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This paper aims to review the validation of assumptions made in agent-based modeling of diffusion and the sufficiency (completeness) of the mechanisms assumed to operate.

One well-cited paper is examined.

Evidence is presented that casts doubt on the assumptions and mechanisms used. A range of mechanisms is suggested that should be evaluated for inclusion in diffusion modeling.

The need for validation of assumptions has been stressed elsewhere but there has been a lack of examples. This paper provides examples. The stress on the sufficiency of the mechanisms used is new.

This paper aims to respond to the commentaries by Nejad, and Rand and Rust on the paper “Improving Agent-Based Models of Diffusion”.

Evidence on the nature of word of mouth was reviewed and related to the views expressed by the authors of the commentaries.

The authors of this paper remain concerned about the assumptions used in agent-based models of diffusion.

The study refers to previously published work.

Multisensory stimulation is integral to experiential consumption. However, a gap persists between recognition of the importance of multisensory stimulation and the research techniques used to study the effects of such stimulation on consumption experiences. This article draws on sensory anthropology to narrow the gap.

Sensory anthropology has the potential to help consumer researchers understand multisensory stimulation and its effect on consumption experiences. To highlight this potential, ethnographic fieldwork is reported for two related experiential settings: yacht racing and adventure racing.

It is shown how consumer researchers can apply concepts and data collection techniques from sensory anthropology to derive powerful insights into consumption experiences. A set of guidelines and examples is derived from the embodied concepts associated with sensory anthropology, namely, kinaesthetic schema, bodily mimesis, the mindful body and local biology. These concepts are used to comprehend how consumers experience sensations phenomenologically, understand them culturally and re-enact them socially.

By acknowledging and engaging the senses, researchers can acquire embodied information that would not be evident from the conventional interview, survey or experimental data. Sensory anthropology adds to what is known from psychological, social and cultural sources to enable organisations to differentiate their offerings by means of the senses and sensory expressions, not only in yacht and adventure racing but potentially in many other experiential settings, such as travel, shopping, entertainment and immersive gaming.

This article offers distinct and original methodological insights for consumer researchers by focusing on concepts and data collection techniques that assist the study of experiential consumption from an embodied and corporeal perspective.

A great deal has been written and talked about lately on the application of market research techniques to the retail format. In its most obvious manifestations it has formed the basis for such successful operations as Next and the Burton Group and the recent diversifications in WH Smith. But the potential applications of market research are not confined to niche or multi‐strategy marketing. Intelligent advertising research can be a useful tool, as is customer analysis. What makes customers choose a particular store — or a particular brand? Is there a relationship between the two? And how do you build up appeal and customer loyalty through advertising and sales promotion? These were the main points covered at a recent seminar organised by Wallace International to mark the occasion of the opening of their new headquarters in London. Three speakers discussed aspects of innovation relating to the current scene in retailing — Montague Lewis, of the College for the Distributive Trades (who also wrote this feature); Dr Mark Uncles, from the London Business School, and Mike Elms, of Ogilvie Mather.

The equilibrium structure of packaged goods markets in Japan resembles that in Western economies: brands compete against each other in largely unsegmented markets, with the extent of consumers’ brand‐switching and divided loyalties between brands largely predictable from the differing market‐shares of brands. Presented is an analysis of brand loyalty for packaged goods in Japan and comparisons are drawn with brand loyalty in Western industrialized countries such as the UK and USA. The effects of brand‐specific differentiation are embodied principally in the size distribution of brands.

As one rewinds the clock to the early days of the twenty‐first century, it can be quite surprising to realise how much the consumer landscape has changed from what it is today. This paper aims to introduce the special issue and attempts to take stock of the last decade and reflect on the transformation of key areas of the changing marketplace and its impact on consumption.

A critical and integrative appraisal of emerging issues in consumer marketing is used to develop a framework for reviewing the relationship between demand‐side and supply‐side trends in the consumer landscape.

In reviewing major developments and trends of the last decade, the paper argues that the consumption landscape now operates in a rapidly changing environment that can be characterised as both turbulent and disruptive. These major shifts are emerging from the physical environment, technological innovation and the transformation of major markets. In all these scenarios, significant events are being experienced which disrupt the ways in which consumers behave and a retrospective of the first decade underscores several of these major shifts.

All of the papers included in this special issue have used one or more methods of inquiry based on conceptual, qualitative and/or quantitative approaches and open up fascinating avenues for future research in areas such as social marketing, branding, anti‐consumption, co‐creation, and social networking to name a few.

The last decade saw a great deal of attention given to social marketing and tackling the “dark side” of marketing to selected groups, often identified as vulnerable consumers. In other cases, such as with “anti‐consumption”, consumers totally avoid consuming certain products which, as a result, may have negative consequences not only for them but for the whole of society such as is the case with the avoidance of vaccination.

This paper is a unique examination of the last decade and its impact on consumer marketing backed up by a collection of strong contributions in emerging areas such as anti‐consumption, social networking, health promotion and addictive products, consumer co‐creation, sustainability and fair trade, branding and multicultural markets.

The role of private labels in consumer choice is studied by considering two issues: do private labels affect the way people buy within a store, and do they affect the way people choose between stores? The revealed behaviour of consumers is studied, both descriptively and using a very general model of behaviour, the Dirichlet. Some examples are presented which show that within a store, the way consumers buy private labels is similar to the way they buy brands, and that for the buying of a product at different stores, consumers patronise stores with private labels in much the same way as stores without them.

Customer loyalty presents a paradox. Many see it as primarily an attitude‐based phenomenon that can be influenced significantly by customer relationship management initiatives such as the increasingly popular loyalty and affinity programs. However, empirical research shows that loyalty in competitive repeat‐purchase markets is shaped more by the passive acceptance of brands than by strongly‐held attitudes about them. From this perspective, the demand‐enhancing potential of loyalty programs is more limited than might be hoped. Reviews three different perspectives on loyalty, and relates these to a framework for understanding customer loyalty that encompasses customer brand commitment, customer brand acceptance and customer brand buying. Uses this framework to analyze the demand‐side potential of loyalty programs. Discusses where these programs might work and where they are unlikely to succeed on any large scale. Provides a checklist for marketers.

Do consumers buy own labels differently from the branded goods of manufacturers? Contrary to some of the beliefs currently held in the trade, own labels are found to be bought much like brands, and loyalty is only slightly above average. Usually, own labels are just one item in a repertoire: consumers will buy other brands, they will buy at other stores, and they will buy the own labels of other stores.

Brand managers face many challenges (including questions of brand strength, world‐class culture, “glocal” branding, seeded marketing channels, “service smart” integration, brand architecture and brand organizing). A framework is presented for thinking about the challenges and how to deal with them. This process, called “brand chartering”, has three principal elements: creating and communicating the brand, managing the brand organization, and directing and structuring the brand. Illustrates how this framework is of help in management practice and shows how it can be used as a stool for organizational learning.