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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the existence of differences in service quality assessments across distinct retail store formats. We address customers’ quality assessments for physical aspects, personal interactions, reliability and policies dimensions in hypermarkets and supermarkets to analyse the impacts for satisfaction and loyalty.

The study builds on previous scales for service retail quality to develop a survey addressing customers of hypermarkets and supermarkets in Portugal. Data analysis addressed 248 complete questionnaires and involved statistical testing to explore differences in service quality expectations across retail store formats. The regression analysis was used to estimate impacts of each service quality dimension for customer satisfaction and loyalty intentions.

The results support the existence of differences in customers’ service quality assessments across retail store formats, notably for the expectations about different quality dimensions. Differences were also observed on the impacts for customer satisfaction and loyalty, in particular for the dimensions of reliability and personal interaction.

The results suggest that managerial decisions regarding service in stores should be adjusted to the characteristics of each retail format. The generalizability of the results should be assessed by means of further investigation in other retail contexts.

Retail customers patronize multiple types of retail stores that compete on diverse service attributes. Building on existing service measurement scales, this paper provides a contribution to understand customer’s quality assessments across distinct store types to inform retail quality and service differentiation strategies.

The purpose of this study is to investigate older shopper behavior in a retail environment. The study focused on how the environment elements of supermarket stores influence older customers to interact with other customers when they shop for groceries.

Various qualitative research techniques were undertaken, including interviews with retail architecture experts, store employees, a psychologist and a gerontologist; in addition, five interviews followed by three focus groups were conducted with older shoppers in Brazil.

Customer-to-customer interactions that are related to the environment elements of supermarkets tend to influence the shopping experience of the older shoppers, which has an impact on satisfaction. Although some customers may value social contact, some interactions can involve discomfort and embarrassment.

The study sheds light on the understanding of the influence of the environment elements of supermarket stores on customer-to-customer interactions, and it proposes such interactions to be a relevant strategy that is used by older customers to maximize their satisfaction, although such strategies can also lead to dissatisfaction.

The findings provide insights regarding the specific needs of older customers in a supermarket context, associated with the design and ambient elements of the store environment, which can be valuable for retailers and policy-makers.

Considering the limited understanding of older shoppers and their experiences, this study provides a thorough understanding of how the retail environment can influence customer-to-customer interactions that involve older shoppers. Moreover, the study captures how interactions, which are influenced by the retail environment, can result in dissatisfaction; however, such interactions can also be used by older customers to modify their satisfaction with the shopping experience.

This chapter explores how customer's attributes, shopping behavior, and preferences affect the retail choice in fiercely competitive retail environments of megacities from developing countries. We study how small, family-owned retailers (i.e., nanostores) compete against organized chains from the modern channel (i.e., convenience stores and supermarkets) at different socioeconomic levels in 9 out of 16 boroughs from Mexico City. Primary data were collected using a combination of instruments (i.e., observation, interviews, and surveys) that were applied to relevant stakeholders of the retail footprint where nanostores develop their operations. We analyze the data via statistical tools such as descriptive statistics and independent nonparametric tests to understand the significant factors of the competitive landscape in which nanostores are immersed. We supplement our research methodology by using causal loop diagrams to identify opportunities in the way suppliers, shopkeepers, competitors, and customers interact with each other and new business models for the nanostore supply chains. By breaking down our result analysis into low-, middle-, and high-income areas, we provide insightful recommendations to increase nanostores' survival, improve their operations, and grow them in Mexico City by addressing issues from the supply, store management, and customer service.

Spotlights important developments in the Japanese food distribution system over the past two to three years. States that, foreign pressure, combined with economic and social change in Japan, has forced the Japanese Government to alter some government regulations, including the Large Scale Retail Store Law. Reports that these regulatory changes, combined with other changes in the Japanese economy and society, have led to an increase in the number of supermarkets in Japan, and also to an expansion in the number of convenience stores and mini supermarkets. Discusses these developments and outlines possible implications for foreign firms interested in selling into the Japanese food market.

Looks at a French hypermarket, Carrefour, its background, philosophy and mission. Examines the keys to its success worldwide, with particular emphasis on its exploits in Indonesia. Provides the opportunity to discuss related considerations, such as political risk and currency fluctuation.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate Chinese food retailers' positioning strategies. Specifically, retail segments and critical factors related to the nature of the food supplier relationships that may be influenced by the positioning strategies are investigated.

The retail markets in Guangzou and Chengdu are investigated. Data are collected by means of observation and survey and then combined in the analyses. Observational research (i.e. expert assessments) is conducted in 152 retail outlets in order to assess their positioning strategies. The purchasing managers in the same retail outlets are personally interviewed by means of structured questionnaires.

A three‐cluster solution for the positioning strategies is revealed: down‐market stores, middle‐range stores, and up‐market stores. The annual sales and the number of self‐service counters are highest among up‐market retailers. They are also typically joint ventures, supermarkets and department stores, and members of a retail chain. A broad range of brands and products and also marketing support from the suppliers are most important for the up‐market stores.

The study is limited to two regional retail markets and should therefore be cross‐validated with other retail sectors and markets. Thumbnail sketches of the retailer segments enable food suppliers to make better and more informed decisions about how to position their product offer and marketing mix.

Although positioning strategies are at the core of modern marketing, relatively little research has been conducted addressing how retailers in general and Chinese retailers specifically include their retail buying behaviour and structural characteristics in the positioning strategy. This study contributes to filling this gap in knowledge.

Grounded on approach/avoidance behaviour theory, the purpose of this paper is to develop a typology of grocery shoppers based on the concomitant perceived advantages and disadvantages of shopping online and in store for a single cohort of consumers who buy groceries in both channels.

A survey design was employed using a sample of 871 UK shoppers who had purchased groceries online and offline. The survey instrument contained items that measured the perceived advantages and disadvantages of grocery shopping online, and items relating to the perceived advantages and disadvantages of grocery shopping in traditional supermarkets. Items were selected from the extant literature and subjected to content and face validity checks. Cluster analysis was used to develop typologies of online and offline grocery shoppers. The inter-relation between the two typology sets was then examined.

The results of the research provide several insights into the characteristics, perceptions and channel patronage preferences of grocery shoppers. In particular, profiling e-grocery shoppers on the basis of their concomitant perceptions of shopping online and in store suggests that the choice of whether to shop online or in store may be driven not by the perceived advantages of one channel vs the other, but by the desire to avoid the greater disadvantages of the alternative. These perceptions differ somewhat between different consumer groups.

This study makes a noteworthy contribution to the internet and general shopping literature by providing a profile of grocery shoppers based on their concomitant and often conflicting perceived advantages and disadvantages of shopping online and their perceived advantages and disadvantages of shopping in traditional supermarkets. The use of a single cohort of consumers overcomes the bias in previous studies that employ separate cohorts of online and offline shoppers and reveal important insights into the complex perceptions and behaviours of multichannel grocery shoppers.

This research paper aims to explore the application of Statistical Process Control (SPC) methods to measure the performance of a national supermarket chain's problem suppliers. The use of SPC control charts was expected to help in the understanding of the management of buyer/supplier relationships and the effect of the suppliers' performance in the supermarket's replenishment system.

The data analysed were based on the performance of 12 suppliers to the national supermarket over a period of 77 weeks. Quantitative data were supplemented with qualitative data obtained from the suppliers' managers and the supermarket's buyers. The paper compares the measurement of the suppliers' performance using descriptive statistics such as skewness, kurtosis and correlation, with those obtained using SPC‐based control chart techniques.

The results of this analysis indicate that neither descriptive statistics nor the SPC approach were a complete answer to monitoring supplier performance in the supermarket environment. Instead a composite approach was most likely to be effective in improving buyer/supplier relationships. The use of descriptive statistics is important in establishing consistent and achievable performance targets; the use of SPC facilitates performance monitoring and enables meaningful problem‐solving dialogues to be established.

From a retail managerial perspective these results help both in the design of the performance measurement system and in the establishment of realistic performance standards throughout the supply system.

The results suggest that performance measurement of supermarket replenishment systems needs to use a range of performance measures and extend beyond conventional dyadic buyer/supplier analysis.

This study aims to analyze the impact of radio advertisements on urban commuters towards buying behaviour in retail stores and attempts to determine the role of radio advertising on dissemination of information on the sales promotions. The impact of radio advertisements on the store choice and buying preferences are analyzed based on empirical investigation.

This study is based on the empirical investigation of urban commuters who acquire information on sales promotion by listening radio advertisements during travel time. The sample respondents selected for the study frequently commute to their workplaces from the residential areas located in the southern, northern and suburban habitats in Mexico City. Data were collected by means of personal interviews during 2007‐2009 in different festival seasons broadly categorized as three seasons: April‐June (Spring sales following the occasions of Easter vacations, Mother's day and Father's day), July‐August (Summer sales) and November‐January (Winter sales following prolonged Christmas celebrations), when retailing firms including supermarkets, departmental stores and shopping malls advertise sales promotions frequently on radio.

The study reveals that shopping behaviour of urban consumer at retail stores in response to radio advertisements is highly influenced by the physical, cognitive and economic variables. Radio advertisements propagating promotional messages on sales of products have quick response to the supermarkets and department stores. Listeners of radio commercials are attracted towards advertisements, which are more entertaining while disseminating the message. This study on impact of radio advertisements on consumer behaviour revealed that advantage shopping at retail stores in response to radio advertisements is highly influenced by the physical, cognitive and economic variables.

A large number of people listen to radio while commuting in urban areas and respond to the broadcast of various commercial messages. There are limited studies available on radio advertisements and their socio‐economic impact. This study contributes to the existing literature on the subject.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to explore the complexities of regularly implemented as well as irregularly occurring – sometimes improvised – instore logistics processes related to products which are declared unsaleable; and second, to identify the challenges and opportunities in managing instore logistics processes related to unsaleable products in grocery stores.

The authors apply an embedded case study approach. Within each case, i.e. dominant store format, the authors investigate the instore logistics processes of 32 retail and wholesale stores and focus further on those processes related to products declared unsaleable. The case study research methodology comprises in-depth interviews with store and category managers, point of sale observations and secondary data research.

The authors identified four different specific instore logistics processes depending on the residual product value of unsaleable products. The analysis of these processes suggests that establishing more efficient return, disposal, recycling, and most importantly, redistribution processes leads to various benefits such as cost savings, more effective and efficient operations, better use of resources and waste reduction, while at the same time supporting charitable institutions and people in need.

The contribution of this research are: first, to provide a better understanding of different ways of seeing and handling unsaleable products; and second, to reveal the significant importance of focusing on instore logistics beyond the point of sale with respect to the economic, ecological and social benefits to retailers, wholesalers and their stakeholder groups.