The savannah hypothesis of shopping

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Modelling the effects of mall atmospherics on shoppers’ approach behaviors

Despite previous work, researchers still do not fully understand the mechanisms by which environmental stimuli influence emotions and affect behavior. This paper attempts to address this knowledge gap by modelling the effects of a stimulus on emotions and behavior within the context of a shopping mall and retail stores. We evaluate a stimulus-response model based on the influence of perceptions on shoppers’ moods, which in turn influence approach behaviors. A structured questionnaire survey of actual shoppers in a real mall environment (n=315) was analysed by structural equation analysis. The exemplar stimulus consisted of a Captive Audience Network (CAN or private plasma screen network) – a topic that has been little researched to date. The influence of the CAN was small but significant. The findings have implications for practitioners as even small changes in image can have a substantial effect on profitability

COMMENTARY Enhancing consumer empowerment

Purpose of this paper: Much of the literature on consumer empowerment focuses on consumers’ efforts to regain control of their consumption processes from suppliers. Our purpose is to argue that many suppliers achieve success by trying hard to empower consumers. The mechanism by which this takes place consists of researching and providing what consumers want. Consumers feel empowered when they are able to enjoy the consumption process. This is of particular note in shopping, which is not simply obtaining products but also experience and enjoyment. Design/methodology/approach: Research is examined into the links between firms’ efforts to understand what consumers want, atmospheric stimuli, emotions and buying behaviour. Findings: We find that successful firms’ try hard to understand what consumers want and to improve consumer satisfaction and empowerment by providing pleasant marketing environments and apt, relevant information. Research limitations/implications: The approach is based on prior literature. We examine marketing to consumers in company locations, e.g. stores, malls, restaurants and banks to examine specific evidence of the effects of atmospheric stimuli such as aroma, music and video screen media. Practical implications: We contend that firms can and do become successful in a competitive arena by providing pleasant environments and information that people want. What is original/value of paper?: We show how consumer empowerment is an important concept. This paper contributes since there is a dearth of writings specifically about consumer empowerment in the marketing literature. Far from the popular view of consumers being manipulated by firms, successful firms try hard to and succeed in empowering consumers in their marketing activities

Understanding the factors that attract travellers to buy tickets online in Saudi Arabia

Despite widespread discussions of online consumer behaviour and the effect of web quality on online user’s actions, there is still a lack of research in the area of consumer attitude towards the services provided by airline companies due to the specific nature of travellers. – being using the internet for different motivations and buying specific kind of product (e-tickets). This study aims to measure consumers’ electronic satisfaction and intention to purchase tickets from Airlines websites. The results provide better understanding on the factors that attract travellers to adopt the most cost effective distribution channel for Airlines (own website) for ticketing needs. To obtain the study objective, a conceptual framework is developed based on literature pertaining to e-consumer behaviour, web quality, and travel and tourism streams. A detective quantitative methodology was chosen to examine the constructs and the relations within the framework. An online survey targeting actual airline online users (travellers) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is suggested with items covering 9 constructs: Information Quality (IQ), System Quality (SQ), Perceived usefulness (PU), Perceived ease of use (PEOU),e-Trust (ET), Airline reputation (AR), Price Perception (PP), e-Satisfaction (ES), and Intention to Purchase (IP). Findings would help decision makers within airline companies to understand their customers’ online behaviour and enable enhancements and modifications to be made to their airline storefront, hence ensuring the satisfaction of potential customers and conversion of visitors into buyers

P-wave diffusion in fluid-saturated medium

This paper considers the propagating P-waves in the fluid-saturated mediums that are categorized to fall into two distinct groups: insoluble and soluble mediums. P-waves are introduced with slowness in accordance to Snell Law and are shown to relate to the medium displacement and wave diffusion. Consequently, the results bear out that the propagating P-waves in the soluble medium share similar diffusive characteristic as of insoluble medium. Nonetheless, our study on fluid density in the mediums show that high density fluid promotes diffusive characteristic whiles low density fluid endorses non-diffusive P-wav

Marketing images and consumers' experiences in selling environments

In a well-functioning market, consumers exert choices not just in purchases of products but also in selections of locations to enjoy shopping. Scholarly research has demonstrated that retail atmospheres impact on shoppers’ pleasurable shopping experiences. Demonstrating the marketing concept in action, shoppers consistently respond to this empowerment by for example, spending more time shopping and spending more money in retail facilities that are perceived to offer a pleasanter atmosphere and experience. This research pivots round an in-depth qualitative study that evaluated the impact of a plasma screens and specific informational content on shopping centre user behaviour. A phenomenological study of the effects of the medium, and the way in which these systems influence behaviour, permitted a far deeper investigation of our sample group vis-àvis increased browsing time and the propensity to spend. A series of eight focus discussions were conducted with local user groups of varying age and gender. Key themes drawn from the group discussions using axial coding indicated that the influence created by the images varied with subjects and settings. The general consensus was that such ‘screens’ created a certain ambience that influenced the way our subjects felt about the selling environment under study. Moreover, for our sample groups, there was clearly a link between the screened images and modern expectations of a selling environment. The plasma screens provided added enjoyment to shoppers’ experiences, providing them with more information enabling more informed shopping choices. The research concludes with implications for strategic marketing, theory and practice

Two Amino Acid Residues Contribute to a Cation-π Binding Interaction in the Binding Site of an Insect GABA Receptor

Cys-loop receptor binding sites characteristically possess an "aromatic box," where several aromatic amino acid residues surround the bound ligand. A cation-π interaction between one of these residues and the natural agonist is common, although the residue type and location are not conserved. Even in the closely related vertebrate GABA_A and GABA_C receptors, residues in distinct locations perform this role: in GABA_A receptors, a Tyr residue in loop A forms a cation-π interaction with GABA, while in GABA_C receptors it is a loop B residue. GABA-activated Cys-loop receptors also exist in invertebrates, where they have distinct pharmacologies and are the target of a range of pesticides. Here we examine the location of GABA in an insect binding site by incorporating a series of fluorinated Phe derivatives into the receptor binding pocket using unnatural amino acid mutagenesis, and evaluating the resulting receptors when expressed in Xenopus oocytes. A homology model suggests that two aromatic residues (in loops B and C) are positioned such that they could contribute to a cation-π interaction with the primary ammonium of GABA, and the data reveal a clear correlation between the GABA EC_(50) and the cation-π binding ability both at Phe206 (loop B) and Tyr254 (loop C), demonstrating for the first time the contribution of two aromatic residues to a cation-π interaction in a Cys-loop receptor