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The retail industry is considered to be a very competitive industry in the United States since there are so many players in the almost saturated retail markets that provide similar products and services at similar price levels to customers. Market selection has been identified as an important strategy to differentiate a retailer in this competitive market. Therefore in this thesis, we describe a conceptual framework to evaluate retailers investment opportunities in dynamic, competitive retail markets. The objective is to describe a conceptual investment analysis framework to address the strategic aspects of a retailer s investment opportunity as well as the dynamic uncertainty of a retail market in a single framework. This conceptual framework outlines a strategic view towards retail stores as flexible assets of a retail enterprise. This conceptual framework is general and can be adjusted and applied to investments options in other services. In addition, we develop an integrated investment analysis approach based on dynamic programming to explore retailers investment behaviors in dynamic markets. The objective is to determine retailers optimal investment thresholds in noncompetitive and competitive markets. We consider two retailers to illustrate our approach and use a simple game theory treatment to address competition in retail markets. We use our integrated investment analysis model based on a real options methodology to evaluate the apparent tendency for the small discount retailer invests earlier in a new developing market due to the competition effect from the large discount retailer. This early entry gives the small retail a first-mover advantage and delays the big retailer s entry into the competitive market. In addition, we conduct sensitivity analysis to characterize how significantly the values of our model parameters impact the retailers investment decisions. We also develop an integrated investment analysis approach based on contingent claims analysis to explore retailers investment behaviors in dynamic markets. The objective is to determine retailers optimal investment thresholds in noncompetitive and competitive markets. The equivalent risk neutral evaluation approach is presented in this thesis as an extended version of the contingent claims analysis approach, which facilitates the market-oriented valuation of the retailer s investment option in dynamic markets. Sensitivity analysis is conducted to study how retailers optimal investment thresholds change as the values of parameters in this equivalent risk neutral evaluation approach change. The relationship between the dynamic programming and the equivalent risk neutral evaluation approach is also summarized in this thesis to identify the similarities and the differences between these two investment analysis approaches. One of the most important objectives of this comparison is to determine in what market conditions the choice of investment analysis approach is critical and dramatically changes the retailer s optimal investment threshold. Finally, we empirically examine an important aspect of our theoretical work that the big retailer invests and opens a store relatively later in markets with a small retailer compared to markets without a small retailer. In addition, the big retailer opens a store at relatively higher retail market potential in markets with a small retailer compared to markets without a small retailer. In this thesis, we discuss some empirical evidence to support these theoretical results. We chose Wal-Mart and Dollar General as the big and small retailers, respectively, in our empirical study. Our empirical results do not validate the theory and just provide supporting evidence for our theoretical works.

Thesis (MA (Geography and Environmental Studies))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / The retail sector provides geographers with a major area of analysis where they can apply their specialist knowledge to solve and explain real-world problems. Over the years there have been significant changes in the locations where South Africans shop. Retail shops are moving from city centres (CBDs) to more accessible and attractive locations on the city’s edge. This phenomenon is also evident in the retail structure of Stellenbosch. Stellenbosch Square is a multi-million-rand shopping centre that has been erected on the edge of Stellenbosch. The retail buying patterns of the Paradyskloof neighbourhood (in Stellenbosch) was analysed and placed in context with Stellenbosch Square. Paradyskloof is situated between Stellenbosch Square and Die Boord shopping centre, which is situated more closely to the CBD. The null hypothesis states that: “The buying patterns of the residents of Paradyskloof did not change significantly after the building of Stellenbosch Square, a shopping centre situated between Stellenbosch and the Somerset West shopping centre.” The overarching aim is to describe and explain the extent of the current retail buying patterns of the Paradyskloof population and compare them to the predicted results of the Flowmap 7.2 origin-constrained gravity model with regards to Stellenbosch Square shopping centre. The Paradyskloof retail buying patterns was determined by a random distributed questionnare survey. The modelled results are compared to the actual buying patterns and the findings are placed in context. Various types of data (primary and secondary) were collected. The origin-constrained gravity model was calibrated with the mean trip lengths (MTL). The modelled results predicted that all of the Paradyskloof residents shop at Stellenbosch Square. To determine the actual buying patterns, 250 questionnaires were spatially distributed with the aid of a random sampling of erven within the Paradyskloof neighbourhood. The survey indicated that only 44% of the respondents shop at Stellenbosch Square. Some of the reasons for why some of the residents still shop closer to the CBD are: high mobility, high number of scholars, multi-functional trips, banking and postal services etc. The rationale behind Stellenbosch Square and the role it plays within the Stellenbosch retail market has also been provided.

Thesis (MComm (Industrial Psychology))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / The apparel retail environment is highly competitive. Products and services that are easily replicated, together with informed and demanding consumer markets, add to the complexity of this dynamic, fast changing retail and manufacturing industry. One avenue that companies explore to differentiate themselves from the competition is by the development of their corporate identity. A fundamental element of marketing communication and corporate identity representation is store image, as it is a vehicle that affects the customers’ perception of the store and the store’s identity. To be able to invest in store image optimally, retailers should take cognisance of the need to manage store image in order to increase potential sales. The purpose of the current study was to expand the existing body of knowledge on retail store image and the female apparel consumer in the Western Cape with special reference to the perceived importance of retail store image dimensions. The research question directing the current study was formulated as follows: How do consumers perceive the various store image dimensions in apparel retail and how congruent are customers’ and management’s perceptions of these store image dimensions? The literature review focuses on the importance of store image for retail differentiation purposes as well as independent (demographics, lifestyle, shopping orientation) and dependent variables (patronage behaviour, store loyalty, customer satisfaction) in store image research. Congruity as well as gap analysis are also discussed as these are the focus of the research analysis. The Store Image Scale (SIS) was used as measuring instrument. Management (n -= 14) and customer (n = 200) samples from a leading apparel retailer were used to measure the importance of the various store image dimensions. The questionnaire was adapted for the purpose of reaching all the set empirical objectives. The customer questionnaire included five sections to measure the ideal and the actual store image and the management questionnaire included two sections to measure management’s perception of the importance of store image dimensions for customers. Data was subjected to reliability analysis, descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. Results indicated that Atmosphere, Merchandise and Service were rated as most important dimensions according to customer perceptions of the ideal, while Atmosphere, Promotion and Service were the most important dimensions according to management. Atmosphere, Convenience and Merchandise were rated as most acceptable by customers. Due to the nature of the research design congruency analysis was used. The congruency analysis yielded 29 of the 55 attributes as congruent. The analysis of congruency between acceptability and importance ratings of customers indicated that the dimensions Convenience, Institutional and Sales Personnel showed no significant differences. It therefore was concluded that management’s perception and customers’ perceptions of the importance of ideal store image are closely related for these dimensions. However, closer consideration has to be given to the specific attribute design. Significant differences between management’s and customers’ perceptions were found for the Promotion, Merchandise and Service dimensions. Based on the results, recommendations were made to management from which they could infer possible adjustments to the strategic management of store image dimensions. This is one of the first academic studies to attempt to provide management with feedback on the performance of their retail strategy and is therefore exploratory in nature. The recommendations from the current study could help retailers meet consumer needs, and thereby create a competitive advantage and unique market position for the store. This could contribute to building brand equity, store patronage and, consequently, sales, as well as support the possibility of benchmarking the importance of specific store image dimensions as retail practices in the chain store apparel sector. This could contribute to this retailer’s ability to project a store image that meets customers’ expectations while enforcing the strategic corporate identity.

Around one percent of the Swedish population is defined as visually impaired and ten percent of them are classified as blind (Funka, n.d.; SRF, 2017a). A study shows that the prevalence of nearsightedness will increase to around half the population in the world in 2050 (Holden et. al., 2016). This suggests an increased need for solutions that work for people with reduced vision, not only for visually impaired but for a large group of the population. The aim of the project is to conceptualize a technological mainstream solution that supports people when shopping for groceries. The focus is on making this solution accessible for people with low vision. The project was planned based on the human-centered design process described by IDEO.org (2015), with an overall process divided into three phases: inspiration, ideation, and implementation. In the first phase, inspiration, a literature review was done, different field studies and other research methods were carried out. The outcome of the phase was three personas, two scenarios, and a design specification. During the second phase, ideation, the project scope was narrowed down – focusing on physical grocery stores (excluding online stores) and on conceptualizing a smartphone application. An ideation workshop was conducted, followed by concept creation, paper prototyping, scenario writing, user evaluations and a final concept selection. In the last phase, implementation, follow up feedback sessions were held and a simulation test of the final concept was held. Visualizations and presentation of the final concept were done. A list of summarized design principles was created, as support for further work on designing the application for low vision users. The final concept is based on a smartphone application that supports the customer through shopping list management, aisle navigation, item selection and item scanning, for a seamless customer experience for both people with full and low vision. The technology that will be utilized is Pricer AB's electronic shelf labels (ESL) with item positioning, customer navigation, and individual flashing light, combined with the grocery store online database with item descriptions and images. Here follows an example of how the interaction could look like for someone with low vision: He always prepares his shopping list before heading to the store, this way he knows the shopping will be easier for him. In the store, he gets all items on the list presented in the correct order of the store, in that way he knows what to search for. When looking for soy sauce from his shopping list he has trouble remembering where the section is, so he checks it up with the navigation. He realizes that it was just around the corner of where he just passed by. Once at the section he is presented with a list of different soy sauces in the application, matching his location, previous purchases and the soy sauce on his shopping list. He can now select the one that he prefers, and a picture of it appears on the screen, simultaneously a flashing green light appears by the item on the shelf, and he can easily and independently find the way right up to the soy sauce he wants. / Ungefär en procent av Sveriges befolkning är synskadade, och tio procent av dem är så pass gravt synskadade att de kan definieras som blinda (Funka, n.d.; SRF, 2017a). Enligt en studie förväntas närsynthet världen över att öka, och under 2050 vara uppe i hälften av jordens befolkning (Holden et. al., 2016). Detta tyder på ett ökat behov av lösningar som fungerar för personer med nedsatt syn, inte bara för synskadade utan för en stor del av befolkningen. Målet med projektet är att undersöka nuläget och behoven för synsvaga personer när de handlar mat, för att sedan kunna utveckla universell teknisk ­lösning som ska fungera som ett stöd när man handlar mat. Projektet planerades utifrån en människocentrerad designprocess beskriven av IDEO.org (2015), som är indelad i tre faser: inspiration, idégenereringen och genomförande. I den första fasen, inspiration, gjordes en litteraturstudie, flera fältstudier genomfördes, samt andra research metoder. Resultatet här var tre personas, två scenarion och en designspecifikation. Under den andra fasen, idégenereringen, ställdes nya avgränsningar upp för projektet – fokuset riktades nu mot den fysiska butiker (avgränsning från e-handeln) och att målet skulle vara att ta fram en smartphone-applikation. En idéworkshop genomfördes, konceptgenerering, skapande av pappersprototyper, scenarion, utvärdering med användare och ett slutligt konceptval. I sista fasen, genomförande, följdes det slutliga konceptet upp med tidigare deltagare och det slutliga konceptet testades i en simulerad studie. Visualisering och presentation av slutkonceptet gjordes. Designprinciper för utveckling av applikationer för synsvaga sammanfattades, för att fungera som stöd för vidare arbete med utveckling av konceptet. Slutkonceptet bygger på en smartphone-applikation som ska fungera som stöd för kunden, från skapandet av inköpslista, navigering i butiken, val och identifiering av varor och slutligen att scanna varan. I sin helhet skapar detta en komplett lösning i mataffären för både seende och synsvaga kunder. Tekniken som ska utnyttjas för konceptet är Pricer AB's elektroniska hyllkantsetikett-system (ESL-system) med positionering, kundnavigering samt en lysdiod på varje enskild etikett, i kombination med butikens online-databas med produktbeskrivningar och bilder på varorna. Här kommer en beskrivning av hur interaktionen med systemet kan gå till för någon som är synsvag: Han förbereder alltid sin inköpslista innan han går till affärer, eftersom han vet att det underlättar för honom. Väl i butiken får han varorna från inköpslistan presenterade i den ordningen de kommer, vilket förenklar letandeprocessen. När han letar efter sojasås som han har på listan har han svårt att komma ihåg var i butiken han hittar den, så han kollar upp det med navigeringsfunktionen. Han inser då att han missade den just bakom hörnet som han gick förbi. Väl framme vid sektionen får han en lista med olika sojasåser presenterade i applikationen, de baseras på hans position i butiken, tidigare köp och vad han har på inköpslistan. Han kan nu välja den han gillar och får då en bild på varan på sin skärm, samtidigt som en grön lampa blinkar precis där varan är placerad på hyllan. Han kan nu enkelt och självständigt plocka varan han vill ha från hyllan.

Submitted by ADELSON FERREIRA DA SILVA JUNIOR (adelsonj@uol.com.br) on 2016-09-16T18:54:53Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTAÇÃO Adelson Ferreira da Silva Junior.pdf: 4169013 bytes, checksum: bcfbf6d0b752b78c43041727b0b29f0a (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Pamela Beltran Tonsa (pamela.tonsa@fgv.br) on 2016-09-16T18:58:10Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTAÇÃO Adelson Ferreira da Silva Junior.pdf: 4169013 bytes, checksum: bcfbf6d0b752b78c43041727b0b29f0a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-16T19:36:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTAÇÃO Adelson Ferreira da Silva Junior.pdf: 4169013 bytes, checksum: bcfbf6d0b752b78c43041727b0b29f0a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-08-29 / This dissertation seeks to deepen the understanding of how the phenomenon of prejudice and racial discrimination is developed, perceived and faced in brick and mortar stores during the consumer and seller interaction. The comparison of existing knowledge in the literature, combined with an interpretative qualitative empirical research performed with black consumers in the metropolitan area of São Paulo, has generated valuable contributions to the understanding of the theme in question, and to put in question current consumer approach practices adopted by the retailers. It is found that this phenomenon, in the way it is perceived in the context of this research, in some cases shows different of some proposals presented in the literature. Among the four main themes that emerged, some aspects are highlighted: 1) while recognizing the existence of the phenomenon and despite the reports that make them evident, most respondents hesitate and deny its occurrence with themselves, transmitting great discomfort in dealing with the issue; 2) it is noticed that the mechanisms of social categorization based on social identity theory (SIT), the theoretical framework adopted in this research, operate in the context studied, but are insufficient to understand how being the agent (the seller) of the same group (ingroup) of the target (the final consumer) discriminatory behaviors are still perceived against them; 3) given the perception that the phenomenon manifests itself in its most subtle forms, the main dilemma experienced by respondents is to distinguish a bad service from a discriminatory treatment; and 4) besides the prevalence of passive reactions to the phenomenon, there is great importance attached by respondents to the appearance and self-image adjustments, as a defense mechanism to deal with possible incidents of prejudice and discrimination. The phenomenon in question in the retail environment is a serious problem that mainly affects the target, but also impacts everyone involved and seems to pervade other social spheres. The difficulties to face it range from the dubious way by which it usually manifests, hindering its recognition, to the often seemingly passive reactions from the target. From these findings, the dissertation draws attention to the relevant and unpublished aspects on consumer-seller interaction in physical stores, not yet explored in the Brazilian context and that need to be deepened. As managerial implications, the research calls attention of the retailers about the importance of formulating strategies to prepare physical stores sales teams to face properly the threats posed by the phenomenon. Finally, in terms of public policies, the results contribute to the improvement of not only educational communication efforts aimed to a fairer consumption relationship between consumers and sellers, but also to reduce the existing and still intense phenomenon of racial prejudice and discrimination in Brazil. / Esta dissertação busca aprofundar o entendimento sobre como se manifesta, é percebido e enfrentado pelos consumidores o fenômeno do preconceito e da discriminação racial em lojas físicas, durante sua interação com vendedores. A comparação do conhecimento existente na literatura, combinado a uma pesquisa empírica de natureza qualitativa interpretativista realizada com consumidores negros da região metropolitana (RM) de São Paulo, gerou valiosas contribuições ao entendimento do tema em questão e colocou em xeque algumas práticas de abordagem de consumidores adotadas atualmente nos pontos de venda. Verifica-se que esse fenômeno da forma como é percebido no contexto desta pesquisa mostra-se em alguns casos diferente de algumas proposições apresentadas na literatura. Entre os quatro principais temas que emergiram, alguns aspectos se destacam: 1) apesar de reconhecer a existência do fenômeno e a despeito dos relatos que o evidenciam, a maioria dos entrevistados hesita e nega sua ocorrência consigo mesmo, transparecendo grande desconforto em tratar do tema; 2) observa-se que os mecanismos de categorização social da teoria da identidade social (SIT), referencial teórico adotado nessa pesquisa, operam no contexto estudado, mas se mostram insuficientes para o entendimento de como o agente (vendedor), sendo do mesmo grupo (ingroup) que o alvo (consumidor final), ainda assim são percebidos comportamentos discriminatórios; 3) dada a percepção que o fenômeno se manifesta nas suas formas mais sutis, o principal dilema vivido pelos entrevistados consiste em distinguir um mau atendimento de um atendimento discriminatório; e 4) além da prevalência das reações passivas ao fenômeno, destaca-se a importância atribuída pelos entrevistados à aparência e aos ajustes de autoimagem, como mecanismo de defesa para lidar com possíveis incidentes de preconceito e discriminação. O fenômeno em questão no ambiente de varejo é um grave problema que, além de afetar o alvo, impacta todos os envolvidos e parece permear outras esferas sociais. As dificuldades para o seu enfrentamento vão desde a forma dúbia como geralmente se manifesta, dificultando seu reconhecimento, até a maneira frequente e aparentemente passiva como o alvo reage. A partir dessas constatações, a dissertação chama a atenção para aspectos relevantes e inéditos, relativos à interação consumidor-vendedor em lojas físicas, ainda não explorados no contexto brasileiro e que precisam ser aprofundados. Como implicações de ordem gerencial, a pesquisa alerta os varejistas sobre a importância da formulação de estratégias capazes de preparar as equipes de vendas das lojas físicas a enfrentar de forma adequada as ameaças decorrentes deste fenômeno. Por fim, em termos de políticas públicas, os resultados da pesquisa contribuem para o aprimoramento dos esforços de comunicação educativa, com vistas a estimular não só uma relação de consumo mais justa entre consumidores e vendedores, mas também reduzir o ainda intenso fenômeno do preconceito e da discriminação racial no Brasil.

Text in Afrikaans, abstract in Afrikaans and English / Suid-Afrika het ongekende verstedeliking ervaar en agtergeblewe verbruikers het hulle in gebiede in en om stede gevestig. Steeds toenemende verstedeliking veroorsaak enersyds probleme aangesien basiese infrastruktuurvoorsiening (elektrisiteit, water, en riool) ontbreek. Andersyds laat die afwesigheid van formele kleinhandelsfasiliteite in die agtergeblewe gebiede die vraag ontstaan wat hierdie verbruikers se behoefte aan afsetpunte behels. 'n Ewekansige-waarskynlikheidsnavorsingstudie met 'n steekproef van 300 huishoudings, 'n vraelys, en persoonlike onderhoude is onderneem om die agtergeblewe verbruikers in die Soshanguve gebied se behoeftes na kleinhandelsafsetpunte te bepaal. Die bevinding is dat die meeste verbruikers buite hul woongebied werksaam is, 'n gemiddelde inkomste van tot R2 000 per maand verdien, en dat taxi's die hoofvervoermiddel is. Kleinhandelsaankope word hoofsaaklik in Pretoria en Mabopane gedoen. Daar bestaan wel 'n behoefte na formele kleinhandelsafsetpunte, veral vir bederfbare produkte en kruideniersware soos voorsien deur bekende kleinhandelsintellings soos die OK Bazaars. Die ondersoek bevestig dat Soshanguve kleinhandelsbeleggingsgeleenthede bied vir verskeie kleinhandelsfasiliteite. / South-Africa experienced unknown urbanisation and disadvantaged consumers flocked to the cities. Continuous urbanisation causes infrastructural problems such as a lack of electricity, water, and sewerage facilities. The absence of formal retail outlets in these areas poses the question what retailing needs these consumers do have. A simple random probability research study with a sample of 300 households, a questionnaire, and personal interviews was used to determine the disadvantaged consumers' needs for retail outlets in the Soshanguve area. The results indicate that most consumers work outside Soshanguve, earn an average of up to R2 000 per month, and use taxi's as a means of transportation. Retail purchases are made in Pretoria and Mabopane. There is a definite need for formal retail outlets, especially for perishables and groceries as provided by retailers such as OK Bazaars. The research confirms that there are retail investment opportunities in Soshanguve for the establishment of various retail facilities. / Business Management / M. Comm. (Business Management)

Supraglacial lakes in the ablation zone of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) often drain rapidly (in hours to days) by hydraulically-driven fracture (“hydrofracture”) in the summer. Hydrofracture can deliver large meltwater volumes to the ice-bed interface and open-up surface-to-bed connections, thereby routing surface meltwater to the subglacial system, altering basal water pressures and, consequently, the velocity profile of the GrIS. The study of rapidly draining lakes is thus important for developing coupled hydrology and ice-dynamics models, which can help predict the GrIS’s future mass balance. Remote sensing is commonly used to identify the location, timing and magnitude of rapid lake-drainage events for different regions of the GrIS and, with the increased availability of high-quality satellite data, may be able to offer additional insights into the GrIS’s surface hydrology. This study uses new remote-sensing datasets and develops novel analytical techniques to produce improved knowledge of rapidly draining lake behaviour in west Greenland over recent years. While many studies use 250 m MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imagery to monitor intra- and inter-annual changes to lakes on the GrIS, no existing research with MODIS calculates changes to individual and total lake volume using a physically-based method. The first aim of this research is to overcome this shortfall by developing a fully-automated lake area and volume tracking method (“the FAST algorithm”). For this, various methods for automatically calculating lake areas and volumes with MODIS are tested, and the best techniques are incorporated into the FAST algorithm. The FAST algorithm is applied to the land-terminating Paakitsoq and marine-terminating Store Glacier regions of west Greenland to investigate the incidence of rapid lake drainage in summer 2014. The validation and application of the FAST algorithm show that lake areas and volumes (using a physically-based method) can be calculated accurately using MODIS, that the new algorithm can identify rapidly draining lakes reliably, and that it therefore has the potential to be used widely across the GrIS to generate novel insights into rapidly draining lakes. The controls on rapid lake drainage remain unclear, making it difficult to incorporate lake drainage into models of GrIS hydrology. The second aspect of this study therefore investigates whether various hydrological, morphological, glaciological and surface-mass-balance controls can explain the incidence of rapid lake drainage on the GrIS. These potential controlling factors are examined within an Exploratory Data Analysis statistical technique to elicit statistical similarities and differences between the rapidly and non-rapidly draining lake types. The results show that the lake types are statistically indistinguishable for almost all factors, except lake area. It is impossible, therefore, to elicit an empirically-supported, deterministic method for predicting hydrofracture in models of GrIS hydrology. A frequent problem in remote sensing is the need to trade-off high spatial resolution for low temporal resolution, or vice versa. The final element of this thesis overcomes this problem in the context of monitoring lakes on the GrIS by adapting the FAST algorithm (to become “the FASTER algorithm”) to use with a combined Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 satellite dataset. The FASTER algorithm is applied to a large, predominantly land-terminating region of west Greenland in summers 2016 and 2017 to track changes to lakes, identify rapidly draining lakes, and ascertain the extra quantity of information that can be generated by using the two satellites simultaneously rather than individually. The FASTER algorithm can monitor changes to lakes at both high spatial (10 to 30 m) and temporal (~3 days) resolution, overcoming the limitation of low spatial or temporal resolution associated with previous remote sensing of lakes on the GrIS. The combined dataset identifies many additional rapid lake-drainage events than would be possible with Landsat 8 or Sentinel-2 alone, due to their low temporal resolutions, or with MODIS, due to its inferior spatial resolution.

Ce travail analyse la localisation du commerce de détail bruxellois sous l'angle des facteurs de localisation différentielle, c'est-à-dire en examinant les caractéristiques des lieux qui ont une influence sur le fonctionnement du commerce, en terme de chiffre d'affaire ou de bénéfice, qui contribuent à la survie d'un commerce et qui engendrent des localisations diverses selon les types de commerces. Pour mettre en évidence ces facteurs, les analyses exploitent le postulat selon lequel la localisation à un moment donné d’un commerce ayant certaines caractéristiques répond à des contraintes, les facteurs de localisation, qui sont prises en compte de manière explicite ou implicite. La géographie du commerce dans la ville à un moment donné en traduit l'influence combinée.<p><p>L'analyse mobilise un inventaire détaillé décrivant la localisation du commerce bruxellois en 1997. Une première exploitation, dans une logique déductive, a permis de tester systématiquement l'effet de distinctions spatiales jugées pertinentes sur la structure des fonctions commerciales. Cela a surtout eu pour objet de mettre en évidence, sur une base empirique cohérente (unité de temps, de lieu et de nomenclature), la sensibilité des divers types de commerces aux facteurs de localisation différentielle les plus communément cités (hiérarchie, micro-centralité, spécialisation, standing, population non-résidentes, caractéristiques de l'environnement et du bâtiment). Pour ce faire, on a d'abord cherché à classer les lieux selon leurs propriétés vis-à-vis du facteur de localisation considéré et à discerner si ces différenciations contribuaient à moduler les profils de localisation des différents types de commerces.<p><p>Sur base de ce profil de localisation, la réponse des types de commerces aux contraintes imposées par le facteur de localisation et les mécanismes de différenciation qu'il entraîne ont été mis en lumière. Enfin, le classement des types de commerces vis-à-vis de chaque facteur de localisation différentielle a servi à construire de nouveaux indicateurs permettant de décrire les caractéristiques et le fonctionnement de l'espace commercial sur la base d'inventaires commerciaux.<p><p>Une seconde démarche, dans une logique inductive, a consisté à explorer l'ensemble des données disponibles dans la SitEx en vue d'en dégager les discriminations les plus marquantes. Cette analyse de la structuration spatiale du commerce à Bruxelles avait pour but la recherche d'affinités spatiales, qui ont ensuite été interprétées en terme de facteur de localisation différentielle. Les résultats ont confirmé qu'il est possible de discerner par des outils géostatistiques classiques les affinités spatiales du commerce dans la ville et que ces affinités peuvent être souvent raccrochées aux facteurs de localisation énumérés par la littérature. Mais surtout, ces analyses multivariées contribuent à l'évaluation de l'importance relative de ces différents facteurs dans la différenciation des paysages commerciaux.<p><p>Après avoir examiné l'impact des évolutions récentes (1997-2002, dans les principaux nodules commerçants) sur les résultats engrangés sur base des données exhaustives de 1997, les éléments en faveur d'une approche des facteurs de localisation différentielle par l'analyse des inventaires commerciaux ont été synthétisés, des applications pratiques évoquées et des compléments d'investigation proposés. / Doctorat en sciences, Spécialisation géographie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Kvalitetsutveckling kräver ständiga förbättringar för att möta och överträffa kundernas förväntningar. Denna studie har utförts av studenten hos organisationen MQ vid deras butik i Motala. Bakgrunden till studien är att det har noterats minskad trafik i form av besökare i butiken, bidragande faktor till detta anses vara e-handeln och den ökade onlineshoppingen. Butiken erbjuder tjänsten ”Att shoppa online i butik” där kunderna får tillgång till hela MQ:s sortiment – företaget har ett sextiotal märken som enbart säljs via e-handeln. I butiken finns en stor pekskärm där kunderna kan se samtliga produkter i storbild och köpa dem via en länk som sänds från skärmen till kundens telefon där köpet avslutas. Syftet med studien är komma med förbättringsförslag kring tjänsten att shoppa online i butik så de kan behålla sina kunder. Genom att kartlägga nuläget hur tjänsten uppfattas hos interna och externa kunder, dvs både de anställda hos butiken och kunderna, möjliggjordes en överblick över förbättringsområdet. Utifrån intervjuer med butikspersonal och kundundersökning har kundbeteenden, hinder och möjligheter med tjänsten granskats. Största förbättringen visade sig vara marknadsföringen och vetskapen om tjänsten – de som använder tjänsten idag gör det i princip enbart på påbud av personalen, sällan eller aldrig utför en kund ett köp via skärmen på egen hand. Förbättringsförslagen detta examensarbete lägger fram har för avsikt att underlätta och hjälpa MQ butiken i Motala i sitt existerande och vardagliga arbete där de är beroende av besökande och handlande kunder. / Quality improvement requires continuous improvement to meet and exceed the customers needs. This study has been made by the student at the company MQ and the chosen part of the organisation is one of their stores located in Motala. The background to the study is that less traffic in visiting customers has been noticed which may have to do with the increasing e-commerce and onlineshopping. The store offers the service ”To shop online in store” where the customer can shop from the whole collection – MQ offer around 60 brands that are only available online. The store has a big touchscreen where the customer can see all products in big size and shop through a sent link from the screen where they finish the purchase through their phone. The aim of the study is to give improvement proposals according the service so they can keep their customers. Obstacles and possibilites concerning the service has been reviewed through interviews with the staff and a customersurvey on customer behavior has been made. The biggest improvementarea turned out to be the lack of knowing the service shop online in store is existing. Almost every purchase that is being made through the screen is made on initiative from the staff. Communication and marketing about the screen to reach out to the customers is therefore proposed to focus on and also the improvement to keep up with the growing e-commerce.