The history of retail and consumption during the eighteenth-century has enjoyed interest from historians for a number of decades, yet few studies have concentrated on large cities or utilised a case study method to develop an in-depth and longitudinal understanding of change across the whole century. This study seeks to rectify this by concentrating on the city of Norwich, which was the second largest city in England in 1700, in order to build up a detailed social history of retail, shopping and consumption. The research seeks to clarify the exact nature of change in urban retail and consumption, exploring the existence of consumer and retail 'revolutions' and the relationship between them. Using a variety of archival sources the study uncovers the extent of the consumption of novel goods, the changing nature of the economic character of each of Norwich's thirty-four parishes and uncovers the dual personality of the city, with evidence for a leisured town set within the larger industrial city. Detailed mapping of directory data points to a concentration of luxury retail in key streets, making up a cultural thoroughfare which linked the traditional cultural centre of the city in the east to the new purpose-built leisure arena on the western boundary. The character of retail change and the role of the shopkeeper is assessed through newspaper advertisements, trade cards, probate inventories, diaries and contemporary visual representations of the city centre. While a clear transformation was detected across the century, the evidence suggests that change was cumulative rather than a big shift at a fixed point in time. However, although the changes noted in this research did not constitute 'revolution' in an immediate sense, the modifications in urban spaces, retail and consumption, which were evident from the beginning of the century, were undoubtedly significant in their long-term effects by laying the foundations for current practice.

The large scale retailer with a strong retail brand and sufficient critical mass in the market place may reach a pivotal point in its development when the directors can address the question: “Does the company want to get directly involved in the functions of centralised buying, logistics and supply chain management?” This thesis takes one such company and expands in some detail about its growth towards excellence in the techniques of retail supply chain change. The evolution and critical decision moments provide an in depth case study for others to use as a benchmark. Its purpose is to examine the role of the retailer as a channel captain; a concept from an earlier marketing era, whose origins it reveals. It takes that learning together with contemporary supply chain thinking and examines real retail supply chain events in Tesco. The results of matching the new and old academic theory with practitioner events confirm that the channel captain is the retailer. It demonstrates that retailers can make the transition into that leadership position and apply supply chain management skills to competitive advantage. This can become a strategic tool both at national and international levels. The principles of this thesis could be used or applied in research in three areas: in depth with Tesco; in breadth, exporting expertise to other retailers; globally with retailers extending the operations internationally and suppliers seeking to trade with European retailers.

Le rôle de l’attraction des éléments extérieurs du point de vente physique demeure une problématique complexe pour les commerçants. De plus, l’expérience en point de vente physique est en pleine évolution, due en partie à une présence accrue des nouvelles technologies. Cette thèse répond à la problématique suivante : comment la vitrine du point de vente influence-t-elle l’expérience de magasinage anticipée ? Nous nous focalisons sur l’influence de la technologie interactive et du niveau de représentation (construal level) en vitrine sur la perception de l’atmosphère, les réponses attentionnelles, les réponses affectives, la valeur de magasinage anticipée et les intentions comportementales. Nous testons les effets modérateurs de la motivation de magasinage et de la tendance exploratoire du consommateur. Nous adoptons une approche hypothético-déductive et nous procédons à deux expérimentations afin de répondre à notre problématique.Les résultats de la première expérimentation in situ (n=251) révèlent un effet stimulant et hédonique de l’utilisation de la technologie interactive en vitrine. La deuxième expérimentation, en laboratoire (n=144), a mobilisé une méthode d’eye-tracking pour collecter les données sur l’influence du niveau de représentation des éléments en vitrine. Les résultats montrent une influence significative du niveau de représentation sur l’atmosphère globale perçue et sur les intentions comportementales. Les résultats des cartes de chaleur montrent que la motivation de magasinage utilitaire renforce l’attention visuelle sur les produits en vitrine. Aucun effet modérateur de la tendance exploratoire n’a été détecté dans les deux expérimentations. / One of the relevant issues for retailers in this dissertation is the role of marketing mix elements outside the physical store in attracting customers. Another relevant issue is the evolution of the physical retailing experience which is partly due to the ever increasing presence of new retail technology. The aim of this dissertation is to answer the following question: how do store windows influence anticipated shopping experience? We focus on the influence of interactive technology and construal level in store windows on perceived global atmosphere, visual attention, affective response, anticipated shopping value and patronage intentions. Shopping motivation and exploratory buying behavior tendency were tested for moderating effects. Two experiments were conducted for this doctoral research. The results from the in situ field experiment (n=251) reveal a hedonic and arousing effect from usage of the interactive window display. The second experiment on store window construal level (n=144) was conducted using eyeLtracking equipment in a controlled laboratory setting. The results show a significant influence of store window construal level on perceived global atmosphere and on patronage intentions. The results from the heat map analysis show that utilitarian shopping motivation reinforces visual attention to products in the window display. No moderating effect was found in either study for exploratory buying behavior tendency.

Aujourd’hui, un nombre croissant de formats de distribution (i.e. magasins amiraux, centres commerciaux,points de vente éphémères, corners, etc.) à travers le monde adoptent la stratégie d'artification de l'expérience de magasinage, reposant sur l'introduction d'éléments artistiques dans la surface marchande. Toutefois l'utilisation de cette variable d'atmosphère s’avère pour le moment très intuitive. D’un point de vue académique, la revue de la littérature amène à qualifier ce champ de recherche d’embryonnaire. Par conséquent cette thèse se propose de mesurer l'impact de l'artification de l'expérience de magasinage sur la performance du point de vente, ainsi que sur les réactions du consommateur. Dans cette optique, une expérimentation a été réalisée à partir d’un plan factoriel manipulant la dimension artistique de l’atmosphère du point de vente. La collecte de données a été effectuée pendant deux mois dans des magasins réels, selon une méthode quantitative. Les résultats indiquent que la stratégie d'artification de l'expérience de magasinage, lorsque adoptée au seul niveau du point de vente et en tant que proposition éphémère, a pour impact positif d’améliorer la performance marketing du point de vente,ceci au niveau de la différenciation perçue du point de vente, du caractère créatif de l’image (du point de vente et des produits), de la valeur perçue de l'offre (rapport qualité/prix et désensibilisation au prix), et de la satisfaction du consommateur. En revanche l'artification de l'expérience de magasinage n'agit pas sur la performance commerciale du point de vente (ventes, taux de transformation, fidélité attitudinale), suggérant un effet de muséification avec la perte de la finalité transactionnelle du point de vente et sa reclassification fonctionnelle en musée/galerie d'art. En conclusion, l'adoption de cette stratégie expérientielle nécessite une réflexion en amont relative aux objectifs de l’entreprise (stratégie d’image vs. rentabilité directe du point de vente) puisqu’elle implique des arbitrages en termes de coûts directs et indirects concernant l'allocation de la surface marchande. / Today a growing number of retail formats (i.e. flagship stores, shopping malls, pop-up stores, corners, etc.)worldwide are adopting the shopping experience artification strategy, consisting of introducing artistic elements in the sales surface. However using this atmospherics’ variable remains for now very intuitive. From an academic perspective, this research field can be qualified as seminal. Thus this dissertation’s aim is to measure the impact of the shopping experience artification on store performance, as well as on customer reactions. In that regard, an experimentation was carried out with a factorial design manipulating the artistic dimension of store atmospherics. The data collection was conducted during two months in real retail stores, using a quantitative method. The results indicate that the shopping experience artification strategy, when adopted only at the store level and as an ephemeral proposition, positively impacts store marketing performance, namely regarding store perceived differentiation, the creative dimension of image (store’s and products’), store offering’s perceived value (price/quality ratio and price desensitization), and customer satisfaction. However the shopping experience artification does not impact store commercial performance (sales, conversion rate, attitudinal loyalty), which suggests a museumification effect with the store possibly losing its transactional purpose and being functionally reclassified as a museum/art gallery. As a conclusion, adopting this experiential strategy calls for an upstream reflection upon the company’s objectives (branding strategy vs. direct store profitability) since it implies tradeoffs regarding direct and indirect costs concerning sales surface allocation.