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The purpose of this study is to develop a comprehensive model of retailer–customer relationship.

Data were collected using questionnaires administered at organized grocery retail outlets in India. A total of 612 customers were surveyed.

Empirical evidence suggests that perception of merchandise quality depends upon perception of quality of services. It is also found that apart from store-level attributes, customer-level attributes also play an important role in retailer–customer long-term relationships.

Retailers would be benefited by an in-depth knowledge of factors that determine long-term relationships with customers. The finding of the study implies that efforts of retailers to retain customers should be directed toward the right set of customers. In the present study, details about customer-level attributes will benefit retailers to target the right set of customers. Academicians would be benefitted by developing in-depth understanding about different store- and customer-level attributes that determine retailer–customer long-term relationship.

The model developed in this study depicts the impact of retailer’s effort as perceived by customers and customer’s values, on commitment. There are very few studies in this area in the context of grocery retail which has taken customer-level attributes that motivates them to develop long-term relationships. Coming to the Indian context, very little work is being done.

The cost to supermarkets from shoplifting is a growing problem. Despite huge investments in formal security measures, supermarkets experience shrinkage and face heavy financial losses. Hence, this paper explores an alternative approach to shoplifting prevention. The purpose of this paper is to propose that quality relationships between a supermarket and its customers could be a viable strategy for shoplifting prevention. A conceptual model is presented at the end of this paper for encouraging shoplifting prevention using a theory of planned behaviour perspective.

A systematic search of literature on relationship quality was conducted. Research papers were shortlisted from peer-reviewed journals published between 2007 and 2016. For the convenience of readers, studies on relationship quality are presented in six cross-checked information categories in a table.

This study produced two results. First, it finds three antecedents of supermarket-customer relationship quality. These are as follows: a supermarket’s participation in corporate social responsibility and cause-related marketing initiatives, a supermarket’s service quality, and a customer’s attachment to a supermarket’s place/location. Second, there are three major effective dimensions of relationship quality. These are as follows: satisfaction, trust, and commitment. The proposed model incorporates factors from both findings, to measure a supermarket-customer relationship quality that may influence intention of customers to engage in shoplifting preventive behaviour.

This research paper has reviewed the existing literature to utilise it in the context of shoplifting prevention, and developed a novel model/framework for effective shoplifting prevention with a theory of planned behaviour perspective.

This study employed the commitment–trust theory in social psychology and relationship marketing to explore female customers' perception of channel integration quality in omnichannel retailing and its influence on their relationship commitment to and trust in the relationship with retailers, and thus on their stickiness. Channel integration quality consists of two dimensions: channel service configuration (channel choice breadth and channel service transparency) and integrated interactions (content consistency, process consistency and perceived fluency).

The study was carried out via a questionnaire survey, to which 868 valid responses were collected. The partial least squares technique was used to test the hypotheses.

Channel service transparency and perceived fluency influence relationship commitment; content consistency, process consistency and perceived fluency all have significant effects on trust. Interestingly, although less influential than integrated interactions, channel service configuration is the foundation of channel integration quality, testifying to its significant role.

This study provides strong evidence on how channel integration quality affects customer stickiness. Moreover, this study replicates the finding of significant relationships among relationship commitment, trust and stickiness in omnichannel retailing.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the effects of recovery and strength of recovery on satisfaction and voice behaviors.

Two role‐playing experiments involving product failure followed by recovery at a video store were conducted. Data collected from students were analyzed using t‐tests and ANOVA.

Relationship satisfaction after a strong recovery was higher than it would have been, had the failure not occurred in the first place. In the case of store satisfaction, the original level was restored but not exceeded. Furthermore, customers appear to have an expectation threshold for customer recovery. A recovery effort that fell below this threshold led to sharply lower expectations. On the other hand, a customer recovery far beyond the customers' expectation threshold was no more effective than one that just exceeded it. Product satisfaction was lower regardless of the strength of recovery. Internal voice behaviors were higher following a customer recovery but a stronger recovery did not lead to any more internal voice behaviors than a weak recovery. External voice behaviors were not affected by a customer recovery.

The key to managing complaints in companies is to find just the right amount to spend for recovery. If the recovery is below the customer's expectation threshold, she will be dissatisfied. On the other hand, a recovery much above the customer's expectation threshold will not lead to any greater satisfaction, any more internal voice behaviors, or any fewer external voice behaviors.

The study looks at the influence of recovery on satisfaction with respect to store, relationship, and product. It also looks at the effect of recovery on internal and external voice behaviors.

As retail organisations offer financial services to their customers at an increasing rate, this paper uses the emerging relationship marketing paradigm to gain strategic insights. The first level of analysis is at the organisation/customer interface. Four scenarios are analysed, which have recently emerged in international situations. These show that retail organisations are reducing the interaction and communication that banks have with their customers. Relationship marketing theory is then used to understand the implications that these scenarios pose for banks. The second analysis is at the business‐to‐business level. The application of the concept of relationship marketing at this level suggests that banks and retail organisations should focus on co‐operation rather than competition. This paper proposes strategic alliances will enable both parties to achieve more together than individually.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on consumers’ behaviours in a new trend of grocery retailing, called the drive-through format. It investigates the influence of logistics service quality and product quality (freshness of the product and the product in general) on consumers’ reactions (satisfaction, average basket expenditure and shopping frequency) through the mediation of satisfaction. This work also examines whether convenience moderates the relation between perceived quality and consumer satisfaction.

This study tests these relationships with both path and structural models using a data set of grocery drive-throughs in France, gathered during 2015–2016. To confirm the validity of each construct, this paper has based and purified variables using various scales established in previous studies by conducting exploratory and confirmatory analysis.

Logistics service quality and perceived product are effective drivers of consumer satisfaction. As well, the results reveal a positive relationship between quality perceptions and behaviour (average basket expenditure and shopping frequency) through the mediating function of consumer (overall) satisfaction. Thus, the findings indicate that the positive effects of the interaction terms between convenience and both the perceived quality of service and the perceived quality of fresh products on satisfaction can lead to a higher purchase incidence in drive-throughs. However, the degree of consumer convenience does not alter the influence of product quality in general with regard to the formation of satisfaction in connection with drive-throughs.

Despite the growth of the drive-through format, few studies have investigated customer satisfaction within grocery retailing, nor its consequences and drivers, especially logistics service quality.

Built on De Wulf et al.'s relationship exchange model, the present study aims to examine store attributes as a signal for the process of customer‐retailer relationship building in the context of department store operation in the USA.

A sample of college students at a US university participated in an online self‐administered survey. Exploratory factor analysis identified store attribute factors pertaining to department stores and structural equation modeling tested hypotheses.

Six store attributes relevant to department store environments were found: post‐transaction service, direct mail, interpersonal communication, merchandise, preferential treatment, and store atmosphere. Four store attributes (direct mail, interpersonal communication, merchandise, and preferential treatment) involve perceived relationship investment, while one store attribute dimension (store atmosphere) directly contributes to perceived relationship quality. Perceived relationship investment positively influences perceived relationship quality, which in turn influences behavioural and attitudinal loyalty intentions. The mediating effects of perceived relationship quality on the perceived relationship investment‐loyalty intention links were confirmed.

The single retail setting and student sample are limitations. Future research should examine store attribute dimensions in different retail and/or service operation settings with more diverse populations.

The current study demonstrated that store attributes (direct mail, interpersonal communication, merchandise, and preferential treatment) promote customer‐retailer relationship building as relationship‐inducing factors in the department store context.

The purpose of this study is to examine antecedents of the under researched area of customer feedback in a retail context with feedback defined as positive and negative comments as well as suggestions for product/service improvements. A market-oriented firm listens to customers and puts their feedback into practice. Research on customer engagement, which includes customer feedback, has recently surged. The preponderance of feedback research to date has been focused on customer complaint behavior which is negatively valenced. Much less attention has been paid to customer feedback (including sharing positive information, thoughts and suggestions for new ideas, in addition to negative information) even though it has great value for companies. This research addresses this gap by integrating literature on customer orientation and engagement and relationship marketing antecedents (social benefits) and outcomes (commitment) to better understand what retailers can do to encourage customer feedback through relationships with frontline employees.

This study employs a cross-sectional, single retailer approach surveying 864 customers who have varying relationships to a coffee house.

Conditional process analysis was used to test the hypothesized mediating and moderating relationships. Results were consistent with predictions, showing that retail employee customer-oriented behavior is mediated by customer social benefit perceptions to influence feedback. Further, social benefit perceptions will interact with the level of customer continuance commitment to impact feedback. Specifically, the impact of social benefits will be stronger when commitment to the retailer is higher.

This research has academic and practical implications by increasing our understanding of an underrepresented and valuable aspect of engagement – customer feedback. Specifically, it addresses a key marketing research priority set forth in a 2010 JSR special issue, calling for more work contributing to this topic. Also, this research implies managers have the ability to influence the amount of feedback that they receive by encouraging certain employee behaviors.

Retailing is traditionally defined in terms of the retailers’ place in the distribution of tangible products. However, the retail function may be more widely defined where the retailer concerned is involved not only in the provision of product distribution services but also in the management and provision of financial services. Retailers are rediscovering the impact financial services may have on organisational success. That is, they are increasingly recognising the direct contribution that financial services may make to profit margins and the indirect benefits which may accrue through increased customer loyalty. This article considers the framework within which innovation in the provision of payment systems and other financial services is occurring in the retail sector.

The purpose of this paper is to consider the impact of effectuation when used by small suppliers within key account management (KAM) relationships.

An exploratory longitudinal case study approach was used to examine a single small supplier operating in the snack foods sector of the UK foods industry, as it entered into a new KAM relationship with a major retailer and undertook four new product development projects.

Findings suggest effectuation may positively moderate the ability of a small supplier to enter into a KAM relationship by enabling it to obtain resources and limit risk. However, once within the relationship, the use of effectuation may negatively impact success by increasing the potential for failure to co-create new product development, leading to sub-optimal products, impacting buyer confidence and trust. Furthermore, a failed KAM relationship may impact other customers through attempts to recover revenues by selling these products, which may promote short-term success but, in the long-term, lead to cascading sales failure.

It cannot be claimed that the findings of just one case study represent all small suppliers or KAM relationships. Furthermore, the case presented specifically concerns buyer-supplier relationships within the food sector.

This study appears to suggest caution be exercised when applying effectuation to enter into a KAM relationship, as reliance on effectual means to garner required resources may lead to the production of sub-optimal products, which are rejected by the customer. Additionally, a large customer considering entering into a KAM relationship with a small supplier should take care to ensure their chosen partner has all resources needed to successfully deliver as required or be prepared to provide sufficient support to avoid the production of sub-optimal products.

Findings suggest the use of effectuation within a KAM relationship has the potential to develop a dark side within business-to-business buyer-supplier relationships through unintentional breaches of trust by the selling party.