A new business model of unmanned convenience stores has been introduced to the retail industry in recent years. An unmanned convenience store is a store format where customers can carry out their errands without involvement of service personnel due to fully automated payment solutions. Because of the decreased need for employees, the new concepts can increase both efficiency and revenues as well as decrease costs for the companies. Due to low overhead costs, the store has the potential to be located both in rural and sparsely populated areas as well as in urban areas with growing population who values efficiency. Scholars have highlighted that such solutions may induce resistance among customers as they believe that it only serves the companies while harming the communities. Despite this, no previous research has studied consumer resistance towards unmanned convenience stores empirically.  The purpose of this thesis was to empirically examine the underlying factors that affect the level of consumer resistance towards unmanned convenience stores. This was done by investigating the relative importance of psychological-, functional- and individual barriers derived from existing literature regarding factors that hamper the adoption process of innovations. Thus, the following research question was formulated: “What are the underlying factors that affect the level of consumer resistance towards unmanned convenience stores?” The study focused on respondents that had no previous experience from unmanned convenience stores because of the apparent void in existing literature with such focus. To answer the research question, nine hypotheses were formulated and tested against the variable consumer resistance. A quantitative research design was applied where data was collected by distributing a survey to potential consumers in Sweden. In total, 172 respondents answered the survey where 131 respondents did not have previous experience of unmanned convenience stores. The data was analyzed through a regression analysis using ordinary least squares.  The result shows that need for interaction, perceived performance risk, lack of perceived convenience value and self-image incongruence positively influence consumer resistance in stated order of precedence. The results can be used as guidelines for companies trying to mitigate consumer resistance towards unmanned convenience stores. The final conceptual framework presented in this thesis can be used in future research to predict consumer resistance. Thus, this thesis contributes to the literature on consumer resistance by studying a new context still in its infancy.

This study measured the grocery shopping behavior of households through a hand delivered and hand retrieved questionnaire. The focus of this study was the identification of the convenience store as a place where grocery shoppers purchase fill-in grocery items between major supermarket trips. The survey measured the shopping behavior of households toward supermarkets and the shopping behavior of the households toward convenience stores. This study replicates the Sequence of Effects Model of grocery shopping behavior and a grocery shopping strategy typology to address the issue of how convenience store patrons differ from non patrons in their attitudes and behavior toward grocery shopping and in their attitudes and behavior toward their primary supermarkets. This research also addressed the differences in relationships with the primary convenience store among patrons with different rates of patronage. The attitude of grocery shoppers regarding their trust of supermarkets to have fair prices and quality products was found to influence their perception of their primary supermarkets. Grocery shoppers were also found to express an inverse relationship between the feelings of time pressure during fill-in grocery shopping trips and their perception of their primary supermarkets. The typology of grocery shoppers was found to describe different convenience store patrons as well as supermarket patrons. Typology membership indicates the likelihood of a shopper being a convenience store patron. Convenience store patrons were found to give lower evaluations to their primary supermarkets, to feel greater time pressure during fill-in shopping, and to be less involved in information search than non patrons. They were also found to have larger evoked sets than grocery shoppers who do not patronize convenience stores. Convenience store patrons were found to hold greater feelings of personalization and socialization with their primary convenience store when they had greater frequency rates. The supermarket was found to be the store of choice for fill-in grocery shopping by an overwhelming majority of grocery shoppers. The study results show theoretical, methodological, and substantive implications concerning grocery shopping behavior and the patronage of convenience stores. This study concludes with suggestions for future research. / Ph. D.

US retailers lose over $30 billion in merchandise annually. Merchants also suffer billions more in losses of cash, supplies, time, equipment, and growing civil liability costs. In order to control these losses, retail companies use a combination of people, programs, and systems. A review of the literature indicates specialised loss prevention employees are an important part of many asset protection programs.;A major interest of managers is improving the efficiency of their crime and loss control processes, including loss prevention store detective programs. Retail managers commonly use job performance reviews to gauge the individual efficacy of store detectives. In addition to job training, and job output supervision, research has indicated certain stable characteristics of individuals helps explain actual job performance, making pre-employment selection a critical part of process improvement. However, relatively little attention has been devoted to the selection of in-store detectives in the literature.;Qualitative research was used to identify critical job tasks in order to develop and validate a specialised job performance instrument. The preliminary research with subject matter experts indicated four distinct job roles of store detectives. This job analysis also resulted in a new job performance rating instrument later tested in the quantitative phase of the project.;Subsequently, a quantitative study of 201 US store detectives (using the performance instrument in a concurrent validity design) developed four distinct selection models designed to help explain role-specific job performance variance. Four hypothesis regarding the relationship between biographical data, personality traits, cognitive ability and the four measures of job performance were tested using multiple and logistic regression. The four resulting models explained between 13% and 23% of the variance in detective job performance measures.;Implications of the project's findings, and suggestions are also discussed in context t the current sample, as well as prior work in pre-employment selection research.

The Village Market is a nonprofit Healthy Corner Store that has been open since May of 2011 in the mixed-use, mixed-income New Columbia housing development in Portland, Oregon's Portsmouth neighborhood. The venture began as a "community-led" effort in partnership with Janus Youth Programs and Home Forward. The project was conceived after a private enterprise in the small grocery space designed into the development failed, leaving the neighborhood without easy access to healthy foods. This dissertation is a case study of the development process, the operation of the market, and the degree to which it addresses food justice and health equity concerns, among others, of residents. It is a case study of the Healthy Corner Store movement that uses food regime theory and political economy perspectives to critically examine the translation of Healthy Corner Store movement theory into practice, highlighting the perspectives of New Columbia residents on the endeavor. It explores the transition of the store from a community-led project to a management-led social enterprise, and the impacts of that approach on local autonomy, food justice, health equity as well as its successes and shortcomings. The store's situation in a mixed-income community meant that it had a particularly diverse set of expectations to navigate, and the changes to the store over time reflect Village Market's growing understanding of the implications of that situation but also a limited capacity to accommodate residents' differing tastes and the price sensitivity that many of them exhibit in their shopping habits.

[pt] É devido a um aspecto de inovação e mudança no comportamento do consumidor que o mercado varejista vêm se modificando ao longo do tempo e criando novos formatos de lojas físicas. Um exemplo, são as lojas de bairro, pequenas e especializadas, que visam o atendimento de conveniência e buscam aproveitar da melhor forma possível os espaços físicos em localidades estratégicas. Porém, para gerenciar o estoque de mercadorias em um espaço reduzido e limitado se faz necessário também focar na melhoria da gestão dos estoques, com o intuito de melhor atender aos clientes e de evitar desperdícios com excessos e perdas de vendas com as rupturas. Dessa forma, o objetivo deste trabalho é analisar o cenário dos estoques existentes de nove lojas de conveniência de uma rede varejista brasileira e, utilizando um modelo tradicional de gestão de estoques presente na literatura, encontrar respostas para as questões de, quando pedir e o quanto pedir de mercadoria. Além disso, esta pesquisa ainda acrescenta a indagação de o quanto deve ser mantido de estoque de segurança para evitar o desbalanceamento do mesmo e, para responder a estas perguntas, é necessário lidar com o equilíbrio entre custos, nível de serviço e espaço físico disponível. Os resultados do estudo agregam os valores encontrados com os cálculos quantitativos juntamente com uma análise qualitativa com relação ao espaço existente nas lojas analisadas. E, as conclusões foram que para o equilíbrio entre custo, nível de serviço e limitação de espaço físico os valores de ponto de reposição e tamanho de lote seriam suficientes para um nível de serviço de 95 por cento. / [en] It is due to an aspect of innovation and change in consumer behavior that the retail market has been changing over time and creating new physical store formats. One example is neighborhood stores, which are small and specialized, which aim to serve convenience and seek to make the best use of physical spaces in strategic locations. However, in order to manage the inventory of goods in a small and limited space, it is also necessary to focus on improving inventory management, in order to serve customers and to avoid excess waste and sales losses due to disruptions. Thus, the objective of this paper is to study the existing inventory scenario of nine convenience stores of a Brazilian retail chain and, using the traditional inventory management model found in the literature, find answers to the questions of when to order and how much to order of merchandise. In addition, this research further raise the question of how much safety stock should been kept to avoid unbalance, and in order to answer these questions, it is necessary to address the balance between costs, service level and available physical space. The study results aggregate the values found with the quantitative calculations together with a qualitative analysis regarding the existing space in the analyzed stores. In addition, the conclusions were that for the balance between cost, service level and physical space limitation the replacement point values and lot size would be sufficient for a 95 per cent service level.

by Wong Hang-Tat. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1992. / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iii / Chapter I --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Petroleum Business in Hong Kong --- p.1 / Retail Market --- p.2 / Shell --- p.12 / Convenience Store Concept --- p.14 / Study Objectives --- p.18 / Chapter II --- TARGET GROUP --- p.23 / Chapter III --- METHODOLOGY --- p.26 / Chapter IV --- RESULTS & ANALYSIS --- p.33 / Customer perception --- p.33 / Investment --- p.41 / Profitability --- p.43 / Operations --- p.47 / Competitor Marketing Strategies --- p.49 / Chapter V --- RECOMMENDATIONS --- p.51 / Limitations --- p.51 / Recommendations --- p.52 / Conclusion --- p.58 / Further Work --- p.59 / APPENDIX --- p.60

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Pardee Rand Graduate School, 2007. / Title from title screen (viewed on June 13, 2008). This website links to the complete document in PDF format. Includes bibliographical references.

El objetivo de la presente investigación es determinar la relación entre las variables producto y promoción de ventas en relación con la intención de compra en la categoría de ron y whisky en jóvenes de 20 a 26 años. De esta manera, poder identificar cuáles de ambas variables tiene mayor correlación con la intención de compra. Así también para las dimensiones de estas variables. De esta forma, se pueda comprender las razones por las que el volumen de ventas de ron es superior a la del whisky. Para el siguiente estudio, se decidió investigar antecedentes y entrevistar a dos expertos en el rubro de destilados y realizar dos focus group; Por ello, la investigación es de alcance correlacional, puesto que se busca describir y relacionar los motivos de la intención de compra en base a las variables y respectivas dimensiones puestas en estudio. A raíz de lo mencionado, se halló que las variables y dimensiones de mayor relación con la intención de compra para el público objetivo son: La promoción de ventas, el producto, descuento, precio de paquete, envase y etiqueta, seleccionado de manera respectivamente jerárquica. Por último, a partir de la investigación expuesta, se ha decidido recomendar en trabajar estrategias de marketing y comunicación en base a las dimensiones y variables anteriormente mencionadas, dado que se puede argumentar su afinidad entre la intención de compra con los jóvenes en estudio y su eficacia del caso. / The objective of the following investigation is to determine the relation between the variables product and promotion, and the motivation to purchase, in the rum and whiskey category, with young 20 and 26 year olds. The investigation will attempt to identify which of either variables mentioned has a higher correlation in regards to the motivation to purchase for the target audience. The correlation mentioned will clarify the reasons for the higher sales in rum in comparison to whiskey. For the following study, there is a detailed analysis in regards to the context and background, two expert interviews in relation to the category and two focus groups. Therefore, the investigation attempts to find correlations to understand the motives and dimensions of the variables product and promotion sales. The variables and their dimensions that have a higher relation to the motivational purchase for the primary public are mentioned in their respective hierarchy: sales promotion, the product, discounts, packet price, package and label. Lastly, after completing the research, it is recommended to investigate further in marketing strategies in relation to the dimensions and variables previously mentioned, due to the affinity between the motivation to purchase and the young people studied. / Trabajo de investigación

El presente trabajo se enfoca en “el uso de la señalética, como un elemento del visual merchandising, dentro del punto de venta de las tiendas de conveniencia, en relación a la intención de compra en jóvenes de 20 a 35 años de edad que residen en Lima Norte”. Teniendo como objetivo determinar la relación de los elementos Point of purchase de la señalética: Carteles, Display, Jalavistas, Adhesivos, Pop Up y etiquetas, con la intención de compra. La estructura del trabajo se dividió en: Introducción, Marco Teórico, metodología y conclusiones. La metodología de la investigación es descriptivo correlacional. Se realizaron 2 investigaciones: Cualitativa y cuantitativa. El estudio cualitativo se centró en la realización de 2 entrevistas a expertos en Visual Merchandising en tiendas de conveniencia. También, se realizaron 2 focus group, con participación del target. Para el estudio cuantitativo, se realizaron 180 encuestas, los cuales tenían preguntas filtro para que sólo sean respondidas por el target. Todas estas investigaciones, dieron como resultado que 3 de los elementos de la señalética (carteles, pop up y jalavistas) tienen relación con la intención de compra, siendo el cartel el elemento con mayor relación. Para tener este resultado, se utilizó el programa IBM SPSS. De la misma manera, se concluye que es sumamente importante la implementación de los carteles, pop up y jalavistas, en el punto de venta de estos formatos, con la finalidad de brindar una mejor experiencia de compra a los clientes e influir en su intención de compra, logrando mejorar las ventas. / This paper focuses on “the use of signage, as an element of visual merchandising, within the point of sale of convenience stores, in relation to the purchase intention in young people between 20 and 35 years of age who reside in North Lima”. Aiming to determine the relationship of the Point of purchase elements of the signage: Posters, Display, Jalavistas, Stickers, Pop Up and labels, with the purchase intention. The structure of the work was divided into: Introduction, Theoretical Framework, methodology and conclusions. The research methodology is descriptive correlational. 2 investigations were carried out: qualitative and quantitative. The qualitative study focused on conducting 2 interviews with experts in Visual Merchandising in convenience stores. Also, 2 focus groups were held, with the participation of the target. For the quantitative study, 180 surveys were carried out, which had filter questions so that they are only answered by the target. All these investigations resulted in that 3 of the signage elements (posters, pop up and jalavistas) are related to the purchase intention, with the poster being the element with the greatest relationship. To achieve this result, the IBM SPSS program was used. In the same way, it is concluded that it is extremely important to implement posters, pop up and jalavistas, at the point of sale of these formats, in order to provide a better shopping experience to customers and influence their intention to purchase. purchase, managing to improve sales. / Trabajo de investigación

En presencia de la evolución constante y los cambios de las tendencias del mercado, es necesario buscar formas de adaptarse a las necesidades de los clientes, siendo el comercio electrónico una forma de revolucionar el sector retail, el cual se considera relativamente estable, a pesar de los momentos difíciles que ha experimentado el país. El sector minorista no escapa a la realidad de que el mercado se considera altamente volátil, por lo que el interés en torno a este estudio se centra en profundizar en el conocimiento de la intervención del comercio electrónico en el proceso de internacionalización. El objetivo principal de la investigación fue conocer y comprender cómo interviene el e-commerce en el proceso de internacionalización de las tiendas por conveniencia del sector retail en Lima Metropolitana en los años 2017-2019. Desde el punto de vista metodológico, se tuvo un enfoque cualitativo, fue de tipo exploratoria y se utilizó la entrevista semi-estructurada como instrumento de recolección de datos, cuya muestra fueron seis expertos en el área del e-commerce y la gerencia de dos cadenas de tienda de conveniencia importantes como lo son Oxxo y Repsol Sprint. Dentro de sus resultados se encontró que el e-commerce, aunque no es necesario para el proceso de internacionalización, sí puede representar un ingreso extra o incluso un factor de éxito para empresas que inician actividades en un país nuevo. / In the presence of constant evolution and changes in market trends, it is necessary to seek ways to adapt to customer needs, with e-commerce being a way to revolutionize the retail sector, which is considered relatively stable, despite the difficult times the country has experienced. The retail sector does not escape the reality that the market is considered highly volatile, so the interest around this study focuses on deepening the knowledge of the intervention of electronic commerce in the internationalization process. The main objective of the research was to know and understand how e-commerce intervenes in the internationalization process of convenience stores in the retail sector in Metropolitan Lima in the years 2017-2019. From the methodological point of view, it had a qualitative approach, it was exploratory and it used the semi-structured interview as a data collection instrument, whose sample was six experts in the area of e-commerce and the management of two important chains such as Oxxo and Repsol Sprint. Among its results, it was found that e-commerce, although not necessary for the internationalization process, can represent an extra income or even a success factor for companies that start activities in a new country. / Tesis