Kim Willems

Am I cheap? Testing the role of store personality and self-congruity in discount retailing

This study examines whether consumer perceptions of store personality (SP) differ according to the stores format (hard-discount versus soft-discount and value retailing). A consumer survey (n = 306) is conducted in which respondents are asked to rate these retail formats on five SP dimensions and in terms of self-congruity (SC). The findings of both repeated measures ANOVA and hypothesis testing of proportion difference indicate that the three formats differ significantly in terms of all five SP dimensions. Moreover, consumers perceive a greater match between their self-concept and the value retailers personality than the discounters. A PLS model is estimated linking SP and SC to store loyalty and word-of-mouth intentions (WOM). The SP measurement model is only partially confirmed by the data. The effect of SC is found to dominate in explaining loyalty and WOM. These results provide valuable insights for optimising retail positioning strategies.

When brands come to life: experimental research on the vividness effect of Virtual Reality in transformational marketing communications

Mobile Virtual Reality provides a gateway for marketers to innovatively reach consumers. This study examines the impact of Virtual Reality in the context of transformational brand experience appeals, focussing specifically on the determining role of vividness. A three-dimensional conceptual framework is presented, offering a systematic review of the literature on vividness effects in marketing communications, revealing the major gap that most available studies only focus on informational messages. We conducted an experiment to address this gap and demonstrate in the context of a transformational ad that Virtual Reality generates higher perceptions of vividness and presence than a regular two-dimensional video, with vividness positively affecting attitude toward the ad, both directly and indirectly via presence. Our study also reveals that vividness in turn elicits a positive effect on brand attitudes which stimulates consumers’ purchase intentions. As such, the strategic potential of Virtual Reality for marketing communications is highlighted.

“Evolutionary Store Atmospherics” – Designing with Evolution in Mind

Environmental psychology research shows that natural environments and natural habitat qualities are better able to positively influence human functioning (e.g., stress reduction) than most common urban environments. Such positive psychological states are often interpreted as remnants of our species’ evolutionary history in natural environments. Nowadays a substantial part of the urban fabric is dedicated to commercial and business-related activities. Such environments however often lack those natural habitat qualities and elements, which have been found to promote positive psychological states. This chapter aims to demonstrate and illustrate the value of integrating such natural qualities into business-related environments, and specifically into retail environments. We coin this design strategy “Evolutionary Store Atmospherics” (ESA). The scope of this chapter is theoretical as well as practical. On the one hand, we provide an overview of the specific “ancestral” landscape elements and qualities that are found to have positive effects on human functioning. On the other hand, we discuss and illustrate how these key qualities can be integrated in store environments. Special attention is paid to situational factors that could interact with ESA design proposals, such as, for example, gender and type of shopping.

Touching the void: Exploring consumer perspectives on touch-enabling technologies in online retailing

Purpose A major factor hampering the continuing and explosive rise of e-commerce, particularly for experience goods, is the lack of tactile information that could help to reduce uncertainty in consumer purchase decision making online. The purpose of this paper is to identify the specific touch-related properties worthwhile to enable in online retailing and the type of customer value that can be provided, as well as the drivers and barriers for consumer acceptance toward touch-enabling technologies for online shopping. Design/methodology/approach By means of consumer focus groups, the authors address the research questions regarding touch-related properties, their value to consumers, and the drivers and barriers for consumer acceptance by taking into consideration two specific touch-enabling technologies. Findings The study reveals that touch-enabling technologies can provide utilitarian and hedonic value to consumers, mainly at the pre-purchase stages in the path-to-purchase. Valuable applications conceived by consumers primarily pertain to offering information on material and geometric product properties. A hurdle for consumer adoption seems to be the necessity of a dedicated output device, such as a glove. Research limitations/implications Due to the early development stage of the new technologies under investigation, this study is exploratory in nature. The findings should be validated in the future, once these technologies actually get introduced for online marketing purposes. Practical implications This study aims to raise awareness among online retailers about marketing opportunities comprised of touch-enabling technology. Originality/value The authors provide a first outlook with regard to future consumer acceptance of touch-enabling technologies in online shopping and how and when such technologies can provide consumer value.

Dealing with Nonlinearity in Importance-Performance Map Analysis (IPMA): An Integrative Framework in a PLS-SEM Context

Importance-performance map analysis (IPMA) combines PLS-SEM estimates, indicating the importance of an exogenous construct’s influence on another endogenous construct of interest, with an additional dimension comprising the exogenous construct’s performance in a two-dimensional map. From a practical point of view, IPMA contributes to more rigorous management decision-making. The basic principles of IPMA are well understood, yet the inter-construct relationships are typically modeled as being linear. An abundance of empirical literature indicates that this may lead to erroneous conclusions. In an IPMA context, this can lead to false conclusions regarding an exogenous construct’s importance. Although several approaches exist to account for nonlinear inter-construct relationships, these approaches are characterized by drawbacks impeding their applications in practice. Overall, this serves as a backdrop for the current chapter which aims to contribute to (PLS-SEM) IPMA theory in the following ways. First, we provide an integrative framework to guide IPMAs using PLS-SEM. Second and synergistically with the first contribution, we introduce a so-called log-log model that allows to capture the most common functional forms (i.e., both linear and nonlinear) without the need to make a priori assumptions about the correct functional form specification. Third, a comprehensive empirical application is provided that illustrates our proposed IPMA framework as well as the proposed log-log model to more adequately capture the nature of the PLS-SEM relationships ultimately defining the IPMA’s importance dimension.

In-store proximity marketing: experimenting with digital point-of-sales communication

Purpose The authors present an exploratory study on the effectiveness of in-store marketing communication appeals via digital signage applying the construal level theory (CLT) in a field experiment. According to this theory, the authors hypothesize that shoppers will on the one hand respond more favorably to messages focusing on the desirability of the offering, when they are further distanced from the actual purchase decision. On the other hand, the authors expect more favorable responses toward messages containing feasibility appeals, positioned closer by to the purchase decision. The purpose of this paper is to determine appropriate location-based content for in-store proximity marketing. Design/methodology/approach A field experiment was conducted in a Belgian coffee bar, examining temporal distance effects in a natural retail/service environment. A 2×2 between-subjects experimental design is implemented (i.e. low vs high temporal distance×concrete/cost vs abstract/brand-oriented appeal), examining the impact on marketing communication effectiveness. Findings Overall, the authors find some initial support for CLT on effectiveness measures regarding purchase intentions and actual purchase, but not in terms of self-reported noticing of the screen and the ad, nor in terms of (un)aided ad recall. Research limitations/implications This experiment is a pilot study and such finds itself confronted with a limited number of observations. Originality/value The study is among the first to examine how message content (beyond price promotion) can be adapted to in-store locations.

Retailing in Belgium – A managerial perspective

Belgium’s retailing landscape is unique in Europe in numerous ways. This country report presents retailing in Belgium specifically from a managerial perspective. First, the situation in the food- and non-food retail sector is discussed, highlighting some key players, their competitive strategies and results on the Belgian market. Second, Porter’s Five Forces Framework is applied to analyze the competitiveness of the retail industry in Belgium. In particular, we discuss some recent and potential major entrants, such as the large-scale shopping center projects in the region of Brussels. Additionally, the balance of power between retailer and supplier is concretized by analyzing the role of private labels and the price wars that have recently characterized the grocery retail market. The current state of e-commerce in Belgium is presented together with an outlook on online retailing and finally, some key differences in the retail scenery in Flanders, Wallonia, and the Brussels Conurbation are presented.

Can’t touch this: the impact of augmented reality versus touch and non-touch interfaces on perceived ownership

The rise of augmented reality (AR) technology presents e-retailers with new opportunities. According to previous research, it is a technology that can positively affect engagement, brand recall and purchase confidence. Mobile-enabled augmented reality differs from regular mobile phone use as the technology virtually overlays images or information to the real environment. As the use of a touch screen device (i.e. smartphone vs. laptop) has previously been found to positively affect feelings of perceived ownership, the current study examines whether the possibility to virtually manipulate a product on a mobile AR application would have an even stronger effect. This is examined for products with either material properties (i.e. products that require the examination of sensory information) or geometric properties (i.e. products that can be examined via written and/or visual information). The findings reveal that AR does indeed result in higher levels of perceived ownership, particularly in case of material products.

The impact of customer value types on customer outcomes for different retail formats

Willems, K (reprint author), Vrije Univ Brussel, Dept Business, Fac Econ & Social Sci, Brussels, Belgium. kim.willems@vub.ac.be

Humanoid Robot Pepper at a Belgian Chocolate Shop

Humanoid robots hold potential to offer customer experience for bricks-and-mortar stores. Participants took part in a quiz on the topic chocolate in an experimental field study at »The Belgian Chocolate House» in Brussels airport in which a tablet kiosk and a Pepper robot were compared. The experiments showed that offering the quiz on a humanoid robot provided better results in terms of shopper impressions and behavior.