Consumer perceived benefits and value in apparel m-retail

Within the UK retail sector, fashion shopping via mobiles is one of the fastest developing forms of online retail, yet recent research has shown that apparel retailers have been slow to implement appropriate mobile platforms into overall marketing strategies, thereby failing to satisfy consumer expectations and missing opportunities emerging through this channel. This research analyses mobile apparel retail from the consumer’s perspective. The aim is to understand fashion shopping experiences via smartphones. Research questions relate to the benefits fashion consumers are seeking through mobile shopping channels, how consumers shop, why they use smartphones and what influences their decision-making process. Consequently, a theory of interactive relationship between m-retail and consumer purchase behaviour has been developed. A mixed methods approach was adopted guided by Grounded Theory methodology complemented by experimental work. It applied 200 questionnaires, 1,313 mobile app reviews, 23 eye tracking experiments involving websites, mobile apps and mobile websites, 6 focus group discussions and 8 case studies. A conceptual model of Essential Features of Mobile Channel (EFMC) was developed by triangulating data gathered from a range of sources: eye tracking experiments, mobile app reviews and focus groups. Case studies of commercial platforms, implementing 43 features of EFMC, were used to evaluate mobile websites and apps developed by apparel retailers. This research contributes to knowledge by developing a Benefits-Value Theory (BVT), which addresses the relationship between levels of benefits and their influence on shopping involvement, by examining the ways consumers perceive mobile platforms and respond with distinctive behaviours and attitudes. This conceptual framework devotes what companies are doing on mobile and what consumers think about it. BVT provides a base for fashion consumer segmentation. Consumer profiles have been developed to account for shifts in consumer behaviour led by mobile technologies. This research proposes a model for diagnosing the strengths and weaknesses of mobile platforms. Shopping journey and behaviour models establish how to segment the consumer base, capturing a complexity of their behaviours, by assigning value to fashion retail. This research helps apparel retailers to develop appropriate marketing strategies in m-retail focusing on maximizing customer benefits and satisfaction by fulfilling retailers’ value creation and delivery

Kids & Cul-De-Sacs: Census 2000 and the Reproduction of Consumer Culture

This Review takes an inquisitive tour through the 2000 Census of Population and Housing, focusing especially on its role as the statistical foundation of marketing efforts by retail firms. The underlying motivation for the project is a suspicion that, at least if the industries\u27 own words before Congress are to be believed, the decennial census confers a significant positive externality (some might say a hidden subsidy) on retail and marketing firms. Over the years, the census has provoked a number of social, political, and economic controversies. Little attention, however, has been given to the role of the census in fostering the creation and maintenance of markets for consumer goods. Indeed, it has only been during the preparations for the 2000 census that the use of census data in marketing has achieved even slight salience outside specialized management textbooks and consumer research journals. Thus, in addition to providing a descriptive account of the population census and its various uses by commercial entities, this Review also attempts to provide a framework for determining whether the census marketing externality merits more serious normative consideration

The tourism image of Bloemfontein as perceived by tour operators in certain metropolitan areas of South Africa

ThesisWhen considering various holiday destinations, tourists rely heavily ~pon the image of a particubr destination. Given a much wider choice and greater variety of destinations, tourists today are likely to favour holidays that offer the fullest realisation of their personal needs and value for money. Having a good product alone is simply not good enough in a competitive market, therefore the motives, expec+ations and needs of tourists must be taken into consideration. If the real reason for taking a holiday is to relax, unwind and rediscover yourself, then the apparent reasons for taking a holiday may be concerned with prestige and status. A holiday has become a major consumable as a prerequisite for modern living and has in the process become a marker of status. This is the reason why the image of a holiday destination is a cr itical factor when choosing a destination. Whether or not the image is in fact a true representation of what the destination has to offer the tourist or not , is of secondary importance. What is important is the image that exists in the mind of the consumer. It is therefore of utmost importance that the tourism marketer correctly positions the product (destination) in the minds of the consumer. Positioning is more than just image creation- it may also provide the competitive edge and to be effective, the position must be believable in the consumer's mind and it must deliver that promise on a constant basis. In order to change or enhance a destination's image, marketing campaigns must be of sufficient weight and impact and should be supported by an adequate budget aimed ut the applicable market segment(s). The study indicated that: • The image of a destination plays an important role in the decisionmaking process of the tourist. • Tour operators stimulate the tourism industry by putting together tours and packages to different destinations to satisfy the needs of the tourist or a specific market segment. • There is a lack of knowledge amongst tour operators and they are very uninformed about what Bloemfontein has to offer the tourist. • Marketing efforts to promote the city of Bloemfontein has not reached the majority of domestic tour operators in South Africa. • Tour operators perceive Bloemfontein to be a suitable stop-over destination, but not a holiday destination. • Bloemfontein is regarded as a destination that offers good value for money, personal safety with suitable and affordable accommodation. The percep i-ion of Bloemfontein amongst tour operators is that the city lacks beautiful scenery and a good climate

e-Commerce fulfillment strategy for luxury brands in South Korea

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-84).Introduction and motivation: From a traditional paradigm, the term "luxury e-commerce" is an oxymoron. The high-volume, hands-off approach of online sales is a direct contradiction to that of the high touch, human relationship-based luxury retail industry. It is for this reason that, until recently, many luxury brands have avoided e-retail - the belief is that it cheapens their image (Okonkwo, 2010). However, the successful experiences of certain companies in specific regions are gradually giving many luxury retailers a reason to reconsider e-commerce. For example, the luxury retailer Ralph Lauren has experienced huge success in e-commerce (see Figure 1), and is on a mission to proliferate their multi-channel sales model across the globe. South Korea is one of the most recent locations in which Ralph Lauren has chosen to roll out an e-retail initiative. Explosive economic growth across Asia has rapidly expanded the market for luxury goods and services. In South Korea, this growth has been particularly strong and consistent, as has South Korean consumers' appetite for luxury. This strong market growth, confluent with the reputation as the world's most wired country, makes South Korea an attractive target for e-commerce implementation. The Ralph Lauren team came to us with a rather broad request: to help them investigate the potential challenges of their e-retail initiative in South Korea. Through our research, we found several interesting and pertinent optimization models that could be modified to plan for Ralph Lauren's e-retail operation in South Korea, but as we delved into these models we realized that they didn't address Ralph Lauren's paramount mission in Korea, which is to "elevate the brand". We took a step back and zeroed in on our focus question: how could Ralph Lauren elevate its brand while simultaneously launching an e-commerce initiative in South Korea? We believe the insights gained from our study will help Ralph Lauren utilize "systems-thinking" to make strategic and operational decisions in South Korea that can elevate their brand image. These insights might also apply to other luxury retailers considering an e-commerce initiative in South Korea or other countries. This thesis presents several thought models that incorporate factors like inventory policy, brand strength, mediation, customization and online sales mix - which may make this research of interest to sales, marketing, operations and supply chain professionals.by Mark F. Vanderbilt and Daniel G. Yunes.M.Eng.in Logistic

Antecedents and consequences of female consumer's attitude and lifestyle in facial care market

Evaluation of ethical marketing practices of businesses from a consumer perspective has often been prescribed as an international research direction, more particularly for the developing economies. In accordance with the above, this consumer study based in Malaysia investigated the antecedents and consequences of consumer attitude towards ethical marketing practices of firms depicted by product fairness, price fairness, and fairness aspects of marketing communications and channels of distribution in the facial care sector. Moderating influences of consumer lifestyle and demography were also taken into consideration in order to describe the scenario with enhanced precision and possibilities. The model under study was developed using the proven predictive power of the theory of planned behavior supported with the consumer decision process model. Relying on a survey research design, and following a rigorous multi stage sampling method, 483 female consumers falling within 15 years and above age range were surveyed from different parts of Malaysia. Descriptive analysis was done using SPSS, and inferential analysis using SmartPLS software, a variance based structural equations modeling tool. The findings revealed that product fairness, marketing communications, price fairness, and channels of distribution possess significant positive relationship with consumer attitude which further significantly predicts behavioral intention. Social factors and perceived behavioral control too were seen to predict behavioral intention which was further seen to influence the actual behavior of consumers. Consumer lifestyle as a whole, reflected through self-confidence, health consciousness, family orientation, religiosity, and women role and perception was found to have no moderation effect on the consumer attitude and behavioral intention relationship. The results of multi group analysis revealed that income of consumers exerts no moderation effect whereas education moderates the relationship of marketing communications, price fairness, and channels of distribution taken with consumer attitude. As Malaysian consumers exhibit serious concern towards ethical marketing practices of firms, it is recommended to the managers that they ensure fairness in their offerings, pricing, marketing communications and the way they make the products available to the consumers. Also, the policy makers are suggested to focus on creating awareness regarding the growing significance of ethical aspects, in addition to instituting desirable regulation

Exploring the decision-making process of men's branded underwear consumers

"The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of involvement, brand loyalty, and gender in the purchase of men's branded underwear, and specifically during the evaluation of alternatives and product choice stages of the decision-making process. Interviews were conducted with fifteen department store shoppers to explore their use of evaluative criteria and the impact of these criteria on product choice. Interview data revealed four main consumer profiles: high involvement /brand loyal, high involvement not brand loyal, low involvement/brand loyal, and low involvement not brand loyal consumers. The majority of participants were either high involvement/brand loyal, or low involvement/not loyal. Results of this study point to the need for marketers to better understand the men's branded underwear consumer in order to successfully market new products in an increasingly diversified apparel product category. Similarly, manufacturers could better cater to consumers' needs and wants by understanding consumer perceptions of brand value. Further research is needed to more fully explore the implications of such considerations as channel type, consumer demographics, and lifestyle marketing for the purchase of men's branded underwear."--Abstract from author supplied metadata

Consumer acculturation and reacculturation experience: Taiwanese returnees' negotiation of roles and identity through dress

Includes bibliographical references.2015 Fall.The purpose of this interpretive study is to qualitatively analyze the process of consumer acculturation and reacculturation through consumption practices related to dress by which Chinese women from Taiwan negotiated their roles and identity in their home culture (Taiwan), host culture (United States) and upon returning to their home culture (Taiwan). This study focuses on these womens' experiences as they moved across cultures, specifically looking at their perception of home and host culture, dress strategies, cultural value orientation, and how these influenced their consumer acculturation and reacculturating outcomes. Based on the findings of this study, a consumer acculturation model for returnees has been developed. This model reflects these womens' experiences as they transitioned across two different cultures, highlighting factors that contributed to the outcomes of assimilation, maintenance and resistance. This study found that the reacculturation process was a much harder transition than acculturating to a host culture because participants were undergoing a major role transition from student to working professional and they had no expectations of what this life would be like, making it difficult to adjust. Also, segregation was altogether not an outcome. This research provides new insights into the complex and dynamic process of consumer acculturation and reacculturation of women as they transition from home to host and back to home culture

Communication plan for Samsung Galaxy A 2017 edition: how to communicate for millennials

The smartphone's market has been growing every year with increased innovations. This is a technological push driven market where products are created ahead the recognition of consumer needs. Smartphone development is based on consumers' possible future needs and so those companies with the best hunch in technologies and services of future will be the leaders in this industry. As the market has become more saturated, the consumer faces himself with a wide variety of offers, and so brands are struggling to differentiate among the others. Hereupon, the focus will be in developing an innovative Communication Plan for the new "Samsung Galaxy A 2017 edition". The main goal of this project is to increase product knowledge by creating an emotional link between the consumers and the brand and ultimately to drive sales. The literature review is based on academic articles concerning were the main subjects are: millennial generation and consumer buying behavior. It was conducted an external and internal analysis, to better understand the smartphone industry and "Samsung" brand as a company. Furthermore, the target was defined and studied to understand more deeply their connection, affinity and interaction with the smartphone brands. Finally, after defining the communications goals, a plan with specification, a budgeting and results was developed, by for each action.O mercado dos "smartphones" tem aumentado todos os anos com crescentes inovações. Este mercado é impulsionado por tecnologia, em que os produtos são criados antes que os consumidores os considerem uma necessidade. O desenvolvimento de smartphones baseia-se nas possíveis futuras necessidades dos consumidores e, portanto, as empresas que melhor projectam estas necessidades nas tecnologias e nos serviços do futuro serão os líderes da indústria. À medida que o mercado fica cada vez mais saturado, o consumidor depara-se com uma grande variedade de oferta e as marcas lutam para se diferenciar entre elas. Posto isto, o foco será o desenvolvimento de um Plano de Comunicação inovador para a nova edição de 2017 do "Samsung Galaxy A". O objetivo principal deste projeto é aumentar o conhecimento do produto criando um vínculo emocional entre os consumidores e a marca e, por fim, impulsionar as vendas. A revisão de literatura baseia-se em artigos académicos onde os temas principais são: geração "Millennials" e comportamento de compra do consumidor. Foi realizada uma análise externa e interna, para compreender melhor a indústria de "smartphones" e a "Samsung" como empresa. Além disso, foi definido e estudado o target de forma a compreender mais aprofundadamente a sua relação e interação com as marcas de "smartphones". Finalmente, depois de definir os objetivos de comunicação, foi desenvolvido um plano específico, orçamento e resultados para cada ação