The overall focus of this doctoral thesis is the examination of the role of store design-architecture in consumer perceptions of retail brand loyalty. More specifically, it examines how consumers’ perceptions at the store design-architecture level promote brand loyalty and attachment at the overall retail-level. This research, therefore, aims to address the underdeveloped extant knowledge of the role of the store design-architecture in retail branding. This thesis addresses two research questions: 1) is it possible to improve on the specification or measurement of the store environment beyond the novelty, complexity collative constructs proposed in traditional studies of the store environment?; and 2) what effect, if any, do these improved store environment constructs (from answering research question number one) have in explaining the role of store design-architecture in consumer perceptions of retail brand loyalty? In its examination of the role of store-level design-architecture in overall retail-level branding, the theoretical significance of this thesis is based on two activities. First, this thesis proposes a conceptual framework that draws on multiple, diverse literatures from design-architecture, psychology and marketing. The critical review of pertinent literatures from these three sources then enables the second activity: the generation of novel empirical insights based on surveys of consumer perceptions of store-level design-architecture. A research instrument is developed that compares higher and lower levels of design in two stores of Penneys, a discount fashion retailer. The responses of 145 consumers are examined in an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). A separate dataset of 403 consumer responses are analysed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equations Modelling (SEM). Multiple-group invariance testing is also completed on this dataset. The primary theoretical contributions of this thesis to the extant literature are five-fold. First, the principal contribution of this thesis confirms that store aesthetic preference is positively associated with retail brand loyalty. Thus, the second research question is satisfactorily addressed; I explain that there is a mild association between store aesthetic preference and the emotionally valenced retail brand attachment construct in higher-level design contexts. Instead, a store aesthetic preference association is observed with the more behaviourally valenced retail brand loyalty construct in lower-level designs. Consequently, this principal contribution to the extant literature reveals the perceptive dynamic of how consumers processing of store-level design-architecture correspond with their perceptions of retail-level brand loyalty. A host of global-attribute, objective-subjective, and cognitive-emotional perceptive processing at the store and retail levels are observed in the proposed theoretical framework. Second, to confirm the role of store design-architecture in retail brand loyalty, I develop: a new scale for retail brand product; modify scales for store prototype, store novelty, store aesthetic preference, store complexity and retail brand price; and introduce scales for brand attachment and brand loyalty from non-retail contexts into a retail context for the first time. This research, therefore, addresses research question number one by making a notable conceptual and measurement contribution to the specification of the store environment. Third, as a progression from the previous contribution, I use these improved store environments constructs to better specify the store environment, and examine the associations between store prototype, store novelty and store aesthetic preference. I demonstrate that theory such as the preference-for-prototypes literature helps to improve the extant understanding of the associations between store prototype, store novelty and store aesthetic preference. The confirmation of the existence of these associations essentially means that the proposed model is robust, credible and able to account for consumers objective-subjective, global-attribute discriminations of the store-level aesthetic. Fourth, in an effort to explain the relative visual and non-visual contributions to retail brand attachment and retail brand loyalty, I examine associations concerning retail brand product and retail brand price. Retail brand product is confirmed to have stronger associations with retail brand attachment than store aesthetic preference or store prototypicality. Thus, this research extends the extant knowledge of the relative contributions of visual and non-visual constructs to understanding retail brand loyalty. Fifth, this research contributes to the extant understanding of how non-invariance analysis can be employed in Structural Equations Modelling (SEM) to confirm differences between groups. This research examines differences in parameter values to confirm differences in perception of the higher and lower levels of store design-architecture. This type of use of non-invariance analysis is not frequently employed in SEM and I propose that this research instrument can be generalised to other retail contexts also. Finally, this thesis concludes by presenting the limitations of this research. It makes suggestions on potential future research that could be completed, and raises some pertinent implications for practitioners arising from this research.

Increasing competition in the market place has made business ever tougher for the multibrand store. In order to create new customers as well as keeping existing customers loyal, companies must create and maintain a strong brand identity and project a strong brand image within their chosen segment. By successfully working with the image companies can create brand recognition and confidence in the brand among customers. By actively aligning the communication of the brand and its image to the image and desires of its customers a company can create a greater brand recognition and loyalty among the customers. But how does a successful communication of the brand image and identity work? Our thesis is based on a case study of a multibrand store focusing on how identity can be communicated through a unique and well put together store environment. We have looked at how they project and communicate their brand image and identity through their shops and how that communication is perceived by their customers.The main purpose is to find out if the corporate image is congruent with the identity of the company. The study is based on interviews with the area manager of the stores in the Gothenburg area and interviews with eight of the stores customers. The questions are focusing towards the identity of the company, communication, image and trust based on the company and the T w ’ importance. The company in focus in this study has achieved a strong level of loyalty for its customers through managing the store design, assortment and service. The result shows that an inspiring store is strong enough for establishing a corporate identity.Keywords: / Det har blivit allt tuffare för klädbutiker att vara framgångsrika då det ständigt etableras nya konkurrenter som vill positionera sig på marknaden. För att åstadkomma trogna kunder krävs det att företaget har en stark identitet och image. Genom att skapa en bra image kan företaget etablera ett starkt igenkännande hos kunderna. Det kan resultera i att kunderna känner tillit till butiken. Imagen bygger på kundernas bild av företaget. Att arbeta aktivt med hur företagets identitet kommuniceras kan leda till överensstämmelse mellan identiteten och imagen, vilket är företagets mål för en lyckad konkurrensstrategi. Men vad är en effektiv kommunikation av företagets identitet till kunderna? Uppsatsen bygger på en fallstudie av en multibrandbutik med fokus på hur butiken kommunicerar ut sin identitet genom sin unika och välarbetade butiksmiljö. Syftet är att ta reda på om den image som företagets befintliga kunder uppfattar stämmer överens med företagets identitet. Undersökningen baseras på intervjuer med företagets regionchef för butikerna i Göteborgsregionen och intervjuer med åtta av butikens kunder. Intervjufrågorna fokuserar på företagets identitet, kommunikation, image och förtroende utifrån företagets och kundernas perspektiv. Resultatet visar att hur man kommunicerar via butikens miljö är viktigt. Företaget i vår studie har lyckats skapa ett starkt förtroende hos sina kunder genom att de arbetar aktivt med butikens inredning, sortiment och service. Det visar sig att en inspirerande butiksmiljö är stark nog för att förmedla företagets identitet.

The starting point of this dissertation is the increasing number of Swedish consumers who use the Internet forshopping. Convenience is said to be an important ground for this choice. However, there are few studies thatattempt to understand the true meaning of convenience. This study sets out to understand what convenienceentails for Internet shoppers, what characterizes a convenient Internet shopper, what charterizes a convenientonline product or service, and finally how different meanings of convenience can be explained in differentshopping situations. The purpose of this study is to deepen the understanding of consumers’ conveniencegrounds when shopping online. Qualitative data was collected from 24 respondents, 12 female and 12 male,living in the Swedish cities of Örnsköldsvik, Stockholm, Göteborg and Borås. Data collection was mainlyconducted by means of group interviews and additional personal interviews, questionnaries and shoppingexperiment observations. The study has its theoretical outlook based in convenience literature, and conveniencemotives when choosing a particular store, however, adjusted to better fit the phenomenon of onlineshopping.This theoretical approach emphasizes different dimensions of convenience and gives special insight intoremote shopping consumers. Results show that convenience is an important ground for Internet shopping.Convenience in this context, can be seen from a psychological and/or behavioural perspective. However,grounds for convenience entail efficiency and rationality reasons for all of the respondents included in thestudy. These results indicate that convenience is best understood by using a resource efficiency approach.When using this approach the study shows the importance among the respondents to save time and energy,both from a psychological as well as a physiological perspective. Another useful explanation in order tounderstand the meaning of convenience is to use consumers’ descriptions of themselves as planned orimpulsive. In most cases the respondents describe themselves as planned consumers, which in turn indicatethat the use of a resource efficency perspective is valuable.It is a great variety of products and services described as convenient, however the study pinpoints twoexceptions: home electronic devices and tickets. The study shows that one reason for the differences inconsumers’ convenience perceptions is how time is perceived. Another reason is how customer perceivespsychological or physiological energy. A third reason is how they perceive security and safety. Another importantresult is that convenience differs between women and men in the study. The female consumer givespriority to saving time and saving physical energy. The male consumer gives priority to timing. The study’s resultscan help online businesses to identify how their customers perceive convenience to better designcommunication, virtual store, information, payment and deliviery according to their wants and needs. Anotherpractical implication drawn from the findings is to use direct delivery when possible and offer home delivery. / <p>AKADEMISK AVHANDLING: För avläggande av ekonomie doktorsexamen i företagsekonomi som</p><p>med tillstånd av Handelshögskolans fakultetsnämnd vid Göteborgs</p><p>universitet framlägges till offentlig granskning fredagen den 5 oktober</p><p>2007, kl 10—12 i sal B33 vid Företagsekonomiska Institutionen,</p><p>Vasagatan 1, Göteborg.</p>

Studien visar att det finns ett flertal olika faktorer som ligger till grund för kundens butiksval samtidigt som det finns ett flertal attribut som påverkar en butiks konkurrenskraft. För att förstå hur en butik kan vara konkurrenskraftig innefattar därför att förstå vad en kund förväntar och värderar i en butik. För att skapa en djupare insikt i hur en matbutik kan vara konkurrenskraftig i mindre samhällen valde vi att genomföra en fallstudie. Fallet som undersöktes var ICA Nära Löttorpshallen som ligger på norra Öland. Vi intervjuade totalt åtta nyckelpersoner samt genomförde en fokusgrupp. Samtliga informanter och respondenter ligger till grund för studiens resultat. Av resultatet framgick att det som kunder i ett mindre samhälle värdesätter mest är ett brett sortiment och ett trevligt bemötande ifrån butikens personal. Butikens prisnivå var anmärkningsvärd men inte av någon större betydelse för butiksvalet. / The study shows that there are several factors underlying the customer's store choice and there are several attributes that affect a store's competitiveness. To understand how a store can be competitive includes understanding what a customer expects and values in a store. In order to create a deeper understanding of how a grocery store can be competitive in smaller communities, we chose to conduct a case study. The case that we investigated was ICA Nära Löttorphallen, located on northern Öland. We interviewed a total of eight key individuals and conducted a focus group. All informants and respondents is the basis for the study's results. The result showed that customers in smaller communities value a wide range of products and a friendly and helpful staff. The store's price level was noteworthy but not of any great importance for the customers store choice.

For the last couple of decades consumer decision-making has been of increasing interest for retail as well as for consumer behaviour research. Food shopping constitutes a unique type of shopping behaviour. In comparison to other types of shopping, food is essential to life, and not often are there as many choices to be made in a short period of time as when shopping groceries. The purpose of this dissertation was to advance the knowledge of what influences consumers’ choices of grocery stores. More specifically, the main focus has been on how different situations (e.g., type of shopping) influence choices of grocery stores. Five papers, which build on three surveys on how consumers choose grocery stores in Sweden, are included in this dissertation. In the first paper a comprehensive set of ten aggregated attributes that determine store choices were developed. The second paper brought forward five consumer segments (Planning Suburbans, Social Shoppers, Pedestrians, City Dwellers, and Flexibles) based on where and how they shop. In the third paper it was shown that accessibility attributes (e.g., accessibility by car, availability) and attractiveness attributes (e.g., price, service) have different impacts on satisfaction, depending on consumer characteristics and shopping behaviour in supermarkets compared to convenience stores. In the fourth paper the result showed that satisfaction is affected by type of grocery shopping (major versus fill-in shopping) in conjunction with time pressure and which store attributes that are important for satisfaction. It was also shown that the effect of time pressure and type of shopping on satisfaction varied in different consumer segments. In the final paper it was shown that a store has to be more attractive in terms of attributes for a consumer to switch from the grocery store they usually patronage, even if the new store is situated right beside or closer than the consumer’s regular grocery store. The view of a “good location” is further developed in this dissertation, arguing that consumers’ mental distance to a store – their cognitive proximity – is much more important than the physical place of the store. In sum, this dissertation revealed that the situation is more important than previous research has shown. Depending on the situation, consumers will face different outcomes (different stores) and value different store attributes. Hence, stores need to manage different store attributes depending on which consumer groups the stores want to attract and what situation the consumers are facing. Therefore, consumers’ choices of grocery stores are situation-based choices. / I ett par decennier har intresset för konsumenters beslutsfattande ökat för både detaljhandeln och forskningen kring konsumentbeteende. Matinköp utgör en unik typ av köp-beteende då det i jämförelse med andra typer av handlande är livsnödvändiga samt att det sällan finns så många val som ska göras under kort tid som vid matinköp. Syftet med denna avhandling är att främja kunskap om vad som påverkar konsumenternas val av livsmedelsbutik. Mer specifikt har fokus varit på hur olika situationer (t.ex. typ av handlande) påverkar valet av butik. Fem artiklar, som bygger på tre olika undersökningar om hur konsumenter väljer livsmedelsbutiker i Sverige ingår i denna avhandling. I den första artikeln utvecklades en omfattande uppsättning av tio aggregerade attribut (baserade på 34 attribut) som bestämmer konsumenters val av livsmedelsbutiker. I den andra artikeln presenterades fem konsumentsegment (Planerande förortsbor, Sociala shoppare, Fotgängare, Stadsbor och Flexibla) som baserades på var och hur de handlar. Den tredje artikeln visade att tillgänglighetsattribut (t.ex. tillgängligheten med bil och öppettider) och attraktivitetsattribut (t.ex. pris och service) har olika effekter på konsumenters nöjdhet. Denna nöjdhet varierade även beroende på konsumentens bakgrundsfaktorer samt huruvida konsumenten handlade i stormarknader eller i närbutiker. I den fjärde artikeln visade resultaten att nöjdhet påverkas av typ av matinköp (storhandlande kontra kompletteringshandlande) i samband med tidspress och de attribut som är viktiga för konsumenternas nöjdhet med butiken. Det visade sig även att effekterna av tidspress och typ av handlande på konsumenternas nöjdhet med butiker varierade i olika konsumentgrupper. Det femte konferenspapperet visade att en butik måste vara mer attraktiv när det gäller attribut för att konsumenter skall byta från den livsmedelsbutik som de brukar handla i, även om den nya butiken skulle öppna precis bredvid eller närmre än den vanliga livsmedelsbutiken. Synen på vad som är ett ”bra läge” utvecklas därför ytterligare i denna avhandling, med argumentet att konsumenternas mentala avstånd till en butik - deras kognitiva närhet - är mycket viktigare än den fysiska platsen för butiken. Sammanfattningsvis visade denna avhandling att effekten av olika situationer är viktigare än vad tidigare forskning har visat. Beroende på situation kommer konsumenter att möta olika utfall (välja olika butiker) och de kommer även att värdera olika butikers attribut olika. Således behöver butiken hantera olika butiksattribut beroende på vilken konsumentgrupp butiken vill attrahera och vilken situation de konsumenterna står inför. Därför kan val av livsmedelsbutiker ses som situationsbaserade val.

published_or_final_version / Urban Planning / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

The UK market in fashion retailing is recognised as being the most concentrated in the world and companies in this sector are constantly striving to improve their market share and profitability. To do this requires a strong market position, which is developed, maintained and communicated to the target customer. This thesis explores the key issues of consumer and retailer perspectives of store positioning, how customers and retail employees perceive this image; and how image variables can be manipulated to defend or enhance market positioning. It concludes by developing a framework to indicate how image can be strategically managed. The literature review commences by setting out the historical perspective of the study of consumer behaviour and discusses a number of models, which aim to explain shopper attitude towards store and product selection. It moves on to investigate the attributes contributing to store image perception and to explore a number of methods of measuring store image. Past and current trends in retailing are examined and marketing strategies in the formation of retail image are discussed. The methodological pluralism used to obtain, generate and analyse data, is justified and results from four separate research phases. The exploratory research phase utilised qualitative methods to identify factors contributing towards store choice. In the second phase a multi-attribute model was applied to data to measure consumer and retail staff perception of store image. Furthermore, the congruence of customer and employee perception was evaluated. The third phase considered how con'sumers make store choice decisions by trading off attributes and allowed segmentation of sub-groups of customers with similar purchasing characteristics. The fourth phase used an interpretative approach to understand and compare key marketing strategies for two retailers. The conclusion highlights the issues that retailers have to manage in a fragmented market of consumers with high expectations of product quality, customer service and store environment. The research identifies that store choice factors vary not only between sectors but also significantly within sectors and shows product quality to be the prime factor. In addition, employee store image perception is acknowledged to be a useful indicator of customer purchase intention and the research emphasises the importance of companies having an organisational culture, which nurtures employee attitudes, motivation and skills to anticipate consumer behaviour and to provide quality service.

Calcium ions (Ca2+) are extremely important intracellular messengers, activating a plethora of cellular processes. Growing evidence now points to a major role for the local Ca2+ signal in driving specific cellular responses. The simplest and most fundamental local Ca2+ signal is the Ca2+ microdomain, which rapidly forms when Ca2+ permeable ion channels open. In non-excitable cells the dominant Ca2+ entry channels are store-operated Ca2+ channels (SOCCs). The best characterised is the Ca2+ release activated Ca2+ (CRAC) channel. How local Ca2+ entry through CRAC channels impacts on channel function however is unclear. I have investigated the interaction between the Ca2+ binding protein calmodulin and CRAC channel activity and subsequent agonist-induced Ca2+ signals. Furthermore, I have investigated a role for mitofusin 2 (a protein that is known to tether the ER and mitochondria) on these Ca2+ signals. Using three different calmodulin mutant constructs with alterations to their Ca2+ binding sensitivities, I have shown that calmodulin facilitates CRAC channel dependent Ca2+ entry and maintains agonist-induced cytosolic Ca2+ oscillations in a lobe-specific manner. Calmodulin has four Ca2+ binding sites, two on the N-lobe and two on the C-lobe. I found a dominant negative calmodulin mutant (CAM4M, where all four binding sites had been mutated), or one where the C-lobe could not bind Ca2+ (CAM2C), impaired both Ca2+ influx through CRAC channels and maintenance of cytosolic Ca2+ oscillations. In contrast, a Ca2+-insensitive N-lobe mutant had little effect, (CAM2N). Knockdown of the mitochondrial Ca2+ uniporter regulator (MICU1) or mitochondrial membrane depolarization had similar effects to those seen with CAM4M or CAM2C, suggesting that at least in part, the action of calmodulin was through regulation of mitochondrial Ca2+ dynamics. This was confirmed by directly measuring the mitochondrial matrix Ca2+ concentration in intact RBL-1 cells using the mitochondrial targeted, fluorescent protein, pericam. Both CAM4M and disruption of mitochondrial Ca2+ buffering impaired agonist-induced mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake, suggesting that the modulation of CRAC channels occurred through Ca2+-calmodulin facilitation of mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake. Using a mutant Orai1 (A73E) that cannot bind calmodulin, I have shown that calmodulin tethered to the CRAC channel provides a major source of calmodulin for effective mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake. Physiological relevance of my proposed pathway was provided from experiments where I showed knockdown of MICU1 impaired agonist-induced CRAC channel dependent NFAT-1-driven gene expression. In addition, I establish a crucial role for mitochondrial MFN2 and presumably its ability to properly link the mitochondria and ER in the control of CRAC channels and agonist-induced Ca2+ signals.

The aim of this work is the analysis of selected online store. The introduction describes the possibilities of the Internet for marketing and online marketing mix. The next chapter describes selected products and the biggest online perfume sellers in the Czech Republic. In the fourth chapter is analyzed in detail a specific marketing of selected store.

El e-tailing es una nueva manera de compra que cada vez tiene mayor acogida en el cliente, se estima que en el 2021 las compras online representarán el 15.5% de las ventas de retail, debido a ello la mejor manera de contrarrestar la nueva modalidad de compra es a través del concept store debido a la atmósfera agradable que puede brindar el visual merchandising creando en el cliente una experiencia que no podrá vivirla a través de sus compras por internet. La investigación fue realizada a través del método mixto, llevándose a cabo la recolección y el análisis de datos cuantitativos y cualitativos. A la vez es una investigación de diseño transversal con un diseño transaccional correlacional. Para corroborar la información teórica se realizaron entrevistas a profundidad, focus groups y encuestas. La investigación cualitativa indica que los factores sensoriales como la vista, el oído, el tacto, el olfato y el gusto influyen en la intención de compra. A través de la investigación cuantitativa se pudo corroborar lo investigado cualitativamente, sí hay relación entre la intención de compra y los factores sensoriales, debido al rechazo de la hipótesis nula. El promedio de la correlación es de 0.499, lo que significa que es una correlación fuerte y cuanto más presente estén los cinco sentidos en la tienda, la intención de compra en las mujeres será más fuerte. La investigación es de gran utilidad para aquellas tiendas que brinden experiencia al consumidor, utilizando los sentidos generando una implicancia en la intención de compra. / E-tailing is a new way of buying that is increasingly welcomed by the client, it is estimated that in 2021 online purchases represent 15.5% of retail sales, due to this the best way to counteract the new modality of purchase is through the concept store due to the pleasant atmosphere that visual merchandising can offer, creating in the client an experience that can not be lived through its purchases over the internet. The research was conducted through the mixed method, carrying out the recollection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. At the same time, it is a transversal design research with a correlational transactional design. To corroborate the theoretical information, in-depth interviews, focus groups, and surveys were conducted. Qualitative research indicates that sensory factors such as sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste influence purchase intent. Through quantitative research it was possible to corroborate what was researched qualitatively, there is a relationship between purchase intention and sensory factors, due to the rejection of the null hypothesis. The average of the correlation is of 0.499, which means that it is a strong correlation and the more present the five senses are in the store, the purchase intention in women will be stronger. The research is very useful for those stores that provide consumer experience, using the senses generating an implication in the purchase intention. / Trabajo de investigación