Value-based adoption of augmented reality: A study on the influence on online purchase intention in retail

The increasing use of digital technology-based retail services provides new opportunities for digital marketing. In this paper, we investigate how augmented reality (AR) technology can be leveraged as part of the firm's strategy. We explore the online purchase intention through AR smart glasses (ARSG), considering consumers' value assessment through a cost–benefit analysis and the influence of technical, experiential and social AR value drivers. We develop an augmented value-based adoption model addressing four main objectives: (1) Evaluate the effect of the perceived value of ARSG, (2) Evaluate the effect of immersion (experiential dimension), (3) Evaluate the effect of AR devices and technical complexity (technical dimension) and (4) Evaluate the importance of subjective norms (social dimension) on the online purchase intention through AR technology. Based on an ESIC Tech Lab experiment with two types of ARSG from market leaders and AR retail apps, the study uses survey data from 253 participants. The results suggest that the technical dimension has an ambiguous effect, with tech-complexity enhancing directly the perceived value of ARSG for online purchase while reducing the net value of consumers' economic cost–benefit analysis. We find strong evidence that the experiential and social AR dimensions (in the form of immersion and subjective norm) have a significant positive influence on consumers' purchase intention online, which are better predictors than the pure economic cost–benefit assessment (through usefulness and difficulty). Furthermore, the technical innovativeness of consumers is found to increase directly the online purchase intention through ARSG.     

Consumer misbehaviour: an exploratory study of shopliftin

Although customer theft is traditionally researched from a criminological or psychological perspective, this paper investigates shoplifting as consumer behaviour, demonstrating that well‐defined models of normal consumer behaviour can be applied to aberrant behaviour such as shop theft. Empirical research is used to show how adults and teenagers form belief systems that amount to rational intentions in the decision to shoplift. The theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen, 1991) was used as the basis for two self‐report surveys which investigated the interaction between consumers' attitudes and beliefs about shoplifting and their perceptions of retail security. The first survey utilised a sample of shoppers from the South East Midlands; the second a sample of school students from the same area (861 respondents in total, 109 respondents admitting to shoplifting in the previous year). Both studies indicate that the decision to shoplift is influenced by pro‐shoplifting attitudes, social factors, opportunities for shoplifting and perceptions of low risks of apprehension. This implies that the deterrent messages we use must be reassessed. Copyright © 2002 Henry Stewart Publications.     

A multiple-criteria decision-making approach for the evaluation of retail location

This study proposes an ANP-based evaluation of retail locations. Authors acted as decision analysts and interacted with professionals in Turkish apparel retailing sector for acquiring their knowledge and expertise. As a result, evaluation criteria of the study were identified. These criteria are clustered into five groups: store, other retailers, shopping centre/business district, accessibility, and environmental. The relationship among criteria were assessed and a network was formed. ANP approach was then utilized in order to evaluate possible retail locations for the apparel stores. Besides global preferences of these alternatives, relative importance of the criteria was also revealed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Salesperson characteristics affecting consumer complaint responses

The important relationship between consumer complaint behaviour and brand and store loyalty is well established. The range of factors that favourably influence the outcomes of complaining have received relatively less research attention. Therefore, this study tests the effects of two salesperson source characteristics: willingness to listen and product/store knowledge, on consumer complaint‐related perceptions and intentions in a retail setting. Mall shoppers participated in a consumer complaint experiment to test the hypothesised effects. The results indicate that both characteristics affect customer complaint responses, as well as consumer perceptions of the salesperson and the retail store. The findings of the study demonstrate that salesperson characteristics are important influences on positive or negative consumer complaint responses. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications.     

Selling with technology: understanding the resistance to mobile sales assistant use in retailing

The rise of online competitors and increasingly well-informed customers have spurred stationary retailers to take measures to increase the quality of face-to-face selling as a key differentiator. Mobile sales assistants (MSAs) represent an intensively discussed technological approach to address these challenges in the salesperson–customer dyad. However, in many cases, salespeople do not or only sporadically use MSAs. Prior research provides inadequate answers as to why this is the case, as extant technology acceptance and resistance theories have limited applicability to MSAs. To address these research gaps, the authors conduct a qualitative, theory-building approach and identify 21 factors associated with resistance. In a subsequent quantitative survey study, they validate these factors and refine their conceptual structure. The results show that several largely unknown factors are associated with salespeople’s resistance to MSA use: The three higher-order constructs, ‘incongruence’, ‘relationship deterioration’, and ‘operational imperfection’, are newly introduced to the literature on technology resistance. The findings extend prior technology acceptance and resistance theories and provide comprehensive insights for retail managers.     

Inhibition of mGluR1 and IP3Rs impairs long-term memory formation in young chicks

Calcium (Ca²⁺) is involved in a myriad of cellular functions in the brain including synaptic plasticity. However, the role of intracellular Ca²⁺ stores in memory processing remains poorly defined. The current study explored a role for glutamate-dependent intracellular Ca²⁺ release in memory processing via blockade of metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 1 (mGluR1) and inositol (1,4,5)-trisphosphate receptors (IP₃Rs). Using a single-trial discrimination avoidance task developed for the young chick, administration of the specific and potent mGluR1 antagonist JNJ16259685 (500 nM, immediately post-training, ic), or the IP₃R antagonist Xestospongin C (5 μM, immediately post-training, ic), impaired retention from 90 min post-training. These findings are consistent with mGluR1 activating IP₃Rs to release intracellular Ca²⁺ required for long-term memory formation and have been interpreted within an LTP2 model. The consequences of different patterns of retention loss following ryanodine receptor (RyR) and IP₃R inhibition are discussed.     

Using sonic branding in the retail environment — an easy and effective way to create consumer brand loyalty while enhancing the in‐store experience

Retail is no longer simply a point of purchase, it has now become part of a brand's communications strategy. As brands begin to explore the benefits of the retail environment they are mostly failing to utilise fully its ability to communicate with all the senses. Sonic branding has yet to make a significant impact on the retail environment and yet it is a powerful tool in the development of brand loyalty. As brands search for new ways of communicating with consumers both locally and globally, sonic branding will become a key tool in the creation of fully immersive brand experiences. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications.     

Creating cluster‐specific purchase profiles from point‐of‐sale scanner data and geodemographic clusters: improving category management at a major US grocery chain

In the retail grocery industry, category management is the process of managing categories of products for greater profitability and customer value. Category management is a data‐driven process and, as a result, can benefit from point‐of‐sale (POS) scanner data. This paper describes the results of a one‐year project that shows how to use POS scanner data and geodemographic clusters to improve the practice of category management at Price Chopper, a large US grocery chain. The paper demonstrates how to merge POS scanner data with geodemographic clusters to create detailed purchase profiles that provide valuable information to category managers. It also discusses the trials and tribulations of using scanner data and provides several findings as implications (eg store‐specific promotions should be more effective than chain‐wide promotions for stores servicing a small number of geodemographic clusters with distinct shopping profiles) that supermarket managers can immediately use to improve existing promotional strategies. The paper's contents should be relevant to academicians and practitioners interested in improving the practice of category management in the UK, USA, Western Europe and Australia. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications.     

Teaching children with autism to seek help when lost in public

Children with autism may not develop safety skills (e.g., help-seeking behaviors) without explicit teaching. One potentially hazardous situation is when a child with autism becomes separated from caregivers in a retail establishment or other public setting. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a treatment package (rules, role playing, and praise) delivered in the natural environment for teaching 3 boys with autism to seek assistance from store employees when they became lost. Treatment was effective, and help-seeking behaviors generalized to untrained stores for all participants.     

Person-environment fit,job satisfaction and intentions to leave: The moderating effect of leader empowering behaviour

This study sought to determine the possible indirect effect of person-environment (PE) fit on intentions to leave via job satisfaction and the moderating effect of leader empowering behaviour on job satisfaction and intentions to leave the work organisation. Participants were 398 employees working for a retail company in Gauteng Province, South Africa (females = 68.6 %, blacks = 58 %; managerial = 5.8 %; age range = under 20 to 60 years +). They completed the Perceived Fit Scale, Job Satisfaction Scale, Turnover Intentions Scale, and the Leader Empowering Behaviour Questionnaire. Statistical mediation analysis (of PE on JS and IL), and moderation analysis (of LEB on JS and IL) were conducted. Results indicated that PE fit has an indirect effect on intentions to leave via job satisfaction. Leader empowering behaviour moderated the relationship between job satisfaction and intentions to leave. Low PE fit leads to job dissatisfaction and intentions to leave, therefore leaders should instil a sense of empowerment in employees to alleviate the impact of poor fit.