Cathy Hart

Retailer adoption of the Internet – Implications for retail marketing

To date, most of the commentary on the impact of the Internet on retail marketing has been anecdotal, offering exaggerated speculative forecasts of its future potential. One view contends that the Internet will become a major new retail format, replacing the traditional dominance of fixed location stores. However, little academic research exists to either disprove or support the claims of Internet penetration by retailers. Seeks to redress the balance by presenting a comprehensive and rigorous review of UK retailer Internet activities. A sampling frame of 1,099 UK retail multiples was used, and each Web site individually inspected to categorise the range of marketing functions and services offered. The findings indicated that, despite the hype, the majority of retail organisations surveyed have not yet registered a Web site address. Moreover, of those retail organisations that have developed a Web site, the vast majority are using it primarily as a communication tool to promote corporate or product information to Internet users, rather than to support direct sales. In conclusion, summarises the implications of these current levels of Internet activity for the future of retail marketing.

Signs of change? A longitudinal study of Internet adoption in the UK retail sector

The Internet and the World Wide Web have changed quite significantly in a relatively short period of time. Some of the differences are readily quantifiable or at least easily visible; e.g., exponential growth rates in the number of users, rapid expansion in the number of personal and business web sites, an increase in transmission speeds and the advent of new markup scripts, such as DHTML. Whilst these quantifiable changes and technological improvements are a valuable benchmark when considering the practical ramifications of developing an on-line business, from a strategic perspective it is perhaps more important to consider the extent to which Internet technologies are likely to effect long-term changes to organisational behaviour and economic activity. For instance, in the book retailing business, Internet vendors, benefiting from comparatively low on-line set-up costs, have been able to use price as a major marketing tool. This action has resulted in reduced profit margins across the sector. Therefore, from a retailers perspective perhaps the most important issue to resolve is not whether there are sufficient customers on-line but how e-commerce is likely to reshape their markets and business processes. However, little academic research exists which has recorded Internet adoption trends, over time, making assessment of such issues difficult. This paper seeks to redress the balance by presenting a comprehensive and rigorous longitudinal review of the adoption of e-commerce within the UK retail sector. More specifically, the paper provides an up to date assessment of the state of e-commerce within the UK retail sector, before reviewing trends in its adoption over a four-year period form 1997 to 2000. The key finding is that whilst clear evidence of growth has been found across all types of retailers, it is fastest amongst larger retailers, and those operating in sectors such as books, alcoholic beverages and mail order. The paper concludes by offering implications for retail practitioners and for research.

An analysis of the factors affecting the adoption of the Internet in the UK retail sector

A multitude of opinions has been propounded to explain how the Internet can be exploited by commercial organisations. For the most part, they are speculative, visionary, or promotional. This work seeks to redress the balance by reporting on an empirical research project that has recently been conducted into the adoption of the Internet within the UK retail sector. More specifically, the research reports on the application of multivariate statistical techniques to a set of questionnaire responses, with a view to critically evaluating the factors that affect the adoption of the Internet. It has been shown that certain factors are far more significant than others in influencing the adoption decision. In particular, it has been demonstrated that operating in an appropriate market sector and having a positive view of the viability of the Internet are of particular significance. Furthermore, the importance of developing a coherent and integrated Internet strategy, the need for senior management commitment, and the presence of an appropriate infrastructure and development capability are also highlighted.

Category management: a new approach for fashion marketing?

As a supply chain management initiative, category management has to date been the almost exclusive preserve of the grocery sector and, within that sector, limited to food categories. This paper proposes that the fashion industry might usefully follow the grocery industrys lead and implement category management. A comprehensive review of the literature on category management highlights the opportunity for fashion marketing to consider the potential of category management, and the specific research gaps. In operationalising the subsequent research objectives, the paper reports the results of exploratory, in‐depth consumer research for a particular category of intimate apparel. The managerial implications of these findings are then discussed in the context of the established eight‐step category management process. The overall tentative conclusion of this study is that as a consumer‐oriented joint planning tool, category management offers retailer‐supplier partnerships in the fashion industry an important adjunct to the industrys quick response methods. The paper closes with an agenda for future research.

An exploratory study of the consumer decision process for intimate apparel

In contrast to outer apparel, academic research has neglected consumer behaviour for intimate apparel or lingerie. It is argued that within this category the bra deserves singular research attention. This paper presents the results of exploratory research designed to explore in depth the bra consumer decision process. The key findings indicate a highly involved consumer who is motivated by a complex range of interlinked factors, and a consumer who desires to be brand loyal in order to enjoy a less extensive decision process, but who is prevented from doing so by high levels of perceived risk and “obstructive” marketing. The authors offer directions for future empirical research based on the consumer behavioural constructs of involvement, perceived risk and the self‐concept. Implications for marketing management are also discussed.

Employer perceptions of skills gaps in retail: issues and implications for UK retailers

Purpose – This paper seeks to identify the skills gaps associated with retail employees in SME and multiple retail companies, and to investigate the potential training and business implications that arise from these skills gaps, from the point of view of retail employers. Design/methodology/approach – Research was conducted within one geographical region and across five counties within the UK. Telephone and face-to-face interviews and focus group workshops were conducted, resulting in responses from 52 retailers. Findings – The key issues and areas of concern to emerge were: the industry image and impact on recruitment and retention; employee and management skills gaps; and barriers to training. Research limitations/implications – The findings highlight the need for UK retail industry to raise the image of the sector, to identify the skills sets for specific roles, and to clarify the retail qualifications and training required delivering these. Originality/value – Succeeds in identifying the skills gaps associated with retail employees in SME and multiple retail companies and in investigating the potential training and business implications arising from these skills gaps.

The location and merchandising of non‐food in supermarkets

Refers to the tendency in UK supermarkets for diversification into non‐food areas which has emphasized the need to improve how and where the products are presented to the customers. Service diversifications, such as dry cleaners or opticians, have traditionally been situated as separate “shops” behind the checkouts. Contrastingly, product range diversifications such as stationery, entertainment and clothing have tended to be incorporated into the main shopping aisles. Attempts to identify whether consumers would prefer these non‐food ranges to be differently merchandised, and more specifically, whether consumer preferences are different between retailers? Asks what alternative display formats may be used and which specific ranges are considered appropriate for these formats. Using six different retail multiples, examines the perceptions and preferences of 500 shoppers from the results of an attitude survey carried out in two UK cities. Finally, provides recommendations for retail management.

Conceptualising town centre image and the customer experience

Abstract Compared with store image literature, the town centre is underexplored as a retail image context. This paper examines what is meant by town centre image by conducting an empirical study of 536 consumers to elicit top-of-mind images of five town centres. Following extensive content analysis and rigorous replication, the findings reveal a broader, holistic image construct than previously assumed in the literature. New psychological, intangible elements of town centre image are identified, confirming the need to measure image specific to the retail context. Further, drawing on the customer experience framework, a conceptual model of town centre image is developed. The model provides the basis for future conceptualisation and operationalisation of town centre image, combined with an approach for managing the customer experience in town centres.

UK packaging waste legislation: Implications for food retailers

The Producer Responsibility Regulations incorporated the EU Packaging Waste Directive into UK law in March 1997. The UK legislation adopted the concept of the “polluter pays” by sharing the responsibility for waste packaging recovery across the whole supply chain. However, the retailer as the last member of the supply chain assumed the greater share of 47 per cent of waste recovery targets. The operational and resource implications for individual company obligations were compounded by the introduction of a complex waste collection scheme involving third‐party waste recovery operators trading packaging recovery notes (PRNs). The UK approach has been criticised as “bureaucratic, ill‐conceived and confusing”, requiring companies to provide data on all primary, secondary and transit packaging they have generated, recovered and recycled over the previous year. While many retailers were unprepared for the complexities it created, others view the legislation as an opportunity to reduce waste, optimise their packaging supply chain and reduce costs. This paper will examine and compare the impact of the new regulations on various food retailers. Findings are discussed from a series of in‐depth interviews with a number of senior managers involved in implementing the legislation. In particular it discusses the initiatives carried out to comply with the regulations, the impact on existing logistics networks and the investment required to implement the regulations.

Retailer and student perceptions of competence development

Despite the availability of retail management graduates, retailers continue to recruit graduates from any discipline. A key issue, therefore, is to what extent are retail degrees developing the competences of prime importance to retailers? Conversely, considering retailer graduate recruitment objectives, how well do students understand retailers’ priorities amongst competences in graduate selection? As a relatively recent management profession, do the retail competences differ from other more established management disciplines such as finance? This paper examines these issues through the results of a survey of employer and undergraduate perceptions of competence development in undergraduate degrees. Findings suggest that retail degrees provided a high level of perceived competence development. However, the strongest focus was not necessarily on those competences the retailers most wished to see in applicants. Furthermore, the competence profile of placement work was no closer to the retailers’ selection priorities than that of academic work. The paper concludes with a discussion of the main implications for retailers and retail management degrees.