespoke set of grocery click&collect catchments. The resultant catchments allow an investigation of performance within the emerging channel of grocery click&collect. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The spatial interaction method of “Huff gravity modeling” is applied in a semi-automated approach, used to calculate grocery click&collect catchments for 95 Sainsbury’s stores in England. The catchments allow investigation of the spatial variation and particularly rural-urban differences. Store and catchment characteristics are extracted and explored using ordinary least squares regression applied to investigate “demand per day” (a confidentiality transformed revenue value) as a function of competition, performance and geodemographic factors.

The findings show that rural stores exhibit a larger catchment extent for grocery click&collect when compared with urban stores. Linear regression finds store characteristics as having the greatest impact on demand per day, adhering to wider retail competition literature. Conclusions display a need for further investigation (e.g. quantifying loyalty).

New insights are contributed at a national level for grocery click&collect, as well as e-commerce, multichannel shopping and retail geography. Areas for further investigation are identified, particularly quantitatively capturing brand loyalty. The research has commercial impact as the catchments are being applied by Sainsbury’s to decide the next 100 stores and plan for the next five years of their grocery click&collect offering.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how market factors (pertaining to institutions, competition and resources) shape the international strategies of an online retailer.

A single qualitative case study research design is employed to conduct in-depth analyses of a Swedish internationalising small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) in the retail business.

The findings show that online retailers can use partnerships to tackle industry dynamics and break into foreign markets. This type of “piggy-back internationalisation” can be an effective strategy of handling foreign market dynamics in the entry phase: that is to say, the short term. Reliance upon relationships, however, may paradoxically inhibit retailers’ abilities to stay competitive in the post-entry phase (i.e. the long term) since they become cut-off from the first-hand market learning.

The authors provide propositions based upon the findings to support further research in the international marketing and international retailing literature.

The findings enhance the understanding of how electronic commerce affects SME internationalisation. They also generate new insights into the use of possible international expansion strategies for managers in retail SMEs.

This study introduces a new theoretical perspective to build upon international retail research and contributes to the international retail literature with relevant insights into both advantages and disadvantages of using partnerships to overcome challenges related to international online retailing.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an alternative framework that will assist in understanding the adoption of digital food shopping. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exacerbated the demand for digital shopping, but the adoption of digital shopping for food has not accelerated as fast as in other product categories. This study considered the role of socio-cultural factors to understand the reason for slow adoption of digital technology to access food. A cultural framework that can be used to investigate socio-cultural factors in this context was lacking, however, this paper provides a discussion of social and cultural factors and developed measurement scales to assist in understanding cultural change acceptance in consumers' adoption of digital technology to purchase food.

Using Hayes' process analysis, this paper investigated how cultural acceptance – mediated by consumer affection and appeal and measuring the moderated effects of digital trust (DT) – determined the eventual impact on consumer intention to adopt digital food retailing. This paper also considered moderated mediation with parallel mediations (consumer affection and appeal, digital convenience (DC) and consumer digital readiness) interacting with DT and consumer learning.

The authors found that cultural acceptance of digital technology (CADT) is an antecedent to the adoption of digital shopping for food, but this is also mediated by consumers' appeal and affection for digital technology and consumers' digital readiness.

This study also indicates that DT influences consumer appeal and affection (CAA), especially amongst female consumers.

The paper represents an empirical investigation of a new conceptual framework that considers socio-cultural factors to understand consumers' use of digital technology in food shopping which has been an existing knowledge gap in current literature.

This study aims to develop and validate a scale for measuring online fashion brand recognition (OFBR).

Given the existing literature on brand, multiple stages of studies were conducted as a part of the scale development process. The OFBR scale was validated by a step-by-step process following the scale validation methodology suggested in the specialised literature.

The results demonstrate the 25 items of five unique factors that form the OFBR construct and confirm the strong validity of the construct. This finding suggests that the five-dimensional approach (online brand familiarity, online visual simplicity, online aesthetic attraction, online brand emotion and online social reputation) plays important role to form OFBR.

A valid and reliable OFBR scale provides a foundation for broadening the understanding on the important constructs that form OFBR, which is essential for online fashion retailing. Knowledge of the crucial antecedents that influence consumers towards online fashion products can enhance marketers’ capability to position their brands towards their target markets.

The relevance of this study lies in validating the scale for measuring OFBR for the first time in the literature on online fashion brand.

Este estudio tiene como objetivo desarrollar y validar una escala para medir el reconocimiento de marcas de moda online (OFBR).

Partiendo de la literatura de marca, se llevaron a cabo múltiples estudios como parte del proceso de desarrollo de la escala. La escala OFBR fue validada en un proceso de diversas etapas siguiendo la metodología de validación de escalas sugerida en la literatura especializada.

Los resultados demuestran los veinticinco ítems de cinco factores únicos que forman el constructo OFBR y confirman la validez del constructo. Este hallazgo sugiere que el enfoque de cinco dimensiones (familiaridad con la marca online, simplicidad visual online, atracción estética online, emoción de la marca online y reputación social online) juega un papel importante en la formación de la OFBR.

Una escala OFBR válida y fiable proporciona una base para ampliar la comprensión de los constructos importantes que forman OFBR, lo cual es esencial para la venta de moda online. Conocer los antecedentes que condicionan al consumidor al comprar productos de moda online puede mejorar la capacidad del vendedor para posicionar su marca en el mercado objetivo.

El interés de este estudio radica en la validación de la escala para medir la OFBR por primera vez en la literatura sobre la marca de moda online.

Artículo de investigación

This research enables the authors to highlight the importance of proper pricing for retailers. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of demand-based pricing, providing empirical results that reveal the validity of this pricing philosophy in the sport retailing industry. In particular, this study has identified the limits of acceptable prices for the products studied, selected the most appropriate method for pricing products suffering from high competition and compared the impact produced on price perceptions according to different retail environments to be able to relate changes in the acceptable prices ranges according to the geographical location of each point of sale, differentiating between rural or urban environment and type of client.

The authors have carried out surveys of 350 customers in each of the three points of sale analysed. Therefore, there are a total of 1,050 interviewees, for the three products analysed. The direct method of acceptable prices setting is developed. In addition, ANOVA and t-test have been carried out to find differences between the three shops.

One main finding is that the acceptable price range is not unique. Each point of sale has one that is distinct because it depends on many factors: the competition, the economic capacity of the closest residents, the location of the point of sale or the ability to attract customers.

The foremost contribution of this paper is to demonstrate empirically how considering the local demand at setting prices would generate larger earnings, even for a small retail chain. The direct method of setting acceptable prices enables us to set the prices according to the demand. The best option is if these prices are above the costs. It can be noted that the prices should be set according to each shop, and a different price used in each point of sale to maximise profits and to adapt to what the typical customer of each shop is willing to pay, despite the products being the same and the points of sale belonging to the same retail chain.

Esta investigación nos permite resaltar la importancia de una fijación de precios adecuada para los minoristas. El objetivo principal de esta investigación es demostrar la importancia de la fijación de precios basada en la demanda, proporcionando resultados empíricos que revelan la validez de esta filosofía de fijación de precios en el sector minorista de productos deportivos. En particular, en este estudio se han identificado los intervalos de precios aceptables para los productos estudiados; se ha seleccionado el método más apropiado para la fijación de precios de productos que sufren alta competencia; y se ha comparado el impacto en las percepciones de precios según el entorno detallista y se han encontrado cambios en los intervalos aceptables de precios en función de la localización geográfica del punto de venta, diferenciando entre entorno rural y urbano, y el tipo de cliente.

Los autores han realizado encuestas a 350 clientes en cada uno de los 3 puntos de venta analizados. Por lo tanto, hay un total de 1050 entrevistados, para los 3 productos analizados. Se desarrolla el método directo de fijación de precios aceptables. Además, se han realizado pruebas ANOVAs y T para encontrar diferencias entre las 3 tiendas.

Un hallazgo principal es que el intervalo de precios aceptable no es único. Cada punto de venta tiene uno distinto porque depende de muchos factores: la competencia, la capacidad económica de los residentes más cercanos, la ubicación del punto de venta o la capacidad de atraer clientes.

La principal contribución de este artículo es demostrar empíricamente cómo considerar la demanda local al establecer precios generaría mayores ganancias, incluso para una pequeña cadena minorista. El método directo de establecer precios aceptables nos permite establecer los precios de acuerdo con la demanda. La mejor opción es si estos precios están por encima de los costos. Se puede observar que los precios deben establecerse de acuerdo con cada tienda, y se debe usar un precio diferente en cada punto de venta para maximizar los beneficios y adaptarse a lo que el cliente típico de cada tienda está dispuesto a pagar. A pesar de que los productos son los mismos y los puntos de venta pertenecientes a la misma cadena minorista.

The purpose of this study is to address two issues relevant to those managing product returns: (1) how customers perceive the returning process and assessing the extent that these perceptions have on satisfaction with the organization, loyalty and word-of-mouth (WOM) and (2) are these outcomes moderated by whether customer returns were planned or unplanned?

The data consisted of 21 semi-structured interviews (pilot study) and a quantitative survey (n = 384; main study) targeted at consumers who had bought fashion items online.

Qualitative insights revealed that perceptions of the returning experience are driven by monetary costs, convenience, stress and guilt. Quantitative findings showed that the returning experience explains return satisfaction for both planned and unplanned returners, and returning satisfaction explains overall satisfaction and WOM. The noteworthy difference concerns loyalty: although customers that planned to return items are more loyal to the organization, it is the unplanned returners whose loyalty can be significantly increased by better managing the returning process.

Returning products online is increasingly common and thus forms an important part of the customer's overall experience with an organization. Returns management can therefore drive key customer outcomes. Understanding the dynamics between the product return experience, return satisfaction and customer outcomes will help practitioners design and implement more informed returns management strategies. Measures are also presented that assess the cognitive and emotional aspects associated with returning products.

Returning products is an increasingly important challenge for online retailers. Understanding what kinds of returning behaviors occur allows companies to design and execute better informed decisions to manage this phenomenon, not only for the sake of firm performance but also for societal and environmental benefits – the triple bottom line.

While scholars have investigated the relationship between return policies (e.g. free vs fee) and profitability, no prior literature has examined the returning experience: how consumers perceive the returning process; motivations for their returns (whether returns were planned or not) and subsequent customer outcomes.

This paper analyses how the purchase channel and customer complaint goals affect the sequential choice of post–purchase complaint channels when customers experience a service failure followed by a service recovery failure (double deviation).

An online survey involving a scenario manipulation was conducted with 577 apparel shoppers. The study employs multi-group latent class analysis to estimate latent customer segments within both online and offline groups of shoppers and compare latent classes between the two groups.

The results show that the purchase channel has a lock-in effect on the complaint channel, which is stronger for offline buyers. Moreover, there is evidence of channel synergy effects in the case of having to complain twice: shoppers who complain in store in the first attempt turn to online channels in the second complaint attempt, and vice versa. Complaint goals shape the choice of complaint channels and define different shopper segments.

The present study is the first to adopt a cross-stage approach that analyses the dependencies between the purchase channel and the complaint channel used on two subsequent occasions: the first complaint after a service failure and the second following a service recovery failure.

This paper investigate how fit uncertainty impacts product return costs in online retailing and how digital product fitting, a pre-sales fitting practice, can reduce fit uncertainty.

The paper analyzes the current performance of a retailer's e-commerce and return operations by estimating costs generated by product returns, including product handling costs, tied-up capital, inventory holding costs, transportation costs, and order-picking costs. The estimated costs were built on 2,229 return transactions from a Scandinavian fashion footwear retailer. A digital product fitting technology was tested with the retailer’s products and resulted in estimations on how such technology could affect product returns.

The cost of a return is approximately 17% of the prime cost. The major cost elements are product handling costs and transportation costs, which together amount to 72% of the total costs. If well calibrated, the fitting technology can cut fit-related return costs by up to 80%. The findings show how customers reacted to the fitting technology: it was unable to verify fit every time, but it serves as a useful and effective support tool for customers when placing orders.

Virtual fit verification using digital product fitting is key to retailers to reduce fit-related returns. Digital product fitting using three-dimensional scanning is more appropriate for some products, but it is unsuitable for products that are difficult to measure and scan.

The paper contributes an empirical estimate of retail supply chain costs associated with fit uncertainty, as well as theoretical understanding of the role of pre-sales fit verification in avoiding product returns.