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Retailers are continuously seeking to improve upon the in-store shopping experience for their customers. The present research aims to examine consumers’ responses to one such initiative – the shopper solution – that, despite its growing marketplace prominence, remains largely unexamined in academic literature.

Two studies employed a 2(shopper solution: present vs. absent) between-subjects design. MANOVA and regression analyses were used to test hypothesized relationships.

Findings across two studies reveal that the presence (vs absence) of solutions positively influenced shoppers’ perceptions of shopping convenience, as well as their purchase intentions. These favorable effects also extended to the provider in higher word-of-mouth and loyalty intentions. Shopping convenience was identified as the mechanism underlying the impact of solutions, while “smart shopper” self-perceptions were shown to moderate these mediating effects.

Shopper solutions represent a low-cost, in-store marketing tactic that enhances shopping convenience. They are easy to implement, result in little to no overhead costs and can benefit both shoppers and retailers.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research represents the first academic examination of the impact of shopper solutions. The authors identify key mediating and moderating influences of the effects of solutions.

The authors explored the impact of a popular supply chain collaboration initiative – the shopper solution – on both retailers and manufacturers, as well as on the shopper.

The authors conducted a quasi-experimental field study, an experimental online study and an experimental behavioral lab study.

Overall, results revealed that shopper solutions increase the quantity and breadth of displayed products sold, along with sales totals. Shoppers also expressed higher willingness-to-pay (WTP) for products displayed in solutions. Shoppers positively (negatively) attributed the presence (absence) of solutions more strongly to retailers than to manufacturers due to perceived differences in manufacturers' concern for shoppers. Specifically, shoppers expressed higher (lower) word-of-mouth (WOM) and loyalty intentions toward retailers than manufacturers when solutions were (not) provided.

The authors provide a more holistic view of supply chain collaboration by showing how different chain members (retailers vs manufacturers) can experience disparate benefits from collaboration. The authors explain this within the context of shopper solutions by demonstrating that differences in perceived concern for shoppers underlies these effects. Thus, findings suggest that shopper marketing initiatives, such as solutions, are not always “win-win-win” outcomes for retailers, manufacturers and shoppers as intended. Overall, this is the first research to assess the implications of shopper solutions for retailers, manufacturers and shoppers, alike.

During these unprecedented times, acts of charity are deemed essential to help individuals in need and support the social safety net. Given the importance of prosocial behavior for survival through the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, the authors investigate the effects of partitioning experiential consumption and self-construal on consumer responses.

Based on the literature on partitioning and self-construal, the findings across three experimental studies provide novel insights into the interplay between partitioning and self-construal, and offer psychological processes on prosocial and behavioral intention.

Individuals with predominantly independent (vs. interdependent) self-construals and those primed with independent (vs. interdependent) self-construals showed higher prosocial intention when the experiential product ad was in an aggregated (vs. partitioned) format. The fit between the type of format and self-construal leads to the high control coping mechanism, and ultimately prosocial intention.

Partitioning experiential consumption has not been directly examined using self-construal, providing novel insights into consumer reactions during the pandemic. This paper provides practical implications to practitioners and researchers to better understand and adapt to shifting digital consumption patterns.