This study aimed to determine the potential of packaging to strengthen brand equity in female apparel retail stores. A field experiment was conducted in the Tshwane metropolitan - a key political, economic and urban area in South Africa - to investigate the potential of packaging to be acknowledged as an additional element of the marketing mix in terms of its influence on consumers’ perceptions of the service offering of retailers and their brand equity. The study was done in the context of an emerging economy, where international clothing brands have infiltrated the market and become widely accessible in recent years. The data was collected by using convenience sampling methods, and the self-completion of a structured questionnaire after respondents acted as mystery shoppers at a Single Brand Retailer (SBR) and a Department Store (DS) that carry the same footwear brand in a major shopping centre in this metropolitan. The SBR offers consumers a branded high quality canvas tote bag after purchase, whereas the DS offers a generic plastic bag irrespective of the type of purchase or the price paid. Willing females, all final year students at the University of Pretoria (n =103) were divided in two groups. Individuals visited the two retailers according to a schedule compiled by the researcher. One group visited the SBR first, followed by the DS. The other group did the task in the reverse order. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, specifically Principle Component analysis using PROMAX and PROCRUSTES rotation for the two scales that investigated the service offering and brand equity respectively, Means, Standard deviations, Cronbach’s Alpha as well as paired and non-paired 2-tailed t-tests. This study confirmed the potential of secondary packaging as an independent element of the marketing mix in the branded clothing retail industry. The packaging construct dissociated it from the construct ‘Product’ as the literature suggests, which confirms that marketing elements adapt over time and that these changes have to be acknowledged in retail. Respondents generally had a less favourable instore experience in the DS compared to the SBR. The packaging format of SBR was also evaluated more favourably, which enhanced perceptions of the overall service offering. This suggests that respondents’ less favourable evaluation of the less prestigious packaging offered in the DS, is partly to blame for the lower overall evaluations of the service offering of the DS. Packaging also contributed/enhanced brand equity as consumers’ perceptions of the packaging formats – irrespective of whether it was a SBR or a DS – positively contributed to consumers’ perceptions of the brand equity of the retailers that they visited. The contribution of packaging towards brand equity was mostly more prominent than the contribution of other marketing elements such Advertising and Promotion. An order effect was noted. Respondents who visited the DS first, were significantly more impressed with the SBR. Those who went to the SBR first, seemed more forgiving and evaluated the service offering and the brand equity lower compared to the SBR but nevertheless evaluated it more favourably than the group that patronized the DS first. Packaging does not seem to relieve post purchase regret. Respondents were more regretful after their SBR experience. Several explanations may be used to explain this and future studies are envisaged to expand the findings. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2014 / Consumer Science / unrestricted

Much previous research concerning the effects of the in-store experience on customers’ decision-making has been laboratory-based. There is a need for empirical research in a real store context to determine the impact of product, service and in-store environment perceptions on customer satisfaction and behaviour. This study is based on a literature review (Project 1) and a large scale empirical study (Projects 2/3) combining two sources of secondary data from the largest retailer in the UK, Tesco, and their loyalty ‘Clubcard’ provider, Dunnhumby. Data includes customer responses to an online self-completion survey of the customers’ shopping experience combined with customer demographic and behavioural data from a loyalty card programme for the same individual. The total sample comprised n=30,696 Tesco shoppers. The online survey measured aspects of the in-store experience. These items were subjected to factor analysis to identify the influences on the in-store experience with four factors emerging: assortment, retail atmosphere, personalised customer service and checkout customer service. These factors were then matched for each individual with behavioural and demographic data collected via the Tesco Clubcard loyalty program. Regression and sensitivity analyses were then conducted to determine the relative impact of the in-store customer experience dimensions on customer behaviour. Findings include that perceptions of customer service have a strong positive impact on customers’ overall shopping satisfaction and spending behaviour. Perceptions of the in-store environment and product quality/ availability positively influence customer satisfaction but negatively influence the amount of money spent during their shopping trip. Furthermore, personalised customer service has a strong positive impact on spend and overall shopping satisfaction, which also positively influences the number of store visits the week after. However, an increase in shopping satisfaction coming from positive perceptions of the in-store environment and product quality/ availability factors helps to reduce their negative impact on spend week after. A key contribution of this study is to suggest a priority order for investment; retailers should prioritise personalised customer service and checkout customer service, followed by the in-store environment together with product quality and availability. These findings are very important in the context of the many initiatives the majority of retail operators undertake. Many retailers focus on cost-optimisation plans like implementing self-service check outs or easy to operate and clinical in-store environment. This research clearly and solidly shows which approach should be followed and what really matters for customers. That is why the findings are important for both retailers and academics, contributing to and expanding knowledge and practice on the impact of the in-store environment on the customer experience.

D.Com. (Marketing) / Study Objectives The primary objective of this study was to validate the consumption value theory developed by Sheth et al (1991), and to extend it to the patronage decision. Procedure A comprehensive survey of patronage research was conducted, and all the determinants of shopping- and patronage behaviour were identified. These eterminants were then classified as attribute level, or higher order level factors. The attribute level factors were used to prompt respondents in the laddering interviews that were conducted. The interviews were analysed, and the contents of the interviews were coded according to the laddering methodology. This resulted in the generation of a implication matrix, as well as hierarchical value maps the linkages between attributes, consequences and linkages. The results of these qualitative interviews were the identification of further attributes, consequences and values. The consequences so identified were then compared to the results of the extensive literature survey, and then aggregated and evaluated to determine whether they conceivably fit the consumption value categories. Findings The consumption value theory (which identifies five value constructs) was triangulated with the means-end theory (which postulates that attributes, consequences and values form a hierarchical relationship) and it is concluded that both these theories integrate well into an extended consumption value theory. The CVT can then be considered to be theoretically validated. The validated theory was applied in the context of the patronage (-of shopping centres) decision, and it was found to extend to this previously untested decision. The research revealed a sixth value construct (significant value), but did not allow for the testing of the conditional value construct. Conclusion The consumption value theory is a significant advance in consumer behaviour theory, and has been successfully applied to the patronage decision.

The advent of smart TVs has reshaped the TV-consumer interaction by combining TVs with mobile-like applications and access to the Internet. However, consumers are still unable to seamlessly interact with the contents being streamed. An example of such limitation is TV shopping, in which a consumer makes a purchase of a product or item displayed in the current TV show. Currently, consumers can only stop the current show and attempt to find a similar item in the Web or an actual store. It would be more convenient if the consumer could interact with the TV to purchase interesting items. Towards the realization of TV shopping, this dissertation proposes a scalable multimedia content processing framework. Two main challenges in TV shopping are addressed: the efficient detection of products in the content stream, and the retrieval of similar products given a consumer-selected product. The proposed framework consists of three components. The first component performs computational and temporal aware multimedia abstraction to select a reduced number of frames that summarize the important information in the video stream. By both reducing the number of frames and taking into account the computational cost of the subsequent detection phase, this component component allows the efficient detection of products in the stream. The second component realizes the detection phase. It executes scalable product detection using multi-cue optimization. Additional information cues are formulated into an optimization problem that allows the detection of complex products, i.e., those that do not have a rigid form and can appear in various poses. After the second component identifies products in the video stream, the consumer can select an interesting one for which similar ones must be located in a product database. To this end, the third component of the framework consists of an efficient, multi-dimensional, tree-based indexing method for multimedia databases. The proposed index mechanism serves as the backbone of the search. Moreover, it is able to efficiently bridge the semantic gap and perception subjectivity issues during the retrieval process to provide more relevant results.

This study assesses consumer behavior toward online shopping in Saudi Arabia by studying the factors that affect whether or not they shop online. The sample consisted of 206 Saudis approached using the “snowball” technique. Participants were all above eighteen and Internet users. Participants were asked to give the frequency of their online shopping transactions using a four-point Likert scale. They used a seven-point Likert scale to rate their opinions about trends affecting electronic commerce, companies’ marketing approaches, and other aspects of online shopping. Participants also were asked about their feelings regarding traditional and online shopping using a nine-point bipolar scale. Using the Six Dimensional Achievement Motivations Scale, they were asked to describe themselves, and finally, they were asked to rank the Rokeach Terminal Values based on their importance. The version of the Rokeach Value System used in this study is the one shortened to nine terminal values, by Munson & McQuarrie, 1988, since it reflects better relevance to consumption. Results show that, when compared to traditional shopping, participants have relatively negative perceptions of online shopping. In addition, participants’ demographics and values related to their online shopping frequency, while their achievement motivations were less related. The major limitation of this research is that it was conducted in only one city, Jeddah. Therefore, additional research should be carried out in other cities with larger samples. The research results suggest that businesses in Saudi Arabia should use online shopping as a second channel to distribute their products in addition to their physical stores. This thesis makes a distinctive contribution to the literature, as it is the first to examine the correlation between the Rokeach Value System (1973); the Six Dimensional Achievement Motivation Scale (Jackson, Ahmed, and Heapy, 1976); and online shopping behavior in the world, let alone Saudi Arabia.

Throughout history, consumers have crossed borders for various purposes. The emergence of e-commerce and digital technologies has made it easier than ever for people to shop online with merchants across the world. The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate the variations of cross-border shopping motivations, the changes that occur due to advancements in various technologies, and the spatial patterns and mapped occasions that appear from each cross-border shopping episode. A qualitative, ethnographic approach has been used, and provides a detailed examination of the contemporary cross-border shopping landscape. Findings assist in developing this framework, after conducting detailed participant observation and interviews. The results indicate a range of variability stemming from generational, social, and personal differences, along with technological drivers of change. Trajectories of cross-border shopping occasions and a network model of modern cross-border shopping occasions are provided and detailed. Implications and future research are also discussed.

This thesis draws together and reformulates two literatures in order to provide a fresh perspective on the ways that commodities are important in the construction of femininity. On the one hand, studies within retail history and geography, with few exceptions, ignore the salience of shopping as a cultural practice and retail institutions as contexts where the contours of shopping and the imbrication of commodities with everyday life are shaped. On the other hand, scholarship in feminism and cultural studies has persuasively documented the percolation of commodities throughout society, social relations and femininity, but have effectively ignored one of the sites where commodities and consumption practices become intertwined with femininity: retailing. This latter literature is critiqued on the basis that: retailing is ignored through an inadequate conceptualization of consumption; the subject and femininity are insufficiently theorized; and the importance of place in both of these ignored. An alternative framework is offered, drawing on poststructuralist insights, which facilitates an understanding of the location of retailing in relation to consumption, the importance of place in retailing and the ways that retailing is potentially part of the construction of femininity. In particular, retailing is shown to be involved in the construction of femininity through control over the activity of shopping and shoppers, and attempts to fix the meanings of commodities. These discussions of the construction of femininity through shopping in the context of retailing are grounded through a case study of the Woodward's department store in downtown Vancouver between 1945 and 1960. The case study demonstrates the role of retailing in the construction of femininity, and in particular highlights the importance of place in such constructions. The retailing discourses permeating Woodward's were simultaneously place-making discourses, and the characteristics of the place created pervaded the meanings of the commodities and the activity of shopping. The time and place of the case study also throws into sharp relief the operation of two discourses that have been identified as important in the construction of femininity: modernity and familialism. The analysis developed here shows how they intertwine to produce the femininity of shopping. In particular, the feminine shopper is shown as the outcome of a relation, constituted by power and knowledge, between the salesclerk and the shopper, such that shoppers are positioned as inferior and feminine. In so doing, the maligning of both femininity and shopping is demonstrated. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

Předmětem diplomové práce je hodnocení dopadů vzdělávací akce uskutečněné v jedné z významných finančních institucí v České republice. Postup hodnocení vychází z amerického modelu, jehož základní charakteristiky jsou vyzdvihnuty v teoretické části. Praktická část práce se zabývá samotnou analýzou vlivu vzdělávaní, která byla provedena na základě interních dat šetřené společnosti a výsledků provedeného výzkumu. Závěr práce se věnuje zpětným vazbám osob, které byly v šetření zahrnuty, a možným návrhům na zlepšení současné situace v dané společnosti.

The aim is to analyze and evaluate the space management in selected companies and see how customers perceive the environment Tesco stores.

The thesis deals with mystery shopping as an important instrument of management, through its application in the company BAŤA, a. s., specifically in the store BAŤA Praha - Letňany. The aim is to apply the mystery shopping, which checks and then evaluates the appearance and tidiness of store, conduct, behavior, appearance and neatness of staff and also the level of customer service and to find out if the technical factors of store and the way of employees behavior to regular customers in the store, may be the cause of lower sales compared with the same period in 2014. The aim is also to propose recommendations to streamline the management of staff to improve customer service and remove deficiencies of service and store, which provide another increase of sales, increase of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The thesis is divided into theoretical and practical part. The theoretical part explains the concepts of management and mystery shopping. This part also deals with the different levels of management, developmental concept of management, inclusion of MS within the management system, its usability, users and also the advantages and disadvantages of its use, its particular phases, techniques and, ultimately, as well as its efficiency and success. The practical part deals with the application of research methods in the form of mystery shopping on the company BAŤA, a. s. in all its phases. Based on the information that has been processed to evaluate results, was evaluated appearance and tidiness of store, personnel area and also these two areas have been evaluated overall. The practical part of the thesis includes also suggestions and recommendations for the company BAŤA, a. s.