Store Atmospherics: A Multisensory Perspective

Store atmospherics affect consumer behavior. This message has created a revolution in sensory marketing techniques, such that across virtually every product category, retailers and manufacturers seek to influence the consumer's "sensory experience." The key question is how should a company design its multisensory atmospherics in store to ensure that the return on its investment is worthwhile? This paper reviews the scientific evidence related to visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, and gustatory aspects of the store environment and their influence on the consumer's shopping behavior. The findings emphasize the need for further research to address how the multisensory retail environment shapes customer experience and shopping behavior. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Retail Atmospherics and In-Store Nonverbal Cues: An Introduction

Customers' in-store experiences are having a profound impact on their shopping behavior. In this special issue, two key variables are highlighted: the retail environment and role of nonverbal cues. The eight papers in this special issue present numerous cutting edge issues in these two research domains. Each of these papers and some of their salient contributions are briefly overviewed in this introductory editorial. The goal of this special issue (and the articles in it) is to serve as an impetus for additional research. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Characterization of Shigella spp. by antimicrobial resistance and PCR detection of ipa genes in an infantile population from Porto Velho (Western Amazon region), Brazil

The incidence of Shigella spp. was assessed in 877 infants from the public hospital in Rondônia (Western Amazon region, Brazil) where Shigella represents the fourth cause of diarrhea. Twenty-five isolates were identified: 18 were Shigella flexneri, three Shigella sonnei, three Shigella boydii and one Shigella dysenteriae. With the exception of S. dysenteriae, all Shigella spp. isolated from children with diarrhea acquired multiple antibiotic resistances. PCR detection of ipa virulence genes and invasion assays of bloody diarrhea and fever (colitis) were compared among 25 patients testing positive for Shigella. The ipaH and ipaBCD genes were detected in almost all isolates and, unsurprisingly, all Shigella isolates associated with colitis were able to invade HeLa cells. This work alerts for multiple antibiotic resistant Shigella in the region and characterizes presence of ipa virulence genes and invasion phenotypesin dysenteric shigellosis

Futurising the physical store in the omnichannel retail environment

This chapter aims to gain a better understanding of the role that the physical store plays in the current multichannel offering and the expected omnichannel evolution of the format in the near future, from an industry perspective. This chapter has two main objectives: firstly, to explore the current situation of the physical store format in terms of experience, integration with other channels, the role of technology, and consumer’ expectations; secondly, to establish relevant guidelines regarding the future evolution of the format. Interviews with industry experts enabled rich data on the topic to be collected, analysed, and presented. The work confirms that the role of the physical store so far seems to be evolving from places for transaction to places for interaction in which the different channels of the retailer come together via the technology. This challenges the traditional notions of retail format, retail place, and retail design