Background: Robotic lawnmowers are autonomous outdoor mobile robots designed to mow the lawn autonomously. The robotic lawnmower market is rapidly growing and constantly developing. However, adopting robotic lawnmowers on golf courses has been relatively slow due to concerns about game interference, job displacement, and hesitations towards new technology. Factors that caused new challenges for providers in the industry regarding understanding and managing the expectations of professional customers in implementing this technology.    Purpose: Establish how professional golf customers' expectations evolve throughout the customer purchase journey of robotic lawnmowers.    Method: The study is based on the interpretivism paradigm and follows inductive reasoning. By using semi-structured interviews following a purposive sampling approach, qualitative data was created, and an exploratory case study was conducted.    Conclusion: The research developed the current literature on customer purchase journeys and established how customer expectations evolve throughout the journey. Several vital touchpoints were detected, and the study suggests that the customer purchase journey of robotic lawnmowers for professional golf customers has four critical phases: Pre-Purchase, Purchase, Handover, and Post-Purchase. In addition, the findings shed light on how customers' expectations in the purchase journey influenced expectations regarding providers' strategic decision-making.

This study discusses Augmented Reality (AR) as a digital marketing tool in online retail, with a special focus on the perceptions and attitudes which consumers hold towards the tool. The project, aims to give insights on how to study AR in online retail settings and also touches upon how different characteristics of augmented reality can impact the consumers attitudes towards products displayed or demonstrated with AR tools. The conceptual framework is based on literature and case studies in the fields of augmented reality, consumer experience and, customer value creation. The data for this research project was obtained through in-depth interviews with participants who have had previous experiences with Augmented Reality. After analysing and categorising their answers, the findings suggest that the participants have an overall positive attitude towards the tool and that they are already keen to engage with the technology. Their answers also suggested that the use of AR tools in online retail could positively affect the consumers attitudes towards the promoted services or products which are displayed with the tool. Moreover, depending on certain factors, the tool could potentially have a positive effect on the purchasing decision. On the negative side, the participants consider the technology is not there yet and needs to be improved to deliver meaningful value for them. Other valuable findings of the project are related to the customer journeys and the value the tool provides to the users. / Denna studie diskuterar Augmented Reality (AR) som ett digitalt marknadsföringsverktyg inom onlinehandeln, med ett särskilt fokus på de uppfattningar och attityder som konsumenterna har gentemot verktyget. Projektet syftar till att ge insikter om hur man studerar AR i online-butiksmiljöer och berör också hur olika egenskaper hos AR kan påverka konsumenternas attityder till produkter som visas eller demonstreras med AR-verktyg. Den konceptuella ramen är baserad på litteratur och fallstudier inom AR, konsumentupplevelse och kundvärdeskapande. Data för detta forskningsprojekt erhölls genom fördjupade intervjuer med deltagare som tidigare haft erfarenheter av AR. Efter att ha analyserat och kategoriserat sina svar föreslår resultatet att deltagarna har en övergripande positiv inställning till verktyget och att de redan är angelägna om att engagera sig i tekniken. Deras svar föreslog också att användningen av AR-verktyg i online-detaljhandeln positivt kunde påverka konsumenternas attityder till de marknadsförda tjänsterna eller produkterna som visas med verktyget. Beroende på vissa faktorer kan verktyget dessutom ha en positiv effekt på inköpsbeslutet. Bland de negativa aspekterna anser deltagarna att tekniken inte Einns där ännu och måste förbättras för att ge ett meningsfullt värde för dem. Andra värdefulla insikter från projektet är relaterade till kundresan och det värde verktyget ger användarna.

Customer experience is a broad topic that can cover several different branches,fields and industries. Various researchers have done significant work into thetopic, yet it still has gaps of fragmentation and an overall understanding on howto manage it. This research focused on customer experience within the finedining industry with the purpose of identifying how fine dining restaurantstackle customer experience with the goal of creating satisfied customers. Inorder to answer the questions at hand, the research took the approach of a casestudy to better understand the Swedish customers at fine dining restaurantsdisregarding other countries or cultures. With the help of three main concepts,the Five Aspects of a Meal model, the service blueprints, and the fine diningclues and messages, the authors found out that several aspects such as tangibleand intangible factors such as food quality, atmosphere, and service quality, areat the core of creating a desirable customer experience. In terms of customersatisfaction, the guest feedback and other forms of criticism is critical for finedining restaurants due to the importance of listening to the customers which canresult in creating regular, or loyal, customers.

[pt] A pandemia do Covid-19 mudou hábitos do consumidor, o distanciamento social e o lockdown motivaram as pessoas a buscarem formas mais convenientes e seguras para satisfazerem suas necessidades. Lojas físicas precisaram se adaptar ao online para seguir faturando e o e-commerce se desdobrou para atender a toda demanda de forma eficaz. A omnicanalidade, então, se tornou um tópico ainda mais relevante nos maiores varejistas do país. Essa integração de canais tornou-se necessária, para obter ganhos de produtividade, acelerar o crescimento e progredir na experiência e no relacionamento com o cliente. Sendo uma pesquisa de caráter exploratório, o objetivo deste estudo foi identificar os desafios da estratégia omnichannel implementada em um grande varejista brasileiro, a Americanas S.A.. A metodologia adotada foi o estudo de caso, com dados coletados através de: 1) entrevistas em profundidade com cinco gestores, utilizando roteiro semiestruturado, à luz do modelo de criação da experiência do cliente de Verhoef et al. (2009). e 2) arquivos e apresentações publicados pela empresa, notícias na imprensa e artigos sobre a companhia. Os principais resultados evidenciaram que, dentre os esforços de integração do online com o offline, empoderamento do cliente e conveniência são a essência do planejamento estratégico adotado pela empresa atualmente. / [en] The Covid-19 pandemic has changed consumer habits, social distancing and the lockdown have motivated people to seek more convenient and safer ways to satisfy their needs. Physical stores have adapted to online sales to move forward and e-commerce has progressed to meet demand effectively. Omnichannel, then, became an even more relevant topic in the largest retailers in the country. This channel integration has become necessary in order to obtain productivity gains, accelerate growth and progress in customer experience and relationships. Being an exploratory research, the objective of this study was to identify the challenges of the omnichannel strategy implemented in a large Brazilian retailer, Americanas S.A. The methodology adopted was the case study, with data collected through: 1) in-depth interviews with five managers, using a semi-structured script, in the light of Verhoef et al. (2009). and 2) files and presentations published by the company, press releases and articles about the company. The main results showed that, among the efforts to integrate online with offline, customer empowerment and convenience are the essence of the strategic planning adopted by the company today.

The purpose of this study is to explore how firms create an engaging customer experience through live shopping. More specifically, by performing a case study this thesis will provide an example of how firms use live shopping to create interactions, as well as to provide value through firm offerings.  This thesis performs qualitative exploratory research with an abductive research approach by studying the case company, Flowlife. Both primary- and secondary data sources are conducted. The primary data is collected through semi-structured interviews with seven employees at the selected company and further analyzed through thematic analysis. While secondary data is conducted through observations of two recorded live shopping event and KPIs provided from the company.  The empirical findings highlight that live shopping allows the studied firm to get close to their customers. Moreover, it was stated that the firm recognizes live shopping as a powerful tool to share information to customers; both about their products, but also about “added value” beyond what is embedded in their products. Finally, it can be identified that the firm perceive a control over the interactions that live shopping brings.  The presented study identifies that live shopping allows a firm to reach beyond the ordinary online experience by combining elements from brick-and-mortar stores with digital affordances. This way, a firm can increase the probability of building trust and relationships. Moreover, live shopping is agile in its nature and allows a firm to adjust and customize firm offerings while providing it. It can also be stated that live shopping allows a firm to provide greater value-in-use and elevate a firm’s role in the value creation process by expanding its role in the joint sphere.

The aim of this bachelor thesis is to examine which experiential dimensions that are perceived as important for customers and how these dimensions are delivered by Swedish beauty and makeup retailers. The focus is to examine how their physical in-store environments succeeds with delivering extraordinary customer experiences. The thesis is conducted through a deductive approach and a quantitative research method have been implemented. Further on, the software Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) have been used to process the data collected from an online questionnaire. The empirical findings were then calculated into six variables that were analyses and discussed in relation to existing theories to strengthen and improve the research of customer experience. The thesis found that experiential dimensions of interaction, emotion, differentiation and in-store technologies are considered as important by customers within the age of 18-30, when creating extraordinary customer experiences in the context of beauty and makeup in-store environments. Moreover, the collected data prove that Swedish Beauty and makeup stores fails to deliver these four dimensions in the extent to create extraordinary customer experiences. Customers of today want new and interesting in-store environments, which means that retailers need to permanently elaborate their environments with unique design element within these dimensions to deliver memorable customer experiences. The result from this thesis can be used by beauty and makeup retailers and other industries to increase their delivery of extraordinary customer experience.

The financial sector is transforming as a result of PSD2 and open banking. The traditional retail banks face new competition from FinTechs and BigTechs. 78 percent of Nordic banks are concerned by the threat of disruption and 88 percent think that they need to rethink their business model. Customer experience and customer journeys are crucial as customer expectations is one of the major driving forces for the changing industry.Generation Y (1989 2000) is often defined as early adopters and digital natives which makes them an important but challenging customer segment. According to the Millennial Disruption Index, the banking industry is at the highest risk of disruption from generation Y. This study focus on how traditional Swedish retail banks can manage digital transformation and the needs and behavior of the Swedish generation Y. To identify the needs and demands of generation Y, four focus groups was conducted with 31 participants and four semi-structured interviews. The results was analyzed and related to a customer journey framework and the concept of platform banking.The results indicate that the Swedish generation Y demands personalized services and products as well as tailored Omni-channel experiences. They demand an expansion of financial services in the form of a “one-stop-shop”. In order to meet these demands, traditional Swedish retail banks must utilize their customer data and weight the Swedish generation Y´s trust in their security. This will enable them to develop superior customer experiences as well as extending their context and establish themselves as banking platforms. / Den finansiella sektorn förändras till följd av PSD2 och open banking. De traditionella bankerna möter ny konkurrens från FinTechs och BigTechs. 78 procent av de nordiska bankerna är oroade av förändringarna och 88 procent tycker att de behöver ompröva sin affärsmodell. Kundupplevelser och kundresor är avgörande eftersom kundernas förväntningar är en av de viktigaste drivkrafterna för den föränderliga industrin.Generation Y (1989 2000) definieras ofta som digitala pionjärer vilket gör dem till ett viktigt men utmanande kundsegment. Enligt studien ”Millennial Disruption Index” har banksektorn den högsta risken för störningar från Generation Y. Denna studie fokuserar på hur traditionella svenska banker kan hantera digital transformation och den svenska generation Ys behov och beteende. För att identifiera behov och krav från generation Y genomfördes fyra fokusgrupper med 31 deltagare samt fyra semi-strukturerade intervjuer. Resultaten analyserades och relaterades till en kundrese teori samt konceptet om plattformsbanker.Resultaten indikerar att den svenska generation Y kräver personliga tjänster och produkter samt skräddarsydda Omni-kanalupplevelser. De kräver en expansion av finansiella tjänster i form av en "one-stop-shop". För att möta dessa krav måste traditionella svenska banker använda deras kunddata och utnyttja den svenska generation Ys förtroende för deras säkerhet. Detta kommer att göra det möjligt för dem att utveckla överlägsna kundupplevelser såväl som att utvidga sitt sammanhang och etablera sig som bankplattformar.

In recent years, there has been a notable shift in the conventional strategies employed by luxury automotive brands towards a more digitalized customer journey. This shift reflects the changing landscape of consumer behavior and the growing influence of technology in shaping customer experiences. Customers are increasingly seeking convenience, personalization, and seamless interactions throughout their purchase process, and expect businesses to provide them with engaging and immersive experiences, both online and offline. As a result, luxury automotive brands have recognized the need to establish a strong digital presence and leverage various touchpoints to meet these evolving customer expectations. Consequently, the purpose of this thesis has been to examine and understand how luxury automotive brands create luxury hedonic experiences online, as well as identify the key touchpoints through which hedonic value is created in a digital context. To achieve these objectives, a qualitative multiple-case study was conducted involving seven businesses operating in the luxury automotive sector. The research methodology employed a combination of semi-structured interviews and a structured questionnaire, and the empirical findings were thoroughly analyzed in conjunction with existing literature to discern similarities and disparities among the cases studied. The conclusion of this thesis reveals that luxury brands employ a multi-faceted approach, utilizing high-quality digital content, exclusivity, collaborations, innovation, personalization, customer-centricity, and top-quality customer service to create hedonic experiences. Key digital touchpoints include aesthetically pleasing websites, interactive features, social media platforms for community building, and corporate touchpoints that align digital experiences with offline luxury experiences. Moreover, this thesis can serve as a guide for future endeavors in this field, and researchers can utilize its findings as a foundation to further explore the implications for luxury automotive brands.

The hospitality industry is increasingly incorporating self-service technology, suchas online booking systems, automated check-in and check-out, and in-roomtechnology, to enhance the customer experience and streamline operations. However,there is limited research on the adoption and usage of self-service technology bybaby boomers (BB) in this industry. This study aims to fill this gap by exploring theadoption and usage patterns of self-service technology (SST) among BBs in thehospitality industry.The paper follows a deductive approach drawing upon the extensive literature on thetopic. With a proposed qualitative viewpoint, the purpose of the study is to identifythe BBs’ attitude when using SSTs in hotels, and furthermore, to understand in whatinstances consumers prefer human interactions over technological encounters. Theempirical data was obtained through interviews that were conducted among 10Swedish BBs. The findings then were analyzed through thematic analysis, towithdraw patterns, similarities and differences.The conclusion of this thesis shows BBs have different preferences when it comes toadopting SSTs. The attitudes ranged from enthusiasm, to avoidance and hesitation.However, the common theme that emerged among all three types of attitudes, wasthe fact that they all prefer to use SSTs as a complementary step to what the hotelstaff will provide. It was also proposed in order to encourage the SST hesitant orSST avoidant group, the service design should be straightforward and theinstructions must be clear.

Research Question: What are the drivers for consumers to co-create in the metaverse and howcan companies use them to increase engagement in co-creation? Purpose: The purpose of this study is to get insight into how companies canincrease consumer engagement for participation in co-creation activitieswithin the metaverse. By enlightening the research community and businesses about the consumer perspective on the metaverse and the cocreation possibilities and what their drivers would be to engage in cocreation, companies can better target these individuals and ultimately increase their brand value.  Method: Qualitative methods with an abductive approach Conclusion: The strongest driver for consumer engagement in co-creation within themetaverse is hedonic benefits. Although, the hedonic benefits are thestrongest driver, economic benefits were almost as strong, and as suchthese two types of drivers in combination work as complements andgenerate more engagement in co-creation than any other benefits for mostco-creators. Moreover, to increase engagement, facilitators such ascommunities, safe spaces, and interactivity play an important role to createintimacy, emotional connection, and immersive experiences. Throughthese, trust can be fostered, and customer experiences enhanced,ultimately leading to increased engagement in co-creation.