This bachelor degree addresses the importance of sensory marketing in the swedish fashion retail industry among women. The concept of “store death” has become an increasingly talked about topic in Sweden and is something that affects both consumers, entrepreneurs and business owners alike. This is partially because of the rapid growth of technology and the internet which in turn has made it easier to go online and find what you are looking for in the e-commerce market. Sars-Cov-2 has also been a big factor this last year and has forced stores to go out of business a lot faster and pushed some of them to enter the e-commerce market instead. This has reshaped how consumers and business owners look at the retail market and forced them to try to adapt to changes. The purpose of this research is to analyse what makes the female swedish consumers buy things in physical stores. The authors want to examine how the consumers feel and think regarding physical shopping and see if a sensory marketing perspective can help slow the pace in which stores have to close down

The fact that brands create trust and develop cognitive and emotional ties with customers are well recognized. However, this is primarily associated with B2C markets. More recent studies admit to the fact that despite the differences between B2C and B2B contexts brands can have valuable features in B2B as well as B2C. Purchases in a B2B context are a combination of decisions made by individuals where the decision can be affected by personal factors as well as cognitive and affective factors, although in an organizational environment. This study aimed to examine potential factors that can influence a buyer in a buying process within a B2B-context and was restricted to investigate products that the company does not use themselves and organizations based in Sweden. At the start of our research, we found that previous research within purchase decisions with emotions as a variable for the most part only focuses on B2C organizations or B2C relationships. This created an interest in for the authors if it is possible to investigate B2B in a similar way. The original research showed that one of the reasons for this could be that many previous researchers have rejected emotion as a variable to consider in B2B purchasing decisions due to the fact that B2B is often about companies acting on orders from higher-ups. An employee who makes purchasing decisions has therefore been put as a cog in the machine whose task has been to buy the highest quality at the lowest price possible. Therefore, it has been particularly interesting to respond to this norm in order to be able to determine whether it is true or not. After interviews with buyers from organizations in the Swedish markets, the authors have gained a clearer picture of what the reality of the matter actually is. For this study, a research model was developed based on recognized brand concepts and organizational buying behavior models. The model includes the underlying hypothesis that organizational buying behavior is influenced by brands and that dual processes play a decisive role in the individual's decision. The research is of a qualitative kind which, with the help of in-depth interviews, provides a deeper understanding of human behavior and factors to this behavior. The results show that organizational buying behavior has connections to the buyer's individual buying behavior, meaning that when the buyer lacks motivation, knowledge or interest in the product, the emotions are stronger and have a greater impact on the buying decision.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about many changes in the way consumers operate. Strict lockdowns all over the world have forced consumers to adopt online shopping and reevaluate their entire perception of e-commerce and the role it plays in their lives. This study aims to see how the consumer decision-making process has changed for mature and growing e-commerce markets due to the forced need to shop online, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequently enforced lockdowns. The focus of the study is on consumers from Germany and Greece, two countries that have had differing ecommerce characteristics and digital adoption backgrounds and that have been affected by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and enforced lockdowns. The study takes a quantitative approach, with an online survey being conducted with 160 German and 143 Greek consumers as respondents. The study compared their shopping habits both before and after the outbreak of COVID-19. The results show that the respondents from both countries have changed their behavior to shop online more. The Greek respondents have been affected more in their decision-making process by the COVID-19 pandemic than the Germans. They have also changed their behavior to a higher degree, making the gap in e-commerce maturity between the countries smaller. The study contributes to the existing knowledge by showing that the same measures in two countries have a different effect depending on the e-commerce maturity.

Retail sales have increased significantly in recent years, posing a major challenge for merchants in maintaining a consistent consumer experience across several channels. Changing consumer behaviors have had a big impact on this shift in buying patterns. Customers and retailers are also contending with the complications of adapting to these developments, which have been compounded by the global COVID-19 outbreak. The Internet retail sector, in particular, has seen significant development, which has surprised many. As a result of the digital revolution, online customers' preferences are changing, as they seek fulfillment amid a variety of available possibilities. The changing environment of customer behavior has been a key focus, formed in part by the distinct patterns that have emerged in reaction to COVID-19. This study seeks to shed light on how the retail phenomenon of COVID-19 has impacted customer purchasing behaviors, with the goal of discovering and validating unique insights that may affect decision-making, particularly among millennials in Sweden and China. In the beginning stages of this investigation, a comprehensive approach integrating qualitative and quantitative approaches was used to attain this goal. The study used a sequential exploratory design with two data gathering gathering periods. Our conclusions were guided by empirical data gathered through focus group meetings and replies to a web-based survey. Two key discoveries have given rise to a novel hypothesis, showing that customers in both Sweden and China enjoyed large benefits from online purchasing. Furthermore, the research has shown previously unknown and unanticipated ways in which COVID-19 continues to influence client purchasing behavior. This exploratory and constructive research seeks to enhance our understanding of these transitions, ultimately providing useful insights into the emerging retail scene in a post-pandemic world.

Digital utveckling de senaste två decennierna har påverkat samhället och lett till en växande digital livsstil som kräver aktivitet på sociala medier och uppmärksamhet på trender. Ett marknadsföringsfenomen som blivit allt mer populärt de senaste åren är influencer-marknadsföring. Genom att företag, marknadsförare och andra aktörer ingår betalda samarbeten med influencers, kan de få sin produkt eller tjänst exponerad till en bred publik av konsumenter i form av följare till influencers. Genom trovärdigheten som influencers har bland sina följare kan de påverka konsumtionsbeteendet bland följarna vilket kan leda till impulsköp. Samtidigt som konsumenters scrollningsbeteende, och hur hedoniskt det kan beskrivas som, även identifierats som en påverkande faktor till impulsköp. En enkätundersökning genomfördes som riktade sig till respondenter som följer en influencer på Instagram, som resulterade i 555 giltiga svar som senare utgjorde grund för resultatet i studien. I resultatdelen har data från den kvantitativa undersökningen presenterats i form av en deskriptiv analys och användandet av korrelations- och regressionsanalyser. Diskussionen har därefter förts där resultatet har analyserats i relation till den teoretiska referensramen. Studien bekräftar ej tidigare forskning då korrelationskoefficienterna samt förklaringsgraden (justerade R2) var låg i samtliga tester vad gäller sambandet mellan hedoniskt scrollningsbeteende, influencers upplevda trovärdighet och konsumenters impulsköpbeteende. / The digital evolution over the past two decades has profoundly impacted society, leading to an emerging digital lifestyle that demands engagement on social media platforms and attention to trends. One marketing phenomenon that has gained substantial popularity in recent years is influencer marketing. By establishing paid collaborations with influencers, companies, marketers, and other stakeholders can expose their products or services to a wide audience of consumers through the followers of these influencers. Through the credibility that influencers have among their followers, they can influence consumption behavior among their followers, which can lead to impulse purchases. At the same time, consumers' scrolling behavior, and how hedonic it can be described as, has also been identified as an influencing factor for impulse purchases. A survey was conducted targeting respondents who follow an influencer on Instagram, which resulted in 555 valid responses that later formed the basis for the results of the study. In the results section, data from the quantitative survey has been presented in the form of a descriptive analysis and the use of correlation and regression analyses. The discussion has then been conducted where the results have been analyzed in relation to the theoretical framework. The study does not confirm previous research as the correlation coefficients and the explanatory power (adjusted R-squared) were low in all tests regarding the relationship between hedonic scrolling behavior, influencers' perceived credibility and consumers' impulse buying behavior.

The purpose of this research was to examine how the intervening variable of comparative well-being (which is how persons view their age, financial resources, and health compared to others of their own age) will enhance the significance of the relationship between selected demographic and psychographic variables and perceived risk. Specifically, the research investigated the structural relationship between comparative well-being in four different statistical models: (1) as an independent predictor of perceived risk; (2) as an intensifier of the psychographic and demographic predictors of perceived risk; (3) as a covariate of perceived risk; and (4) finally, as a jointly dependent variable with perceived risk. This approach was pursued in an effort to enhance the traditional marketing use of demographic and psychographic variables in predictingconsumer buying behavior. The data for this study were gathered as part of a national consumer-panel mail survey utilizing approximately 3,000 households. The research instrument was a self-administered questionnaire which collected demographic, psychographic, and perceived risk information from purchasers of apparel wear. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, Pearson product moment correlation analysis, factor analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The findings have identified the importance of how consumers position themselves in society, based on their locus of external involvement (community and social activity) and how satisfactory their position is in their social structure as measured by comparative well-being (perceived age, income, and health). The research results challenge the value of using only age and income as predictor variables for perceived risk, in that no significant relationships were found between age, income, and perceived risk. However, comparative well-being was found to intensify these relationships, in addition to functioning as an independent variable and a covariate in the perceived risk relationship. Also, it was found that respondents with higher degrees of comparative well-being perceived less risk, whereas, more socially active respondents were high-risk perceivers.

Background: Internet and smartphones enable people to purchase online independent of time and place, and this have resulted in that impulsive purchases on the internet have increased. Different generations have been described to be more or less susceptible to impulse buying. Generation Y, the first generation that grew up with technology, have generally been described as impulsive, while Generation X, who were introduced to technology later in life, have been described as more rational. Further, consumers’ impulsive buying behavior has shown to be crucial and common, especially within the fashion industry. Purpose: The purpose was to investigate how Gen Y purchase apparel impulsively online compared to the older Gen X. Also, which one of them that make most apparel purchases online, and which one of them who do most web browsing of apparel. Further, the authors wanted to investigate how four different factors affect the generations’ impulsive buying behavior in the case of apparel online. These were based on an adjustment of the Revised CIFE-model. Method:  This research was conducted through a quantitative method, and seven hypotheses were formulated based on the theory. An online survey was constructed and shared through social media, and the final sample consisted of 709 respondents from both Gen X and Gen Y. These responses were analyzed through SPSS, and the hypotheses were tested by combining questions. Conclusion: The results showed that Gen Y are browsing more apparel online than Gen X, and also that they more often purchase apparel impulsively online. However, Gen X buy more apparel online in general. The findings further showed that Gen Y are more affected than Gen X by external trigger cues, normative evaluation, and internal factors when it comes to impulsive e-purchases of apparel. There was no difference between the generations’ impulse buying tendency. Findings from the open-ended questions showed that Gen X often are affected by advertising, while Gen Y are more affected by influencers. Sales and special offers influenced both generations.

When the competition is getting stronger and companies must work harder to find new markets, new products and create new needs to reach growth, it appears strange that they overlook an obvious target segment right in front of their eyes. For some years ago, marketers of fashion brands feared that older women would wear their clothes, because it gave bad promotion for the young economically viable target group. Today, older women have difficulties finding clothes with right fit, style and personal taste. They would gratefully accept a brand, they felt were aimed for them. The purpose of this study is to give new ideas to companies in the fashion industry, how to reach this target group, but also be a contributing reason for older women to see the market opening for them. Through interviews with older women and industry specialists and questionnaires, interesting facts are gathered how fashion companies create strategies successfully. It is time to seriously notice the target group and respect them, as a group with great purchasing power. The company first to succeed can expect good returns, loyal customers and perhaps competitive immunity. In the nearest future when the baby boomers are about to retire, there are all reasons to comply with their needs. They have plenty of money they are planning to spend, active lives were they need clothes for different occasions and they will fill their lives with experiences they had no time to do before. With right strategies comes growth – so go out and catch them! / Program: Textilekonomutbildningen magister

The main purpose of this doctoral dissertation is to investigate factors affecting B2B brand building by applying the brand equity perspective in the professional services context. Three peer-reviewed and published articles and one book chapter examine different aspects related to the enhancement of brand equity and brand building in the B2B context. The first paper entitled “Brand equity in the business-to-business context: Examining the structural composition” (Biedenbach 2012) investigates the structural composition of brand equity and the interrelationships between the dimensions of brand equity in the B2B context. By specifying the multidimensional model, which can be utilized for measuring and managing B2B brand equity, the paper provides initial knowledge on how the companies can build a strong B2B brand across four dimensions of brand equity. The second paper entitled “B2B brand equity: Investigating the impact of contextual factors” (Biedenbach 2010) examines the impact of contextual factors in the organizational decision making process on the formation of B2B brand equity. The book chapter expands knowledge on B2B brand building by portraying how such characteristics of customers as relative size of their company and its industry sector can affect B2B brand building. The third paper entitled “The impact of customer experience on brand equity in a business-to-business services setting” (Biedenbach and Marell 2010) investigates the impact of customer experience on brand equity in the professional services setting. The study clarifies how customer experience can be utilized for building a strong B2B brand. The fourth paper entitled “Brand equity in the professional service context: Analyzing the impact of employee role behavior and customer-employee rapport” (Biedenbach, Bengtsson, and Wincent 2011) examines whether factors related to customers’ perception of employees’ role behavior in terms of customer perceived role ambiguity, role overload, and customer-employee rapport influence the development of brand equity in the professional service context. The paper advances knowledge on B2B brand building by considering the potential role of the company employees and consequences that their behavior can lead to in this process. To conclude, the doctoral dissertation demonstrates that the brand equity perspective can serve as a valuable foundation for theoretically understanding and practically managing B2B brand building.

Brands are well recognized to create trust and develop both cognitive and emotional ties with customers, but primarily in business-to-consumer (B2C) markets. Recent research acknowledges the fact that brands, despite the differences between B2C and business-to-business (B2B) contexts, may carry valuable features in B2B contexts as well. B2B purchasing is a combination of decisions made by individuals and their decision could many times be influenced by personal- as well as affective- and cognitive factors, although in an organizational setting. This study intended to examine the influence of brands in a B2B purchasing context and is delimitated to the definitions made by the European Union (2013) for micro and small-sized enterprises (MSEs). The study was restricted to investigate products that were used for certain organizational purposes, e.g. products that are consumed in the daily activities of organizational functions. A distinction was made between highand low involvement purchases. For this study, a research model was based on recognized brand concepts and organizational buying behavior models. The model illustrates the underlying hypothesis that organizational buying behavior is differently affected by brands depending on product involvement. This research used a qualitative approach, using in-depth interviews to retrieve a deeper understanding of human behavior and the underlying reasons behind such behavior. The result implies that substantial organizational buying behavior had ties to purchasers’ individual buying behavior and further implies emotions being a strong factor when the buyer lacks knowledge, motivation or interest in the product. Brand was initially stated to have limited influence on organizational decisions, which at further elaboration turned out to contradict the actual purchasing behavior.