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Article
Publication date: 11 November 2013

Hanna Ehrnrooth and Christian Gronroos

– The article aims to explore hybrid consumption behaviour as an emergent consumption pattern that may make conventional consumer stereotypes outdated.

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Abstract

Purpose

The article aims to explore hybrid consumption behaviour as an emergent consumption pattern that may make conventional consumer stereotypes outdated.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is an exploratory study in urban environments using qualitative, semi-structured and semi-structured interviews.

Findings

It is found that a continuum of hybrid consumption types exists, which includes both omnivorous and polarised behaviour. Hybrid consumers opt for both premium and budget alternatives but ignore midrange alternatives. Both trading-up and trading-down categories and situations are identified. While in previous studies trading up and trading down have been considered product category specific, the results of this study imply that hybrid consumption transcends product category boundaries. Four key themes characterizing hybrid consumption are identified.

Research limitations/implications

The study is explorative. However, as the phenomenon of hybrid consumption behaviour is insufficiently studied in previous research, the article reveals underpinning drivers of such behaviour and suggests directions of further research into the phenomenon.

Practical implications

There are many practical implications of the study. As hybrid consumers do not fall into distinct and stable categories, traditional marketing and segmentation strategies may need to be rethought. Consumers cannot be categorised in such a straightforward manner as conventional segmentation practices suggest.

Originality/value

The authors are not aware of hybrid consumption having been studied and categorised in this way before in academic research. New approaches to studying consumer behaviour, segmentation and marketing are implied.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 51 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 30 January 2007

Traci Warrington

552

Abstract

Details

Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 24 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0736-3761

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1984

Theodore Karger

A strategic platform is the blue‐print for managing an established business or new product introduction. This article indicates the kinds of problems companies experience if they…

Abstract

A strategic platform is the blue‐print for managing an established business or new product introduction. This article indicates the kinds of problems companies experience if they do without such a blueprint. A demonstrably successful procedure for defining a strategic platform is described…

Details

Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 1 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0736-3761

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1977

The stockmarket was broadly pleased with the budget and consumer shares should do well following the modest reflationary implications of income tax cuts. Obviously the full…

Abstract

The stockmarket was broadly pleased with the budget and consumer shares should do well following the modest reflationary implications of income tax cuts. Obviously the full benefits, in the form of a reduction in the standard rate of tax from 35% to 33%awaits the successful outcome of negotiations over future wage restraint. But the rest of the income tax package, designed to help the middle income earner, must be faintly bullish for retail shares. Immediately before the budget announcements, official figures showed a relatively large drop in living standards for the past few months. Real personal disposable income fell by between 1% and 1½% between the third and fourth quarters of 1976, a particularly sharp drop. The system of taxation, where thresholds have not been linked to inflationary factors, was cited as one of the major causes of this squeeze. The budget will have partially amended this situation, giving hope of a real, if small growth in disposable income this summer. Store shares, in any case, had been expecting some minor boost to consumer spending. During March store shares had been one of the best performance charts. The benefits of tax cuts should be felt from the spring onwards while in the summer there should be an additional boost from tax rebates. But profitability in the retail sector must be partially dependent on any future wage agreement. A flat rate adjustment will be relatively bad news, since retail wages are among the lowest in industry. There has, mercifully, been no tinkering with value added tax in this budget. The fact that the budget favours the middling income groups must be a mildly optimistic signal for department stores and other types of outlet in the upmarket retail sector. The gains further down the scale are likely to be felt in the supermarkets such as Tesco, where there has been substantial trading down amongst customers as incomes were squeezed.

Details

Retail and Distribution Management, vol. 5 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-2363

Article
Publication date: 30 October 2009

Marylyn Carrigan and Patrick de Pelsmacker

The current global recession is presenting new and difficult challenges for those customers wishing to consume sustainably and ethically, and the marketers who seek to provide the…

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Abstract

Purpose

The current global recession is presenting new and difficult challenges for those customers wishing to consume sustainably and ethically, and the marketers who seek to provide the goods that allow them to do so. The purpose of this paper is to explore to what extent international marketers can engage consumers with a social conscience and retain their loyalty both during and after the recession.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper explores the impact the global recession is having upon consumers and marketers, and considers the evidence surrounding concerns that the demand for ethical products will decline across international markets as the recession deepens.

Findings

The discussion acknowledges that while discount retailers are thriving, and customers are trading down, evidence suggests that across international markets a significant number of socially conscious consumers are still exhibiting ethical consumption behaviour. Future marketing opportunities lie in providing consumers with products that will deliver value without compromising their ethical social values.

Originality/value

The paper offers a balanced perspective on the significance of ethical consumers to international marketers. The analysis highlights a number of threats and opportunities that exist in the current global recession, and the discussion is illustrated with several examples of successful marketing ethics in action.

Details

International Marketing Review, vol. 26 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-1335

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 1977

The boom in retail sales forecast for the current year has definitely failed to materialise. In the first three quarters in 1976 the volume of sales was down by 3% on the level of…

Abstract

The boom in retail sales forecast for the current year has definitely failed to materialise. In the first three quarters in 1976 the volume of sales was down by 3% on the level of a year ago, and some areas, such as food retailing, where sales could end the year down 4 or more percentage points, have been major casualties of the squeeze on consumers' real incomes. Although the Government's pay norm of 10% started life as a fairly wishy washy attempt to restrain wage inflation, a tough line has been maintained on what is still a non‐statutory and voluntary agreement. There is every chance, now that the power workers have been routed, that the 10%guideline may stick for large sections of the working population. Where, then, is the rise in retail sales going to come from next year? The evidence is that the consuming population has reacted to wage restraint by simply cutting down. This is particularly noticeable in the food sector, where volume has sustained a heavy fall, where there has been much trading down, and where Tesco appears to have made the right move in ditching Green Shield for lower store prices. Clothing and footwear sales have not been good; a non‐summer this year clearly did not help, although the promised hard winter after several years of mild weather might help sales this time around. Sales of durable goods have been poor, and this is hardly surprising in a situation in which consumers, far from contemplating major capital investments in washing machines and carpets or furniture, are arguing over which brand of baked beans is the cheapest. So this is altogether a rather gloomy picture —but relief is at hand in the form of the latest round of tax allowance uplifts that should (the Inland Revenue willing) hit pay packets and the shops in time for Christmas. This means that retailers who rely on Xmas sales for a good proportion of their profits (department stores, Boots, WH Smith) will be making merry this year. But one theory is that the extra cash will be used to buy smaller items — extra drink, food and presents, rather than for fuelling any increase in larger items of expenditure. Latest monthly figures from the Department of Trade show that retail sales for both September and October were below the levels for 1976. In September the volume index was down from 108.9 to 106.2 while in October it fell from 108 to 106. The savings ratio —the best barometer outlook remains at an all time high. This is where the consumer boom next year will come from. The only question is —will consumers be that much more confident after the turn of the year? Over the last few months the strength of sterling and the appro‐val of the UK's international creditors has helped to boost confidence —and led to the government talking out loud in terms of ‘turning the corner’. There must be a huge pent up demand for consumer items. It is possible to envisage a consumer boom from next summer despite the 10%wage restraint. If people were confident enough in the future of the economy, they would start spending their savings instead of stuffing them into the building societies. Obviously the current high level of unemployment is not good psychologically for such a boom. On the other hand, lower factory gate prices (and smaller increases in imported food prices following the strength of sterling) may lead to something close to a real increase in disposable income even on the basis of a 10% norm wage rise. Some areas that are sensitive to future spending trends, or rather to consumers' feelings about those trends, such as mail order, are doing quite well at present.

Details

Retail and Distribution Management, vol. 5 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-2363

Book part
Publication date: 2 May 2007

Eunju Ko and Heewon Sung

“Trading up” is the phenomenon that describes consumers’ willingness to pay premiums on goods that are emotionally meaningful to them. The meaning of a good is reliant on an…

Abstract

“Trading up” is the phenomenon that describes consumers’ willingness to pay premiums on goods that are emotionally meaningful to them. The meaning of a good is reliant on an individual's consumption values. The purpose of this study was to examine the phenomenon of trading up among Korean university students. A total of 223 usable surveys were analyzed. Fifty-one product categories were reported for trading up, and divided into four classifications: clothes, fashion accessories, small electronics, and other appliances. These four classifications were significantly associated with brand types, retailing formats, and information sources. Finally, respondents were classified into three groups according to consumption values and each group exhibited different relationships with the marketing mix variables.

Details

Cross-Cultural Buyer Behavior
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-485-0

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2006

Craig Henry

Over a two‐month period, the editor of this review has searched worldwide for the most interesting and useful media articles on the topic of strategic management for the

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Abstract

Purpose

Over a two‐month period, the editor of this review has searched worldwide for the most interesting and useful media articles on the topic of strategic management for the July/August issue of Strategy & Leadership.

Design/methodology/approach

In addition to his own collection of finds, the editor sorted through suggestions by a team of veteran top managers and senior academics for new strategic concepts and actions.

Findings

The result is a surprisingly diverse set of media discoveries on such topics as best‐in‐class metrics, the value of an MBA, consumer market evolution, new Internet marketing concepts, price cut traps, must win battles, Google business model innovations, the strategy/design interface.

Practical implications

URL links and references have been provided for the articles so that managers can easily follow up this quick scan of the media by reading the articles in full.

Originality/value

Provides a snapshot of what managers are reading and a guide to trends and fresh thinking.

Details

Strategy & Leadership, vol. 34 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1087-8572

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 9 October 2023

Eiman Medhat Negm

This study investigates consumer purchase behavior during the steady devaluation of currency, which led to increase in inflation rates in Egypt.

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Abstract

Purpose

This study investigates consumer purchase behavior during the steady devaluation of currency, which led to increase in inflation rates in Egypt.

Design/methodology/approach

This study collected and analyzed numerical data to test the causal relationships found among the research model variables. Administrated questionnaires were distributed March 2023 in cross-sectional timeframe in several visits to hypermarkets, supermarkets and grocery stores in Cairo and Alexandria, applying nonprobability sample. Structure equation model path analysis was used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

This study shows compulsive buying, sense of anxiety, value shopping, attitude toward private label, attractiveness of local brands and materialistic behaviors impact consumers' acceptance of alternative brands; compulsive buying, sense of anxiety and materialistic behaviors impact the continuance of purchasing accustomed brands.

Practical implications

Retailers, government and policymakers can use this study as a guide to know how consumers react during times of high prices so to provide solutions to their needs. Policymakers should take into account the findings in managing the economy.

Originality/value

This study shows the effect of inflation on consumer spending to contribute to the body of knowledge in literature on the factors that influence consumer behaviors. A model was developed to frame the possible manners that might surface among consumers during times of high inflation; it reflected whether compulsive buying, sense of anxiety, value shopping, attitude toward private label, attractiveness of local brands and materialistic behaviors impact consumers acceptance of alternative brands and/or the continuance of purchasing accustomed brand.

Details

Journal of Humanities and Applied Social Sciences, vol. 5 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2632-279X

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 18 September 2009

J. Fernandez

1121

Abstract

Details

Strategic Direction, vol. 25 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0258-0543

Keywords

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