The importance of the retail environment has been a prominent area of research for over four decades, focusing upon the effects of design. The retail environment, like other aesthetic surroundings affects customers’ behaviour, perceptions and attitudes. Yet, while there is a growing body of research regarding design, there is little research to date specifically on fashion retail shopping environments. Technology has made shopping via multiple channels possible and economically feasible, and the demand for more channel options is being driven by the consumer. The significant growth of online retailing has led to the evolution of traditional retailing, developing from a single channel to multi-channel models. This study has used both quantitative and qualitative research methods in order to explain theoretically the online shopping environment cues that contribute towards creating an online fashion shopping environment. As this research is taking into consideration the development of the retail market and the movement of retailers towards multi-channel fashion retailing, design cues which can be replicated, or transferred from a physical shopping environment to an online shopping environment will be discussed. Fashion retailers can use the different channel environments to induce a desired shopping experience for the consumer, facilitate the consumers’ needs and fulfil the retailers’ strategic objectives. This report includes new perspectives on how website design has developed during the past decade as a result of advances in technology and consumer acceptance. This research will identify and develop some important issues related to online environment cues and consumers' perceptions of online design that have not been addressed by previous studies by investigating literature regarding the physical and online shopping environment, design cues that form part of an online fashion environment focusing on the strategic design of an online retail store will be studied.

The purpose of this study is to critically diagnose and review the current available knowledge of social media in retail. Particularly, this review concentrates on influences of social media in consumer behaviour within the online retail context. This study aims to identify gaps in the literature, and give recommendations for further research. The review uses a descriptive research method when gathering and summarising the data about social media in online retail. The studies included in this review are very recent; from the years 2009 to 2017. Chosen existing studies are analysed in comparison to traditional literature and linked to Cumberland’s philosophy. Moreover, how traditional literature can still be used to support current phenomena. Conclusions are drawn to emphasize that Cumberland’s theories can be applied to modern society and social media is noted as a tool used by man to pursue ”Universal Benevolence”. Future research should concentrate on further understanding this relationship. The review provides important information about how social media influences consumer purchasing behaviour in online retail, which is of particular interest for marketers and managers of that field.

Internet commerce has risen steadily for over a decade. During this period, innovations have occurred to make using the Internet easier and more engaging as a consumer online shopping experience. An innovation with increasing availability is the three-dimensional (3D) representation of an area where the user has an agent, called an "avatar," to navigate in a computer-generated environment. As technical options become available to view standard web pages through this innovation, virtual reality envionments may change the overall look of a website and may potentially change the way a consumer perceives a website and shape the consumer's purchase intent. In this study, an experimental design was used in which student subjects were asked to view a set of products derived from a search of a retail webpage. Some subjects saw the webpage in a normal two-dimensional (2D) format, while others were shown the same page through a program called ExitReality that converts 2D webpages into 3D environments. Tests were first done to compare the results of some common constructs, as found in the Marketing literature on websites, between 2D and 3D online retail shopping to identify the differences in a set of variables. Second, the variables were combined into a path model to compare between 3 groups: A group trained in 2D and untrained in 3D who shopped in a 2D environment; a group trained in 3D who shopped in a 2D environment; and a group trained in 3D who shopped in a 3D environment. The perceptions used in the study centered on Attitude toward the Site (AST) and constructs that were related to AST in various other studies. The path model was defined through the use of partial least squares (PLS) path modeling techniques, based on previous research, to align the use of the new 3D environments with existing theory. One key potential consequence considered was the purchase intent as compared to the three groups studied. This study is important for two major reasons. First, it is an important step toward understanding the possible effects from presenting consumer online retail shopping experiences that more feasibly imitate physical-world shopping experiences. As technology advances and virtual spaces become easier to create, companies may be able to apply the lessons learned through this study to better understand the potential benefits of converting online retail websites into 3D virtual spaces. Second, this study fits into the research conducted to improve the understanding of how website-related constructs work. For example, the extant literature has shown some contention regarding the best measurement AST and whether AST has an impact on purchase intent. This study provides useful evidence in that debate.

This research proposes a new construct, post-purchase anticipated regret (PPAR), to expand the existing retailing and regret theory literature streams. Specifically, the purpose of this research is to understand the antecedents and consequences of post-purchase anticipated regret in an online retailing context. Study 1 uses qualitative data drawn from depth-interviews with online shoppers to investigate the pre-purchase factors that contribute to PPAR formation. Building from these results, studies 2 and 3 empirically test an original conceptual model to holistically understand PPAR. Additionally, the role of online shopping self-affirmation and regret coping strategies are explored as means to combat PPAR formation. Managerial and theoretical implications are offered, as well as research limitations and future research directions.

According to World Bank statistics, internet user occupied a quarter of the world population in 2008. In 2010, the number of internet users will be over two billion people. This group will become potential online shopping customers. Online shopping in global market keeps growing. Online shopping has become a trend. The business model of E-continues is facing highly challenge in this market. Enterprises need to look for sustainable way to keep their business continuously growth. This research is based on the external analysis of online retail industry in the U.S.A and the internal analysis of the core resources of the Amazon.com to evaluate the key factors of online M&A targets, to adjust the strategy in highly competitive industry, to utilize the resources acquired by Amazon.com to build up competitive advantage and to implement the effectiveness of strategy. The study mainly research 13 companies acquired by Amazon.com from 2008 to April 2011 on the relationship between core resources and competitive advantage. The study concludes that M&A motivation of Amazon.com is to extend product line, to enter new markets, to obtain the necessary resources and capabilities, to expand the operation scale of the industry. According to the findings and conclusions, the suggestions of the study as followed. 1. In Chinese digital content industry: firms should be focus on content development to build up the competitive advantage of digital content platform. Meanwhile the digital content can be used in each e-reader. In addition, the firms can cooperate with telecommunications firms to provide added-value service. 2. The study found that many internet companies differentiate customer service and build trust from customer by online services to create competitive advantage like creating user community to share knowledge and resources; using word of mouth marketing to attract new customers. Executives should focus on their customer-orientated service to meet market demand.

During the previous years there has been a lot of focus on e-commerce in the fashion and clothing industry and that everything will be bought online in the future. However, several e-commerce companies have decided to expand into offline retail. This dissimilarity between theory and reality creates an interest for further research and a curiosity of how the future within retail will develop. The purpose of this research is to understand why Swedish online fashion retailers expand through an offline strategy. An Expansion Theme Model, which emerged from the theoretical framework, is used throughout the research to create a cohesive presentation of the material. In this research two case studies were conducted with e-commerce companies that are moving towards offline retail, one that is planning to open their own offline store and the other that is selling to external offline retailers. The findings present the reasons for expanding into offline retail according to the respondents in the two cases. Two reasons that were discussed in both cases were to enhance the brand image and use offline retailing as a marketing tool to reach a larger customer group and ultimately enhance the company’s profit. The findings present several problems within each case that can be solved by expanding into offline retail. The first problem is about suppliers that protect offline retailers. The second problem is about how to reach the minimum quantities that the suppliers require. The third problem is how to achieve a better negotiation power with the suppliers. The fourth problem discusses the challenge of displaying products online. The view of the future within retail is also presented, where all of the respondents agreed that the two selling channels will be more integrated in the future. Finally, the transition towards offline retail creates many new possibilities in the world of retail that is yet undiscovered and it is therefore exciting to follow this development.

Submitted by Nadir Basilio (nadirsb@uninove.br) on 2016-09-01T21:13:07Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Eliana Gonçalves.pdf: 1423399 bytes, checksum: 82bd42357b34afcbc3ce3216226c81c0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-01T21:13:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Eliana Gonçalves.pdf: 1423399 bytes, checksum: 82bd42357b34afcbc3ce3216226c81c0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-04-28 / Online retail is an important sector that keeps continuously growing. Between 2008 and 2014, Brazil registered a growth in sales in this segment of 436% (WEBSHOPPERS, 2015). There is still a lack of comprehensive research on the impact of online retail esthetics in consumer behavior (PUCCINELLI et al., 2009; WANG et al., 2011.). This study aims to contribute to a better understanding of online retail esthetics and to answer the following research question: How is purchasing behavior influenced by hedonic and utilitarian esthetic online? To answer the research question, the objective of this work is to understand the influence of hedonic and utilitarian esthetics (value) on online satisfaction, purchase intention, intention to return to the site, impulse buying and intention to indicate the site. This research is quantitative and experimental. For this, we conducted a structured collection of data, using one online survey with 128 respondents in São Paulo (Brazil). The results showed that the hedonic esthetic of an online retail store positively influenced consumer behavior, increasing satisfaction, intention to indicate the site, and intention to return to the site. Only the dependent variables impulse buying and purchase intention did not influence consumer behavior. Thus, the online retail nowadays is not just a place to search for information and cheaper products, it is also a place of leisure and entertainment, which can provide hedonic experiences for consumer. For a managerial point of view, a replication of the study in other types of sites may contribute to a more positive consumer buying behavior and might influence increasing in sales, customer loyalty and to increase competitiveness. / O varejo online é um setor importante e está em contínuo crescimento. Entre 2008 e 2014, o Brasil registrou um crescimento em vendas nesse segmento de 436% (WEBSHOPPERS, 2015). Para a academia, ainda há falta de investigações aprofundadas sobre o impacto da estética do varejo online no comportamento do consumidor (PUCCINELLI et al., 2009; WANG et al., 2011). Este estudo visa responder à seguinte questão de pesquisa: Como o comportamento de compras é influenciado por uma estética hedônica e utilitária online? O objetivo desta dissertação é entender a influência da estética (valor) hedônica e utilitária online na satisfação, intenção de compra, intenção de retornar ao site, compra por impulso e intenção de indicar o site. A pesquisa caracteriza-se por ser quantitativa e o método foi o experimento. Para isso, foi feita uma coleta estruturada de dados, utilizando-se um questionário online com 128 respondentes do estado de São Paulo (Brasil). Os resultados demonstraram que a estética hedônica de uma loja de varejo online influencia positivamente o comportamento do consumidor, aumentando a satisfação, a intenção de indicar o site e a intenção de retornar ao site. Somente as variáveis dependentes compra por impulso e intenção de compra não influenciaram o comportamento do consumidor. Assim, o varejo online hoje não é apenas um lugar para procura de informações e produtos mais baratos. Cada vez mais, é um lugar de lazer e entretenimento, que pode proporcionar experiências hedônicas ao consumidor. Do ponto de vista gerencial, a replicação em outros sites pode colaborar para um comportamento de compra do consumidor mais positivo e pode influenciar o aumento das vendas, a fidelização dos clientes e aumento da competitividade.

Purpose: This study aims to identify the most influential aspects that affect the consumer’s behavior regarding purchasing online, also why consumers choose not to complete their purchase or actually do complete it. 
 Research questions: How do an online retail store companies create a consumer experience resulting in a purchase or cancellation, and how do consumers perceive online experience? Methodology: A qualitative research approach was conducted, utilizing semi-structured interviews with two online retailing stores and five online consumers. Conclusion: The wants and needs in order to fulfill a purchase is the same for the companies and the consumers. However, the companies are clearly lacking on some aspects since they both confirmed that they have plenty of cancellations and items left in the basket.  Consumers base their knowledge on previous experience, and companies base their knowledge on their own investigations. The connection is lost sometimes, and then i results in cancellations and left items.

The thesis focuses on application of business intelligence in online retail. The work summarizes the benefits of BI usage in online retail and provides an overview of the areas, where BI and Analytics is commonly used. Further, the thesis includes theoretical research with primary focus on business performance evaluation metrics and describes BI market leaders. The performance metrics theoretical research is supported by a survey in a global online fashion retail company that author conducted and summarized. Moreover, a practical design and implementation of a specific real-life BI solution is proposed and presented. The thesis added value is mainly author s proposal of BI solution design and its implementation for a global online retail company, which was successfully deployed as a main BI reporting system of the company. The description includes data integration part, data modelling part and the presentation layer. Thesis includes also practical examples of the outputs based on the final solution. Besides, highly valuable is also author s theoretical research in the field.

This thesis deals with the topic of category management in online retailing. Its goal is to identify the assortment factors that affect a company's financial performance. The result of the thesis work is a model applicable in strategic decision making on assortment. The first part consists of basic concepts of retail, marketing and strategic management. The purpose of this part is to provide the reader with the theoretical background for the following practical part. The research for the practical part is conducted on the basis of interviews with experts in the field and the author's own research in business. Each chapter presents a group of metrics that are based on analysis of business data in online retail market. Metrics describe the specific features of a product category and their impact on a company's revenue or costs. Each metric comes also with an assessment of the given category based on business data. The aim of the thesis is to give a comprehensive overview of assortment decision making. The thesis should also help the reader gain basic knowledge useful for managing an online retail store.