There has been a significant increase in e-commerce over the past years and to which extent consumers use it. During the past year, when the Covid-19 pandemic has ravaged among us, food consumption has also become a fact. Grocery stores have had the opportunity to develop their e-commerce and offer their customers a chance to purchase products at any time suitable. As the market is evolving, the concept of consumer behavior and impulse buying behavior has become more relevant and exciting in research. Still, little research has been done regarding how grocery stores influence consumers’ impulse buying behavior when shopping for groceries online.  The purpose of this research, from a business perspective, is to investigate how grocery companies influence consumers' impulse buying behavior online and to identify if there are any contributing factors to influencing this behavior. The aim is to develop a more profound knowledge within this topic due to the lack of previous research on impulse buying behavior when shopping for groceries online.  The conclusion of this thesis shows that impulse purchases increase the additional sales to the store and that there are clear strategies for how the grocery stores do to influence the impulse buying behavior in the physical store. However, the study showed that grocery stores do not actively work to influence consumers' impulse buying behavior when shopping for groceries online as they do not have the power to implement them. This is because the head offices control their e-commerce.

Jantzen Beach Shopping Center is an anomaly on the landscape challenging traditional criteria for the location of regional shopping centers. Located on Hayden Island on the Oregon side of the border, it has access from only one exit in each direction off the Interstate 5 freeway. The predominantly industrial and recreational land use of the region within a five minute travel time from the shopping center results in an exceptionally small adjacent residential population. Its potential trade area is further limited by the intervening shopping opportunity for Washington residents afforded by the Vancouver central business district which lies adjacent to the Interstate freeway two miles to the north. Interviews established that because of the uneven economic growth within the SMSA, the shopping center was located on the Oregon side of the border due to Portland’s larger population and the propensity for Clark County residents to shop in Oregon to avoid sales tax.

Today there are two main ways of shopping; on a website or in a physical store, and each of them comes with its own benefits and downsides. A prototype for a store in virtual reality (VR) was created to take advantage of the unique aspects of VR, it created a shopping experience that is an improvement over web stores and has some advantages over physical stores too. According to studies done regarding visual search, 3D information such as stereoscopy can make visual search easier. This is something that was taken advantage of when creating the prototype for this work, by implementing a unique navigation and product search system. The furniture are displayed in virtual miniature showrooms, which the user can transport themselves into. By selecting a piece of furniture, alternative furniture are displayed in a grid, which can be selected to swap out the previously selected piece of furniture. This means that the user can inspect each piece of furniture in a realistic setting and scale. The grid also can be used to visualize information depending on two parameters. By taking advantage of the third dimension in VR, the value based on these parameters is visualized by the placement in height of each piece of furniture. The testing compared this VR prototype to the IKEA web store, by having the test subjects do three tasks in both mediums. Data was collected by using a questionnaire and a SAM scale. The VR store had a significantly higher valence compared to the web store, and most test subjects responded that it was likely that they would consider using a VR store over a web store. From this, it can be concluded that the VR store had an enhanced user experience compared to the web store. It was not possible to draw any conclusions regarding visual search when comparing the VR store and the web store, because the results were not conclusive enough. The test subjects found it easier to make decisions in the VR store, especially when using two parameters. This work has shown that a VR store can be created which is preferable to a web store in many ways. It can be more fun and engaging, and enable things that are only possible in VR, like sorting in three dimensions. It can also successfully incorporate some of the best qualities of retail stores, like the physical inspection of products.

[pt] Este estudo pretende identificar e compreender o consumo e os significados do luxo associados ao shopping VillageMall com base no discurso de consumidoras do empreendimento. Oito mulheres com mais de 30 anos, moradoras da Barra da Tijuca e que consomem produtos e serviços de luxo frequentemente foram entrevistadas para cumprir com os objetivos da pesquisa. Foi perguntado o que pensam essas informantes sobre luxo, sua associação com o bairro da Barra e de que forma as práticas de consumo no shopping se diferenciam de outros da cidade do Rio de Janeiro. Partimos da compreensão de que o consumo é um fenômeno que cria significados na cultura através da posse, uso e trocas de bens e, a partir disso, constitui-se como um importante sistema de classificação, capaz de criar muros e pontes. Logo, a pesquisa evidencia abordagens que atestam diferenças entre as lógicas mercadológicas e culturais sobre a noção de luxo. Dessa forma, há a necessidade de relativizar o luxo em diferentes contextos culturais. Ainda assim, essa pesquisa estará embasada em perspectivas teóricas propostas por Veblen (1965 [1899]), Simmel (2008 [1905]), Rocha (2010), Lipovetsky e Roux (2005) e Rocha, Frid e Corbo (2016, 2016b). / [en] This study aims to identify and understand the consumption and the meanings of luxury associated with the VillageMall shopping based on the discourse of women consumers of the enterprise. Eight women over the age of 30, residents of Barra da Tijuca and who frequently consume luxury products and services were interviewed to meet the research objectives. It was asked what these informants think about luxury, its association with Barra s neighborhood and how consumption practices at VillageMall differ from others in the city of Rio de Janeiro. We started from the understanding that consumption is a phenomenon that creates meanings in culture through the possession, use and exchange of goods and, from that, it constitutes an important classification system, capable of creating walls and bridges. Therefore, the research highlights approaches that attest to diferences between market and cultural logics about the notion of luxury. Thus, there is a need to relativize luxury in different cultural contexts. Even so, this research will be based on theoretical perspectives proposed by Veblen (1965 [1899]), Simmel (2008 [1905]), Rocha (2010), Lipovetsky and Roux (2005) and Rocha, Frid and Corbo (2016, 2016b).

Syftet med denna forskning är att få en bättre förståelse för de faktorer som påverkar konsumenternas beslutsfattande vid köp av möbler och hur Omni - kanaler och teknologiska innovationer kan bidra till möbelindustrin och hur det påverkar de olika marknadsföringskanalerna och hur det i slutändan kan förändra upplevelsen för kunden. Den teori som har använts i denna studie omfattar områdena Omni  kanaler, marknadsföring och detaljhandel, allmän detaljhandel och dess kundupplevelse , beslut och konsumentbeteende vid köp av möbler, hur sociala medier påverkar marknadsföringen och teknologiska innovationer inom möbelindustrin. För att förstå hur omni-kanaler och teknologiska innovationer kan ändra kundupplevelsen och marknadsföringskanalerna för möbler, har tre semistrukturerade intervjuer och en undersökning gjorts. Resultatet av denna forskning kommer fram till att ha en teknikbaserad innovation som t.ex. InsideMaps gör köpupplevelsen mer fördelaktigt för både hedoniska och utilitaristiska konsumenter samt skiftar marknadsföringskanalerna åt mer direkt försäljning över Internet . Med hjälp av Internet, kan tillverkaren / återförsäljaren utvidga sitt varumärke till fler människor . Detta beror på det faktum att det blir lättare för kunderna att köpa möbler då de kan visualisera de möbler de köper innan och hur de skulle se ut i sitt eget hem . Men för att detta ska fungera på ett bra sätt är det viktigt att användarupplevelsen är bra. Genom att använda en teknikbaserad innovation kommer även leda till att en tillverkares - återförsäljares Omni - kanal och marknadsföring blir starkare, eftersom sådana innovationer stärker och ger en konkurrensfördel gentemot andra tillverkare - återförsäljare. / The objective of this research is to gain a better understanding of the factors involved in consumer decision making for buying home furniture and how Omni-channel retailing and technology-based innovation can help this industry to enhance its marketing channels and how it ultimately change the retail experience for the customer. The theoretical framework that has been used in this study covers the areas of Omni-channel marketing and retailing, general retailing customer experience, decision and consumer behaviors in retail furniture settings, how social media influences marketing and technology-based innovations within the furniture industry. In order to understand how the retail experience and the marketing channels of furniture shopping change through Omni-channel retailing and the use of technology-based innovations, three semi-structured interviews and a survey were done. The results of this research concludes that having a technology-based innovation such as InsideMaps will make the shopping experience more beneficial for both hedonic and utilitarian shoppers as well as shifting the marketing channels to more direct selling over the Internet. With the help of Internet, producers/retailers can extend their brand to more people. This is due to the fact that it will be easier for customers to buy furniture as they can visualize the furniture they are buying and how they would look like in their own home. However, for this to work it is important that the user experience is good. By using a technology-based innovation will also make a producers-retailers Omnichannel marketing stronger, as such innovation strengthen and gives a competitive advantage over other producers-retailers that uses Omni-channel marketing.

The global pandemic has impacted daily life significantly, particularly in China. Fears of the virus, in addition to stay-at-home policies made more and more people choose to shop online instead of going to a brick-and-mortar store. Existing research shows that online shopping can reduce energy consumption and positively affect the eco-environment and sustainable development compared with traditional shopping. In this study, minor redesigns involving green certification are implemented to the Hema Fresh, an online grocery shopping application under Alibaba. An interactive prototype was created on Figma and evaluated with regular users of the application, based in Shanghai. The purpose is to study how design considerations related to green certification labeling influence consumers in online grocery shopping platform in China. The results indicate that a majorty of consumers respond positively to green certifications but not from a sustainability aspect, but rather from a health aspect. Chinese consumers’ understanding and cognition of green product labels are influenced by social advocacy and cultural background, and there are some similarities and differences with the cognition in Western society. / Sedan pandemin började har människors dagliga liv förändrats avsevärt. Av rädsla för viruset och policyer för att stanna hemma väljer fler och fler människor att handla online istället för att gå till en fysisk butik. Befintlig forskning visar att näthandel kan minska energiförbrukningen och positivt påverka miljön och hållbar utveckling jämfört med traditionell shopping. I den här studien genomfördes gränssnittsdesignen för Hema Fresh, en onlineapplikation för matkonsumtion som ägs av Alibaba, och en prototyp gjordes i Figma. Hema Fresh-användare som bor i Shanghai bjöds in att genomföra ett semistrukturerat användarupplevelsetest. Syftet är att studera vilken diskussion som rör hållbarhet och andra aspekter som kan inspireras av kinesiska konsumenter av onlinematinköpsplattformar med införandet av grön certifiering. Resultaten tyder på att sex av åtta deltagare köper produkter med gröna livsmedelsmärkningar, vilket visar att hushållskonsumenter som bor i storsstäder och med goda ekonomiska förutsättningar tenderar att köpa produkter med gröna märkningar. Kinesiska konsumenters förståelse och insikt om gröna produktetiketter påverkas av social påverkan och kulturell bakgrund, och det finns vissa likheter och skillnader med kognitionen i det västerländska samhället.

Eko-feedback är något som under en tid använts för att uppmuntra miljövänliga beteenden hos människor. Att minska den globala uppvärmningen är högst aktuellt samt att minska världens textilavfall som årligen uppgår mot 70 miljoner ton. Det är därav av relevans att hitta lösningar för att uppmuntra miljövänliga beteenden för att minska det ekologiska fotavtrycket. Studien undersöker med hjälp av ett Chrome-tillägg om eko-feedback med personlig shoppingdata på-verkar användarna. De olika motivationsfaktorerna, som relaterat till aktiviteten har varit av intresse är: motivation, känsla av skuld, stolthet, upplevd konsumenteffektivitet samt ansvar. Genom att jämföra användarnas uppskattning av dessa motivationsfaktorer före och efter expe-riment ger resultatet en indikation på att denna typ av eko-feedback med personlig shoppingdata inte har en märkbar påverkan på användarnas motivation att ändra konsumtionsmönster av tex-tilier för att minska ekologiskt fotavtryck. Vidare forskning inom området kan vara ett bidrag till att bromsa ökandet av textilavfall samt den globala uppvärmningen.

Des magasins d’usine accolés aux sites de fabrication apparus au début du XXe siècle jusqu’aux « villages » de marques actuels, le concept commercial a suivi différentes formes et l’évolution de leurs localisations rend compte d’un détachement des sites industriels au profit d’une logique territoriale « hors sol ». Ces facteurs mettent en lumière le passage d’un concept à l’origine industriel, devenu un produit commercialo-touristique. La naissance du concept puis sa « mise en tourisme » trouvent toutes deux leurs origines aux Etats-Unis. Leurs importations en Europe n’ont pas reproduit à l’identique la formule américaine mais ont suivi des modèles s’en inspirant de plus en plus fortement, notamment par le biais de la montée en puissance des opérateurs anglo-saxons qui figurent parmi les leaders incontestés du marché européen. L’annonce de projets de villages de marques suscite quasi-systématiquement de vives tensions entre leurs opposants et leurs défenseurs, révélant que les enjeux territoriaux liés à ces équipements sont nombreux. La multiplication des projets est notamment favorisée par une demande croissante des élus dans un contexte de mise en compétition des territoires. Cette situation, qui constitue une réelle opportunité pour les opérateurs, aboutit depuis peu à la création de partenariats public-privé destinés à tirer profit de la présence des centres de marques en favorisant les synergies avec leur territoire d’implantation, notamment en couplant le tourisme commercial avec d’autres types de tourisme. Cette thèse vise à mettre en lumière le développement et l’évolution du concept commercial en Europe ainsi que leurs implications en matière de nouveaux enjeux territoriaux. / From Factory Outlet shops located on manufacturing sites which appeared at the beginning of the 20th century to the current outlet “villages” today, this distinct retail concept has followed various forms in its evolution. There has been a detachment from locations on industrial sites for a strategic improvement creating, a new territorial logic which is targeted on an agglomeration of brands in modern purpose built buildings with good access and facilities. These factors show the evolution of a concept originally adjacent to a manufacturing base, it has become a distinct retail and tourist product. The birth of the retail concept and its “touristification” finds its origins in the United States. The import of which into Europe drew reference from the American formula but followed new models inspired by Anglo-Saxon developers who created a different style and they now appear among the uncontested leaders of the European market. However, the announcement of new outlet projects, even after 20 years still arouse quasi-systematically deep tensions between the opponents and the defenders of the concept, revealing that the territorial stakes of these centres are multiple. The increase of the number of projects is favoured in particular by an increasing demand of the elected representatives in a context of competition between territories. The current situation constitutes a real opportunity for developers, and it has recently involved the creation of public-private partnerships. Their intended goal is to benefit from the setting-up of outlet centres by favouring the positive elements within their territory, in particular by coupling retail tourism with other forms of leisure tourism. This research aims to study the development and the evolution of the outlet concept in Europe as well as their implications regarding new territorial stakes.

Text in English / Violent crime and more specifically armed robberies constitute a growing threat to shopping centres in terms of their vulnerability to such criminal acts. These violent crimes are becoming ever more organised and sophisticated. Shopping centres across South Africa have become the latest targets for these syndicates. Due to the increasing number of armed robberies and violent crimes at shopping centres and the nature of violence used in these attacks, it points to a need for improvements to be made to the security measures that are in place at shopping centres. This study explored the risks and vulnerabilities at shopping centres that have led to the phenomenon of armed robberies at shopping centres in Gauteng; evaluated the current physical protection systems that are in place at shopping centres in Gauteng in order to assist with the reduction of shopping centre armed robberies; and recommendations were made for the implementation of effective security risk control measures at shopping centre’s across South Africa and specifically the province of Gauteng. Self-administered questionnaire surveys were used to explore the phenomenon from the perspectives of both retail employees and customers. The data collected from the questionnaires, utilising the non-experimental research design, were quantitatively analysed. Based on the findings from the study recommendations for the improvement of shopping centre security were formulated along with recommendations for future research. / Security Risk Management / M.Tech. (Security Management)

Text in English / Violent crime and more specifically armed robberies constitute a growing threat to shopping centres in terms of their vulnerability to such criminal acts. These violent crimes are becoming ever more organised and sophisticated. Shopping centres across South Africa have become the latest targets for these syndicates. Due to the increasing number of armed robberies and violent crimes at shopping centres and the nature of violence used in these attacks, it points to a need for improvements to be made to the security measures that are in place at shopping centres. This study explored the risks and vulnerabilities at shopping centres that have led to the phenomenon of armed robberies at shopping centres in Gauteng; evaluated the current physical protection systems that are in place at shopping centres in Gauteng in order to assist with the reduction of shopping centre armed robberies; and recommendations were made for the implementation of effective security risk control measures at shopping centre’s across South Africa and specifically the province of Gauteng. Self-administered questionnaire surveys were used to explore the phenomenon from the perspectives of both retail employees and customers. The data collected from the questionnaires, utilising the non-experimental research design, were quantitatively analysed. Based on the findings from the study recommendations for the improvement of shopping centre security were formulated along with recommendations for future research. / Security Risk Management / M.Tech. (Security Management)