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Consumers are increasingly combining distribution channels, thus displaying so-called omni-channel behavior, both to complete a given purchase and between purchases. The authors make a distinction between omni-channel customers, who make use of distribution services in both channels and omni-channel users, who make partial use of the distribution services of one channel to support purchases in another. This paper aims to identify the omni-channel behavior among the customers of a global fast fashion retailer dealing in a wide range of apparel and clothing accessories.

Using a multinomial logit model, the authors perform a customer segmentation based on observed omni-channel behavior, considering the explanatory roles of demographics, distribution service features and customer service policies across the different retail channels.

The authors observe that the key retail channel features for explaining omni-channel customer behavior are product accessibility, both in store and online; the assurance that goods purchased online will satisfy the customer’s needs and expectations; and the option to return goods found unsatisfactory.

The results clearly show that the nature of the visits and purchases made by customers is determined by various components of the companýs customer service policy, which can, therefore, be used to guide the retailer’s segmentation strategy.

Future lines of research should explore the economic implications of this customer segmentation. The price perception data emerging from our findings suggest a greater sensitivity to prices in the mono-channel segment, which might be worth exploring in future research.

Future lines of research should explore the economic implications of this customer segmentation. The price perception data emerging from our findings suggest a greater sensitivity to prices in the mono-channel segment which might be worth exploring in future research.

Los consumidores combinan canales de distribución en el denominado comportamiento omni-canal cada vez en mayor medida, tanto para completar una misma compra como entre distintas compras. Distinguimos entre clientes omni-canal, que hacen uso de los servicios de distribución de ambos canales, y usuarios omni-canal, que hacen solo un uso parcial de los servicios de distribución de un canal para apoyar las compras en el otro canal. En este trabajo identificamos este comportamiento omni-canal entre los clientes de una empresa global del sector de la moda que vende un amplio rango de productos de ropa y complementos.

Mediante un modelo logit multinomial, realizamos una segmentación de los clientes en base a su comportamiento omnicanal. En esta segmentación, consideramos el papel explicativo, no solo de las características de los individuos, sino también el de los servicios de distribución y las políticas en cada canal.

Obtenemos cómo el acceso al producto, tanto en el establecimiento como a la página web, la garantía de que el producto comprado online tendrá las características esperadas y las facilidades para devolver el producto adquirido online si no cumple las expectativas, son rasgos clave de los canales que explican el comportamiento omnicanal de los clientes.

Nuestros resultados muestran claramente que diferentes aspectos de la oferta de servicios y de políticas de la empresa determinan las compras y las visitas y estos aspectos pueden ser utilizados para guiar la estrategia de segmentación del detallista.

En este trabajo contribuimos a la literatura sobre el marketing omnicanal presentando un modelo de segmentación, basado en los servicios de distribución ofertados por los minoristas, para las empresas que comercializan productos a través de distintos canales. Aportamos una distinción conceptual entre usuarios de un canal y compradores que tiene un amplio rango de aplicación.

Es necesario proseguir con las líneas futuras de investigación para investigar las implicaciones financieras de esta segmentación. La percepción de los precios que se detecta en nuestros resultados puede sugerir una sensibilidad mayor a los precios en el segmento mono-canal lo que puede ser una línea interesante a contrastar en investigaciones futuras.

Omni-canal, Moda rápida, Trabajo de investigación, Segmentación, Servicios de distribución, Comercio electrónico

Trabajo de investigación

A series of research has focused on how virtual reality (VR) technology itself influences consumers' perceptions and attitudes. However, little is known about consumers' unique perceptions and behaviours that can be generated by the specific factors of the virtual stores that they visit. Therefore, the authors examine how the specific aspects of the virtual stores that consumers see on screens – namely, the opacity of virtual stores' exterior design can impact consumer perceptions and behaviours.

Across three studies, the authors employed 3D modelling software (Rhino 6 and Unity) and 3D architectural visualisation software (Twinmotion) to create 360° VR videos for the manipulation of the virtual store exterior design. The authors performed ANOVA and regression analyses with three studies, a total of 858 responses.

Results showed that virtual stores' opaque exterior design can promote product preferences, and this link is serially mediated by store prestige perceptions and product quality perceptions. In addition, this effect is particularly prominent among those with higher involvement in design elements.

By suggesting important design variables to virtual stores, it advances the emerging literature on VR. Furthermore, to our knowledge, this research is the first to highlight the importance of exterior opacity of a virtual store, and it deepens our understanding of how the opaque exterior of virtual stores influences store perceptions and consumer behaviours.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of corporate social responsibility, social media marketing, sales promotion, store environment and perceived value on a purchase decision in the retail sector.

A quantitative research methodology was used and the data were collected from 278 customers of retail stores in Malaysia. The collected data were analysed using SPSS 19 and structural equation modelling on AMOS.

The findings showed that corporate social responsibility has significant positive effects on a purchase decision, whereas sales promotion has a negative effect on purchase decision. The outcomes of this study also indicated that store environment has a significant positive effect on consumers’ purchase decisions. Contrary to expectations, the findings revealed that the effect of social media marketing on purchase decision is insignificant. Finally, the results showed that perceived value has a significant positive effect on a purchase decision.

The findings of this study contribute to an understanding of the importance of the selected factors in affecting a consumer’s purchase decision in the retail industry.

Disruptive retailing technologies improve productivity and cost optimization, but there is a lack of academic literature about their effects on shoppers’ perceptions and behaviors. This paper aims to develop and test a conceptual model regarding the effects of retail technology on store image and purchase intentions and to measure how human interaction services (HIS) moderate this relationship. Two relevant retail technologies are explored.

The results of this study indicate that retailing technology has notable influences on consumer perceptions. Thus, shopping technologies improve store image perceptions and increase purchase intention, moderated by HIS.

Future field experiments in actual stores should attempt to corroborate the results of this study and offer greater internal validity.

The results should help reduce retailers’ resistance to technology adoption. In-store technology can help retailers leverage their store image and increase purchase intentions. HIS could offer a bridge between consumers and new technology.

This paper is an original research paper, given that few research papers are experimentally based to measure consumer’s reactions to new technology implementation.

Las tecnologías disruptivas de ventas al por menor mejoran la productividad y la optimización de costes, pero hay una falta de literatura académica sobre los efectos de estas tecnologías en las percepciones y actitudes de los compradores. Este artículo desarrolla y prueba un modelo conceptual de los efectos de la tecnología minorista en la imagen de la tienda y las intenciones de compra y mide cómo los servicios de interacción humana moderaron las relaciones. Este artículo explora dos tecnologías comerciales relevantes para investigarlo.

Un total de 480 personas participaron en los tres experimentos en un laboratorio y utilizaron las etiquetas electrónicas de estanterías (ESL) y el carro inteligente de la misma manera que podían usarlo en las tiendas.

Los resultados indican que la tecnología de venta al por menor tiene influencias notables en las percepciones de los consumidores. Por lo tanto, las tecnologías de compra mejoran la percepción de la imagen de la tienda e incrementa la intención de compra moderada por los servicios de interacción humana.

Es una contribución original porque pocos trabajos de investigación se basan en experimentos para medir las reacciones de los consumidores debido a la implementación de la nueva tecnología.

Los experimentos de campo en tiendas reales deben intentar corroborar estos resultados y ofrecer una mayor validez interna.

Los resultados deberían ayudar a reducir la resistencia de los minoristas a su adopción. La tecnología en la tienda puede ayudar a los minoristas a aprovechar su imagen de tienda y aumentar las intenciones de compra. Los servicios de interacción humana podrían ser un puente entre los consumidores y las nuevas tecnologías.

This study aims to ascertain the significance of retail service quality dimensions on shopping frequency at supermarkets in Durban. This study also adopts the Retail Service Quality Scale (RSQS) to South African supermarket consumers.

Primary data were collected from 399 consumers through mall intercepts using an adapted RSQS. Non-probability convenience sampling was utilised in selecting participants from different malls in Durban. To analyse data the SPSS software was utilised with multiple regression analysis to confirm relationships between variables of the study.

Results indicate a significant linear relationship between retail service quality and shopping frequency. Two of the three dimensions of retail service quality (atmospherics and reliability) have a positive and significant influence on the shopping frequency of consumers whereas one dimension (policy) showed no significant influence on the dependent variable.

Further studies are recommended in ascertaining the reasons behind an insignificant relationship between policy items of service quality and the shopping frequency of consumers.

This study highlights the managerial implications of retail service quality on improved shopping frequency of consumers.

This study suggests a lesser emphasis on policy items specifically personal interaction amongst Durban consumers on their shopping frequency. This might be due to cultural differences as well as the importance of self-service and privacy in supermarkets. Furthermore, this study demonstrates the role of context in providing deviations in retail service quality measurement and conceptualisation.

With the growing popularity of social media, it has become common practice for consumers to write online reviews to share their opinion and experience as well as consider others' reviews to inform purchase decision-making. This study investigated how online review sentiments towards four key aspects (food, service, ambience and price) change after a restaurant is awarded a Michelin Star to shed light on how the award of a Michelin Star affects online reviews as well as what factors contribute to positive online restaurant reviews.

The authors conducted a sentiment analysis of online restaurant reviews on TripAdvisor. A total of 8,871 English-written reviews from 87 restaurants located in Europe were extracted using a web crawler developed by Beautiful Soup, and data were then processed using Semantria.

The study findings revealed that overall sentiments decreased after restaurants were awarded a Michelin Star, in which service sentiment was the most affected aspect, followed by food and ambience. Yet, price sentiment showed a prominent increase. This provides valuable insights for Michelin-starred restaurant operators and owners to create a unique and compelling gastronomic experience that triggers positive online reviews.

The results of this study argue that consumers tend to hold higher expectations for this type of upscale restaurants given its recognition and quality assurance, so they are more likely to have negative feelings when their expectations are disconfirmed. Therefore, restaurants should continuously improve their food and service while paying attention to small details such as ambience, through creativity and innovation. Also, high-end restaurants, especially Michelin-starred restaurants, usually have the edge in premium pricing, yet competitive pricing may backfire considering its perceived luxurious values.

This study analyzed changes in customer sentiments when a restaurant is awarded a Michelin Star through text analytics. Through the lens of online restaurant reviews, the study findings contribute to identifying aspects that are most or least affected by the award of a Michelin Star as well as highlight the role of ambience in customer satisfaction which might have been overlooked in previous studies.

隨著社交媒體日趨普及，消費者出現一種常見的做法，就是在網上書寫評論，分享他們的意見和體驗，他們也會參考其他消費者的評論，以在購物時能作出知情決定。本研究擬探討當餐館獲得米其林星級時，消費者對它們在四個主要方面 (即食物、服務、情調和價格) 的網上評價會如何改變。我們藉此能更容易了解、餐館獲得米其林星級會如何影響其網上評論，以及是哪些因素、會為這些餐館帶來正面的網上評價。

我們對貓途鷹平台上的網上餐館評論進行情感分析。透過BeautifulSoup 研發的網絡爬蟲，我們取出位於歐洲87間餐館、共8,871個以英文書寫的評論，並把這些數據以Semantria加以處理。

研究結果顯示、當餐館獲得米其林星級時，顧客的整體情緒會下降，而其中最受影響的是服務情懷，其次是食物和情調; 但價格情緒卻有明顯的上升。這研究結果給獲得米其林星級餐館的經營者及其東主提供寶貴的啟示，讓他們了解如何為顧客創造一個可帶來正面網上評價的獨特而難忘的美食體驗。

本研究透過文本挖掘、去分析當餐館獲得米其林星級時，顧客情緒會如何改變; 透過網上餐館評論這面透視鏡子，本研究得到的結果、幫助我們確定米其林星級的聲譽所影響最大和最小的是哪些方面，以及讓我們更深入了解餐館的情調在顧客滿意程度上所扮演的角色，而這個角色在過去的研究中似被忽視。

本研究的結果提供了論據、證明由於消費者對擁有相關的認可和品質保證的這類高檔餐館一般予以較高的期望，故當他們發現期望與現實不符時，他們更容易產生負面的情緒; 因此，餐館在關注如情調方面的細節的同時，也應透過創造力和新觀念、去不斷改善他們提供的食物素質和服務水平; 而且，高檔餐館，尤其是獲得米其林星級的餐館，通常在溢價定價方面享有優勢，但當考慮到感知的奢華價值時，具競爭力的價格或會為餐館帶來反效果。

The purpose of this paper is to determine the students’ perceptions of an on-campus foodservice operation at an identified historically black college and university (HBCU) and its effect on their satisfaction and dining frequency.

A survey of 685 students was conducted to collect data. Partial least squares based structural equation modeling is used to test the proposed structural model with SmartPLS 3.0.

Results confirm that quality of food, ambience, value for money, food and beverage options and service quality have a positively significant impact on students’ overall satisfaction with the on-campus foodservice operation and dining frequency. As such, all the hypotheses are supported.

These findings indicate that on-campus foodservice operators should focus on quality of food, ambience, value for money, food and beverage options and service quality to achieve student satisfaction. This in turn could positively impact the institution’s reputation, student retention and the marketability of the institution to future students.

This study would help on-campus foodservice operators to better understand the impact of the various elements of foodservice experience which will lead to students’ overall satisfaction and dining frequency, particularly in a HBCU setting.

The new omnichannel strategy aims to offer a holistic shopping experience through the integration of online and offline channels. The introduction of technology in the physical store is an essential factor to this end. The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to analyze how the intention to use different interactive technologies in a clothing store affects purchase intention and second, to test the moderating effect of gender on this relationship.

An original model is developed and tested with 628 omnichannel customers. A multi-group analysis is performed to compare the results between two groups: men and women.

The results show that the incorporation of new technologies in the physical store positively affects purchase intention, but no significant differences were found between the two groups.

This study furthers the understanding of the importance of the new connected retail system and offers new insights for both the theoretical framework and businesses.

La nueva estrategia omnicanal busca ofrecer una experiencia de compra holística a través de la integración de los canales físico y online. Para ello, la introducción de nuevas tecnologías en el establecimiento es un factor esencial. Este estudio tiene un doble objetivo: primero, analizar como la intención de usar diferentes tecnologías interactivas en una tienda de moda afecta a la intención de compra; y segundo, comprobar el efecto moderador del género en esta relación.

Se ha desarrollado un modelo original que fue testado en 628 consumidores omnicanal. Asimismo, se desarrolló un análisis multigrupo para comparar los resultados en dos grupos: hombres y mujeres.

Los resultados muestran que la incorporación de nuevas tecnologías en la tienda física afecta positivamente en la intención de compra, sin embargo, no se han encontrado diferencias significativas entre los dos grupos estudiados.

Este estudio mejora la comprensión de la importancia del nuevo comercio conectado y ofrece nuevas perspectivas tanto a nivel teórico como para los negocios.

This study aims to explore the factors responsible for influencing the service quality (SQ) of department stores in Albaha region, Saudi Arabia. This study also examines the level of influence on SQ.

Primary data was collected from 600 customers out of which 508 questionnaires were included for analysis using retail service quality scale (RSQS). Quota sampling technique was adapted for data collection from different cities of Albaha province. SPSS software was used to analyse the data using multiple linear regression analysis.

Three dimensions have a positive significant impact on SQ (physical aspect, problem-solving and reliability), whereas one dimension (personal interactions) has a negative significant influence and one dimension (policy) is found to be a highly insignificant factor.

Further investigation is required for the negative but significant behaviour of personal interaction and insignificant impact of policy as factors.

This study outlines the dimensions having positive and significant influence of SQ on the department stores.

This study suggests socially and culturally acceptable methods to improve SQ in Albaha.

The research suggests that personal interaction has a negative influence on SQ; this deviation of results from the literature may be due to the cultural variances in KSA which needs to be further investigated, as customers in Albaha are not willing to converse and interact with the seller.

This study aims to explore non-Muslim tourists’ general halal food preferences, motivations for tasting halal food during their recent trips, positive and negative emotions and memorable dimensions associated with their recent halal food experiences after returning from holiday.

Data were collected using the authors’ personal networks and Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) using a questionnaire. An email containing a link to the questionnaire was sent to the authors’ personal networks and posted on MTurk in January 2021.

Of the 311 non-Muslim respondents, more than half considered themselves as food neophiliacs and considered halal food experiences as imperative whilst travelling. However, tasting halal food was not a major travel motivation. Novelty and taste were the two main motivations for tasting halal food whilst at a tourism destination. Emotions elicited by halal food experiences focussed on “joy” and “love”. The proposed conceptual framework for memorable halal food experiences comprises several dimensions: taste, spending time with family and friends, novelty, quality and safety, hospitality, ambience (setting/servicescape) and experiencing others’ culture through food.

This is one of the first studies to explore non-Muslim tourists’ motives, emotions and memorable dimensions of halal food experiences.