Technology in Retail: Using Participatory Design to Enhance Shopping Experiences for Female Consumers

Today’s consumers currently face an unprecedented number of seemingly homogeneous product alternatives. Because of the overwhelming number of product options, consumers are experiencing increased negative psychological consequences such as increased regret, decreased product and life satisfaction, lower self-esteem, and less self-control (e.g., Baumeister and Vohs 2003; Carmon et al. 2003; Schwartz et al. 2002). To address these concerns, this paper will explore how a participatory design approach can be applied to understand and remedy issues within the landscape of brick-and-mortar retail. Rather than taking a traditional marketing approach to address concerns around retail experiences, this paper will investigate how design thinking can more appropriately uncover latent consumer needs and thus design a more applicable solution. This change in approach and process is due to the expectations that design thinking and participatory design is more suitably tailored to defining expectations, uncovering insights, and designing solutions that meet latent user needs. Additionally, a revolution is occurring where consumers no longer want to be passive recipients of consumer goods; they want to be directly involved in the creation of goods and services (Sanders 2006). In order to satisfy the changing needs of individuals, both in their roles as consumers and as everyday people, this paper will explore the consequences of design research on traditional retail experiences. By including everyday people throughout the design process, this project will aim to enhance shopping experiences by making it easier to reach satisfactory decisions. Because of gender specific variables such as time and energy spent shopping, level of involvement, and enjoyment felt from shopping, this project will comprise an all-female group of participants, including both female shoppers and retailers/staff. To answer the proposed research question, this Master’s Thesis paper will begin by presenting a deep understanding of current research on consumer behavior. This knowledge will be applied throughout the design process both as a limitation when selecting design research methods and as a lens for interpreting collected data. Through both primary and secondary research, the paper will present insights into consumer behavior and retail experiences. These insights will then be used to craft ideas for an interactive consumer decision aid that will enhance retail experiences. Through iteration, this paper will then present a conceptual solution that will aid shoppers in making it easier to reach decisions and make rational product choices. By supporting consumer’s ability to make rational decisions, this paper will highlight how increased consumer satisfaction can improve both the relationship quality and the product/product choice quality, determinants of consumer satisfaction. By improving consumer satisfaction, this paper asserts that the final outcome will be able to increase a consumer’s level of trust and commitment in a retailer. This will allow the solution to serve as an aid to retailers in building loyalty, boosting retention rates, differentiating services, and staying competitive, thereby driving sales and improving revenue. By increasing revenue for retailers and improving satisfaction for consumers, the outcome of this project can be a beneficial artifact for both parties of the retail experience

Shopping and Guns: an analysis of public discourses in social media about mall robberies in South Africa

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Art in International relations, 2017This research project investigates public opinions about South African mall robberies discussed on Twitter. Using the principles of discourse and multimodal analysis, it provides critical insights constructed from the represented narratives of select, proposed middle-class consumers illustrating distinct sentiments about malls, crime and shopping. Malls are empirical objects that have been trivialised as ordinary and mundane consumer sites, devoid of any sociological significance embedded within the daily practices of shopping. This paper makes the argument that when contested by criminal activity, malls become valuable sites for critical enquiry towards gaining a deeper understanding of what these shopping attitudes mean within a post-apartheid, South African consumer landscape. The central issue of crime threatening public safety at malls diverges into an array of thematic discussions, revealing distinct indoctrinations surrounding apartheid’s iniquitous system of racial and social engineering. This study’s principle argument makes the claim that anxieties concerning public safety are only the tip of the iceberg, and this serves as an entry point into a discourse contesting exclusive shopping rights above constitutional equality for all. The test tube of mall robberies mixes desirable pleasures and humanitarian moralities together and creates a volatile cocktail of conflicting, consumer aspirations. In short, the public discourse of mall crimes is about maintaining self-entitled spaces of exclusivity within a desperate socioeconomic climate. This study concludes with questions and considerations raised by these authors which could springboard into opportunities for future inquiry.XL201

The end of stigma? Understanding the dynamics of legitimisation in the context of TV series consumption

This research contributes to prior work on stigmatisation by looking at stigmatisation and legitimisation as social processes in the context of TV series consumption. Using in-depth interviews, we show that the dynamics of legitimisation are complex and accompanied by the reproduction of existing stigmas and creation of new stigmas

Unlocking the Reuse Revolution for Fashion: A Canadian Case Study

This research aims to explore the potential of clothing reuse as a stepping stone towards a more circular economy for fashion. A systems approach to problem finding, framing, and solving is applied to explore how we might increase fashion reuse behaviours amongst consumers and industry alike. This research includes an analysis of the key barriers that prevent higher rates of participation in fashion reuse despite the potential economic, environmental, and social benefits of doing so (Part 2), and identifies areas of opportunity to focus innovation (Part 3). Research methodology included more than 30 one-on-one consumer interviews, 20 interviews with industry professionals along the fashion value chain, and an extensive environmental scan with a particular focus on the Canadian market. While this research aims to be accessible for all, the intended audience for this paper includes industry professionals, individual consumers, and regulators with the desire or agency to create meaningful change to the current fashion system in Canada and beyond. This study identified a variety of psychological and physical barriers preventing reuse adoption. For consumers, this is primarily a self-regulation challenge, enabled by our biological design and a cultural environment that has been purposefully constructed to exploit consumer behaviour for profit. This is further reinforced by a deep stigma towards used fashions within a culture that values newness and convenience above quality and longevity. For industry, fast fashion business models challenge both the economics and practicality of reuse, while lack of regulation and barriers to scale reuse models enable the status quo to persist. An analysis of these barriers suggests several points of leverage to focus resources and efforts for innovation to drive increased participation in fashion reuse. Emergent examples from fashion reuse are presented and discussed to inspire action in four key opportunity areas for innovation including: (1) destigmatizing used clothing; (2) addressing our culture of accumulation and disposal; (3) increasing the attractiveness of reuse for consumers; and (4) motivating increased industry participation. Clothing reuse may not be the sole solution to the global fashion industry’s long-term sustainability challenges but it is a critical step along the path to creating a more circular and sustainable economy in which fashion can flourish and provides a mechanism for changing the way we think about the true cost, and potential value, of our clothing. While this research sheds light on many of the challenges and innovation opportunities that exist for clothing reuse on the horizon, turning insight into action is a key next step for further exploration

Emerging Digital Marketing Strategies Using Mobile Instant Messaging

Customer engagement by commercial mobile instant messages (MIMs) is hampered by the high rate of customer irritation of receipt of the message. Increasing customer engagement is essential to marketing managers because MIMs marketing opportunities do not translate into sales unless marketers employ effective strategies for MIMs as a communication channel. Grounded in the technology acceptance model, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies marketing managers used to improve customer engagement with MIMs. The participants included 4 marketing managers from 3 organizations in the southeastern region of the United States who utilized MIMs as a marketing tool to improve customer engagement strategies. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and mobile instant messages used in marketing campaigns. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis, 3 themes emerged as build trust, engage the customer, and optimize the message value. A key recommendation is marketers should avoid the use of personal names in MIM marketing campaigns. The implications for positive social change include the potential for improved consumer engagement for community residents through increased tax revenue, higher job performance for marketing managers, and the benefit of a more informed public