With the South African retail industry being a major and attractive industry, marketers and retailers are pressured to obtain and maintain a competitive advantage by developing marketing strategies that appeal to various consumers. Retailers need to focus on satisfying consumers’ needs, as well as offering a full shopping experience. Shopping entails more than the mere selection of products. Consumers’ motivation or driving force behind the act of shopping is embedded in satisfying internal needs. These motivations are grouped into two collections, namely hedonic and utilitarian shopping motivations. Consumers driven by hedonic shopping motivations are interested in the shopping experience, as well as the experiential and emotional aspects thereof. However, consumers driven by utilitarian shopping motivations are goal-oriented and concerned with the task-related value and the functional aspects of shopping. Marketers and retailers may use consumer-shopping motives to divide the market into segments and develop strategies to target specific segments. Published literature on the consumer behaviour of the South African black Generation Y cohort is limited and an absence occurs with reference to the shopping motivations of this cohort. In the South African context, individuals born between 1986 and 2005, labelled Generation Y, account for 38 percent of the total South African population, and the black Generation Y individuals represent 83 percent of the total Generation Y cohort. Individuals within the black Generation Y cohort attaining tertiary qualifications are likely to represent the future ‘Black Diamonds’, enjoying higher earnings and a higher social status, which together is likely to make them opinion leaders amongst their peers. For that reason, the black Generation Y student cohort is an exceptionally attractive market segment, and it is critical for retailers and marketers to understand their shopping behaviour and motivations in order to develop effective marketing strategies. The purpose of this study was to determine South African black Generation Y students’ utilitarian and hedonic shopping motivations. The target population of this study comprised full-time undergraduate black Generation Y students; aged between 18 and 24 years and enrolled at South African registered public higher education institutions (HEIs). The sampling frame comprised the 23 registered South African public HEIs. A non-probability judgement sample method was utilised to select one traditional university and one university of technology in the Gauteng province, from the sampling frame. For this study, a convenience sample of 600 black Generation Y students enrolled at these two South African HEIs during 2013 was drawn. The relevant primary data was obtained by means of a self-administered questionnaire, which was hand delivered to the contacted lecturers at each of these two HEIs. These lecturers distributed the self-administered questionnaire during one lecture period. This questionnaire requested the participants to indicate on a six-point Likert scale the level of their agreement or disagreement on 26 items designed to measure their utilitarian and hedonic shopping motivations, as well as to provide certain demographic data. The findings of this study indicate that within the hedonic subscale, black Generation Y students found value and adventure shopping to be the strongest motivators for shopping. Within the utilitarian subscale, black Generation Y students found achievement to be the strongest motivator for shopping. Previous research found gender to have an influence on the hedonic and utilitarian shopping motivations of consumers. This study confirms previous findings where statistically significant differences were found between the shopping motivations of male and female black Generation Y students. The study found significant differences concerning the first-, second- and third-year black Generation Y students’ hedonic and utilitarian shopping motivations. Insights gained from this study will help both marketers and retailers understand the current black Generation Y consumers’ motivations for shopping with reference to hedonic and utilitarian shopping motivations. / MCom (Marketing Management), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

Interior textiles have been a part of the everyday life of humans for hundreds of years, especially for women whom the creation of textiles has been a usual feature. Archeological findings from the 16th century B.C. show that tools for spinning and weaving for home usage were a part of every household. This was common until the 19th century, when the industrialization in Europe took off and the first textile industries began to establish. This was the beginning of big changes to the modern man’s lifestyle and the way we consume interior textiles. As mass produced products have taken over the market, a counter-reaction among consumers have emerged. The consumers feel a bigger need for unique products, products that feel meaningful for themselves or in any other way increases the perceived value. This has led to a growing trend for DIY-activities (Do-It-Yourself). While the sales of DIY-related products and interior design products increases, statistics shows a decrease in the sales of textile meter fabrics, which is a raw material aimed to be used for interior design and DIY-projects. It can be identified by the way that businesses are selling textile meter fabrics that the strategies haven’t changed very much in the recent decades. Therefore, it is questionable whether the meter fabric assortment is on its way to extinction or if the offer needs to change to better suit the customers’ requirements. This study has focused on what elements of the textile meter fabric offer could be changed in a store in Germany. An analysis of a selective sample of the German customer and how they use textile meter fabrics has been made, but also on how they perceive the offer in store and what they wish to be changed in the textile meter fabrics department. The interviews were conducted in an anonymous store in Frankfurt, Germany. The empirical findings have been put in relation with studies of DIY-motivations and shopping experience. An interview with a sales leader of one of the leading stores of home textiles in Germany, including meter fabrics, has been done in order to put the customers’ answers in relation to how the store work with increasing the DIY-motivations towards the customers. The study has resulted in insights about the stores lacking ability to provide the customers with enough motivation for DIY-projects in regards to textile meter fabrics. A disconnection between the vision of the store and the customers’ perception of the offer has been discovered, where the possibilities of improvement are vast. The study also shows that a majority of the interviewed German males show little or no interest in both DIY and textile meter fabrics.

Muitas tendências têm caracterizado o varejo moderno, entre elas a competição entre a loja física e a loja online. Cada vez mais se observa a necessidade do varejo com loja física investir em ações que criam valor para o cliente durante a sua compra, tornando esse ato um momento prazeroso. Para se obter um maior êxito no desenvolvimento de estratégias que proporcionam experiências positivas torna-se importante entender os fatores tangíveis e intangíveis que oferecem valor para o cliente. O objetivo deste projeto é compreender o que os shoppers, papel exercido por uma pessoa durante o processo de compra, valorizam na experiência de compra. A pesquisa utilizou o modelo de cadeia meios-fim para identificar os elementos formadores de valor para o shopper em um varejo especializado em brinquedos. O valor para o cliente sob a perspectiva da experiência completa de compras tem sido um aspecto pouco estudado no âmbito do varejo, assim como a influência da loja na criação de valor. A revisão da literatura cobriu os seguintes tópicos: o setor de varejo e o varejo de brinquedos, marketing e varejo, o shopper e seu comportamento de compra, valor sob a perspectiva do cliente e experiência de compra. Foram realizadas 15 entrevistas em profundidade por meio da técnica laddering, com mães responsáveis pela compra de brinquedos onde buscou-se obter como resultado as representações chave do valor para o cliente no contexto da experiência de compra. As principais representações encontradas como fruto da pesquisa foram: (i) a loja de brinquedos é um meio de se obter estímulos que auxiliam na formação das crianças; (ii) os estímulos mágicos e lúdicos despertam lembranças e fantasias; (iii) o tempo e o dinheiro são recursos importantes no momento da compra; (iv) o brinquedo buscado é aquele que desperta o desejo da criança; (v) a variedade ofertada é importante para suportar a escolha; e (vi) o sentimento de se fazer uma boa compra é um fator desejado. Finalmente, foram propostas alternativas para que o varejo possa oferecer, com uma frequência cada vez maior, experiências de compra que gerem valor para seus shoppers. / Many trends have characterized the modern retailing, including the competition between the brick and mortar and online stores. Brick and mortar stores have to find new ways to create shopper value making the act of buying a moment of pleasure. In order to obtain success on shopper experiences strategies it is important to consider tangibles and intangibles aspects that provide customer value. This study aims to understand what shoppers value in their shopping experience in a toy store. The literature review covered the following topics: the retail industry and toy stores, marketing and retail, shopper and their buying behavior, customer value and customer experience in retailing. The present research was based on means-end chain model to identify the elements that generates value. In order to reach the research goal a laddering technique was conducted with 15 in-depth interviews. The research has found six main shopper value representations: (i) toy store it\'s a way to get stimulus to help on child development; (ii) the magical and ludic stimuli evokes memories and fantasies; (iii) time and money are important during the purchase process; (iv) a toy has to trigger child\'s desire, (v) different options is important to support the choice; and (vi) there is a desire to feel a good cost benefit when choosing. Finally there is proposal on how a retail can offer a superior value over the shopper experience.

En los últimos 10 años, se ha notado un crecimiento exponencial en las ventas generadas a través del canal online. Al contar con consumidores que buscan constantemente excelente calidad de servicio y que procesos sean simplificados para ellos, las marcas de ropa casual ven la importancia de invertir en este canal. Sin embargo, al contar con beneficios tanto para el consumidor como para la marca, aún existen barreras que afectan la preferencia por este canal por parte de los consumidores. En la sociedad peruana, el hombre es percibido como practico en relación a las decisiones de compra. Se busca en la siguiente investigación comprobar dicho estereotipo, relacionando el concepto de la masculinidad con el proceso de compra online. Es por ello que se descubrió la importancia de investigar acerca de los factores de la experiencia online en relación a la decisión de compra de marcas de ropa casual por parte de hombres del NSE A/B de 20 a 30 años en Lima Metropolitana en el 2018. El presente estudio posee una investigación de campo cualitativo y cuantitativo gracias a la realización de 2 focus groups, entrevistas a expertos y 224 encuestas realizadas al público objetivo en diferentes ubicaciones de Lima Metropolitana. Se profundizará en conceptos como la intangibilidad, el valor de marca, la masculinidad, E-commerce entre otros, con el fin de hallar la importancia de los factores que afectan la decisión de compra online. / In the last 10 years there has been a considerable increase in online sales. Now that customers are constantly expecting and demanding excellent service and simple purchase processes, clothing brands have identified the importance to invest in this platform. Even though this platform provides advantages for both the brand and the consumer, there are still barriers that affect the decision of the consumers to prefer the online store. In the Peruvian society, men are perceived to be practical in relation to purchase decisions. The investigation attempts to analyze this stereotype and connect and compare the concept of masculinity to the online shopping process. Therefore, it was deemed interesting to investigate the factors involved with the online experience in relation to the final purchase decision of casual clothing by men, between the ages of 20 a 30, that belong to the socioeconomic level A/B in Lima in 2018. The investigation is composed of a qualitative and a quantitative analysis. These analyses were made up of two focus groups, interviewing two experts related to the topic and 224 surveys completed by the primary target throughout different locations in Lima. Finally, in the investigation, concepts such as intangibility, brand value, masculinity and E-commerce will be analyzed profoundly, with the objective of discovering the importance assigned to the factors that affect the online purchase decision. / Trabajo de investigación

The purpose of this study is to do a comparison between luxurious fashion stores and normal/regular ones, describe the differences in terms of the store design and discuss the influences and their impact on the customer experience. The second purpose is to give suggestions to normal/regular fashion stores from Sweden regarding improvements that they might need to enhance the customer’s shopping experience. In order to complete this study, both primary and secondary data were collected. Primary data was collected by performing three different methods. First was an observation, which was done in both luxurious and normal/regular fashion stores. An interview was performed with the manager of H&M Västerås. Last but not least method was to apply a questionnaire in order to find out the customer’s opinion concerning their shopping experience. The secondary data was gathered from Mälardalen’s University data bases and library and also from online resources. Conclusion:               The luxurious fashion stores have a unique way of displaying their garments, which gives an idea of neatness, comfort and order. They also have special services that add to the customer’s shopping experience, enhancing it. Even thought normal/regular fashion stores are different from luxurious, they give a big importance to the quality, the price and displaying their garments in a specific order. When it comes to the shopping experience customers’ encounter, most of them considered that it is important to have helpful staff, right temperature, appropriate music and light and clean environment. Overall it can be seen, that even thought they are completely different, the normal/regular fashion stores still try to offer the best experience to their customers.

Fast fashion retailers have faced a difficulty in translating in-store experiences to online experiences. Although online shopping is increasing, the in-store shopping is still very important for a superior shopping experience. Technology has had a major impact in making multichanneling retail more consistent, although there are gaps that technology can not fill. This study attempted to measure how consistent the customer experiences were online and in-store. Shopping experiences were measured with different concepts such as: flow, usability, interactivity, atmospherics and tactility. These concepts were measured separately in-store and online, in order to be compared. The purpose was to find out which concept is inconsistent so the authors could make recommendations for improvement to fast fashion retailers. The research approach was a mixed method approach and the chosen research design was cross sectional, using quantitative research to corroborate qualitative research findings. The results from a quantitative questionnaire of 263 experienced fast fashion consumers in Sweden show that the consistency varies between the concepts. The qualitative study was done at two occasions on a sample of six interviewees in each focus group, and gave a deeper understanding for why the shopping experience was or wasn't consistent. The qualitative results varied amongst the individuals and show that reasons for being inconsistent are intrusive salesmen, insufficient size measuring tools, long queues, lack of tactility and the most interesting of all: making better return and ordering policies. The future lies in making it easier to order online, in order for the consumer to be able to experience the product in real life, through staff-free fitting rooms and showrooms and such, rather than making the experience better online. The future seems to lie in solving the reverse of the start point of this study, namely translating online to in-store experiences.

With the South African retail industry being a major and attractive industry, marketers and retailers are pressured to obtain and maintain a competitive advantage by developing marketing strategies that appeal to various consumers. Retailers need to focus on satisfying consumers’ needs, as well as offering a full shopping experience. Shopping entails more than the mere selection of products. Consumers’ motivation or driving force behind the act of shopping is embedded in satisfying internal needs. These motivations are grouped into two collections, namely hedonic and utilitarian shopping motivations. Consumers driven by hedonic shopping motivations are interested in the shopping experience, as well as the experiential and emotional aspects thereof. However, consumers driven by utilitarian shopping motivations are goal-oriented and concerned with the task-related value and the functional aspects of shopping. Marketers and retailers may use consumer-shopping motives to divide the market into segments and develop strategies to target specific segments. Published literature on the consumer behaviour of the South African black Generation Y cohort is limited and an absence occurs with reference to the shopping motivations of this cohort. In the South African context, individuals born between 1986 and 2005, labelled Generation Y, account for 38 percent of the total South African population, and the black Generation Y individuals represent 83 percent of the total Generation Y cohort. Individuals within the black Generation Y cohort attaining tertiary qualifications are likely to represent the future ‘Black Diamonds’, enjoying higher earnings and a higher social status, which together is likely to make them opinion leaders amongst their peers. For that reason, the black Generation Y student cohort is an exceptionally attractive market segment, and it is critical for retailers and marketers to understand their shopping behaviour and motivations in order to develop effective marketing strategies. The purpose of this study was to determine South African black Generation Y students’ utilitarian and hedonic shopping motivations. The target population of this study comprised full-time undergraduate black Generation Y students; aged between 18 and 24 years and enrolled at South African registered public higher education institutions (HEIs). The sampling frame comprised the 23 registered South African public HEIs. A non-probability judgement sample method was utilised to select one traditional university and one university of technology in the Gauteng province, from the sampling frame. For this study, a convenience sample of 600 black Generation Y students enrolled at these two South African HEIs during 2013 was drawn. The relevant primary data was obtained by means of a self-administered questionnaire, which was hand delivered to the contacted lecturers at each of these two HEIs. These lecturers distributed the self-administered questionnaire during one lecture period. This questionnaire requested the participants to indicate on a six-point Likert scale the level of their agreement or disagreement on 26 items designed to measure their utilitarian and hedonic shopping motivations, as well as to provide certain demographic data. The findings of this study indicate that within the hedonic subscale, black Generation Y students found value and adventure shopping to be the strongest motivators for shopping. Within the utilitarian subscale, black Generation Y students found achievement to be the strongest motivator for shopping. Previous research found gender to have an influence on the hedonic and utilitarian shopping motivations of consumers. This study confirms previous findings where statistically significant differences were found between the shopping motivations of male and female black Generation Y students. The study found significant differences concerning the first-, second- and third-year black Generation Y students’ hedonic and utilitarian shopping motivations. Insights gained from this study will help both marketers and retailers understand the current black Generation Y consumers’ motivations for shopping with reference to hedonic and utilitarian shopping motivations. / MCom (Marketing Management), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

Muitas tendências têm caracterizado o varejo moderno, entre elas a competição entre a loja física e a loja online. Cada vez mais se observa a necessidade do varejo com loja física investir em ações que criam valor para o cliente durante a sua compra, tornando esse ato um momento prazeroso. Para se obter um maior êxito no desenvolvimento de estratégias que proporcionam experiências positivas torna-se importante entender os fatores tangíveis e intangíveis que oferecem valor para o cliente. O objetivo deste projeto é compreender o que os shoppers, papel exercido por uma pessoa durante o processo de compra, valorizam na experiência de compra. A pesquisa utilizou o modelo de cadeia meios-fim para identificar os elementos formadores de valor para o shopper em um varejo especializado em brinquedos. O valor para o cliente sob a perspectiva da experiência completa de compras tem sido um aspecto pouco estudado no âmbito do varejo, assim como a influência da loja na criação de valor. A revisão da literatura cobriu os seguintes tópicos: o setor de varejo e o varejo de brinquedos, marketing e varejo, o shopper e seu comportamento de compra, valor sob a perspectiva do cliente e experiência de compra. Foram realizadas 15 entrevistas em profundidade por meio da técnica laddering, com mães responsáveis pela compra de brinquedos onde buscou-se obter como resultado as representações chave do valor para o cliente no contexto da experiência de compra. As principais representações encontradas como fruto da pesquisa foram: (i) a loja de brinquedos é um meio de se obter estímulos que auxiliam na formação das crianças; (ii) os estímulos mágicos e lúdicos despertam lembranças e fantasias; (iii) o tempo e o dinheiro são recursos importantes no momento da compra; (iv) o brinquedo buscado é aquele que desperta o desejo da criança; (v) a variedade ofertada é importante para suportar a escolha; e (vi) o sentimento de se fazer uma boa compra é um fator desejado. Finalmente, foram propostas alternativas para que o varejo possa oferecer, com uma frequência cada vez maior, experiências de compra que gerem valor para seus shoppers. / Many trends have characterized the modern retailing, including the competition between the brick and mortar and online stores. Brick and mortar stores have to find new ways to create shopper value making the act of buying a moment of pleasure. In order to obtain success on shopper experiences strategies it is important to consider tangibles and intangibles aspects that provide customer value. This study aims to understand what shoppers value in their shopping experience in a toy store. The literature review covered the following topics: the retail industry and toy stores, marketing and retail, shopper and their buying behavior, customer value and customer experience in retailing. The present research was based on means-end chain model to identify the elements that generates value. In order to reach the research goal a laddering technique was conducted with 15 in-depth interviews. The research has found six main shopper value representations: (i) toy store it\'s a way to get stimulus to help on child development; (ii) the magical and ludic stimuli evokes memories and fantasies; (iii) time and money are important during the purchase process; (iv) a toy has to trigger child\'s desire, (v) different options is important to support the choice; and (vi) there is a desire to feel a good cost benefit when choosing. Finally there is proposal on how a retail can offer a superior value over the shopper experience.

<div> <div> <div> <p>This thesis aims to introduce a system design that supports the user experience of outfit selection, storage, and matching. Clothes are indispensable items in daily human life. Purchasing one's wardrobe has become more affordable. This has allowed people to focus on purchasing more fashionable clothes. Garment shopping has even become a type of social and leisure activity. With the development of internet technology, shopping methods have changed dramatically. However, these seemingly convenient shopping methods also bring unavoidable problems, such as an inability to understand apparel companies' different size standards and the challenge of seeing the details of materials. On the other side, while overemphasizing the convenience of the shopping process, online companies have ignored people's clothes-wearing experience that is the most enjoyable and valuable for customers. This paper introduces an IoT (Internet of Things) design: "Closet Go" including a mobile application and a clip-able camera. "Closet Go" aims to improve customers' daily outfit selection experience by digitalizing their closets and conducting data analysis of customized dressing habits. In this thesis, I present the entire design process: user research, Ideation, UI/UX design, product development, and evaluation. In the research section, potential users were recruited for interviews to discover the current problems in acquiring, selecting, and matching outfits in daily life. The design process section introduces the design development progress and results via user flow, experience map, prototype, and user interface. Finally, the thesis concludes with a heuristics evaluation section that tests the design's usability and experience to refine the project. </p> </div> </div> </div>

As the retail apocalypse is increasing, it is common to face stores without consumers in citycenters. E-commerce is one of the factors that has had a negative impact on physical stores,both in city centers and in shopping malls. It has been easier for shopping malls than forcity centers to fight the increased competition.The purpose of this thesis was to explore who the typical shopping mall consumer was andif this consumer felt excluded from city centers. Four concepts were investigated; consumerstereotype, place image, shopping experience and place attractiveness. A qualitative,method and an exploratory approach were applied, and the data was collected through anonline focus group and interviews.The findings showed that the perceived typical shopping mall consumer had seven traits;social, fun, curious, open, flexible, time thrifty, calm and patient, and four characteristics;young, families with children, females and formal styles/ fashion oriented. Furthermore,this consumer felt excluded as a shopper because of the limited supply and divided citycenter.The implication of this study was to understand who the typical shopping mall consumeris and, if and why he/she felt excluded. Hence, this can provide retailers in city centers withunderstanding of what factors affect the perceived typical shopping mall consumer’s choiceand thus will enable them to make their stores more welcoming also to the typical shoppingmall customer.The original value of this study is an understanding of the perceived typical shopping mallconsumer and if this consumer feels excluded from city centers, which has previously notbeen explored.