Sabrina Latusi

The impact of store flyers on store performance: a format and customer related approach

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of store flyer characteristics on store performance for different formats (hypermarket and supermarket) and customer segments (additional and regular shoppers). Specifically, the paper tests propositions on how flyer duration, variety of featured purchasing options, the category and brand mix on feature and the method used to communicate the deal price affect store traffic and sales. Loyalty cards and scanner data from a grocery chain covering a 52-week period indicate that optimal store flyer configuration is related to store format. Moreover, the response to flyer promotion programs varies across customer segments according to the degree of store loyalty. Implications for retailers are discussed with suggestions for future research.

The cross-shopping behaviour: patterns of store format mobility in the apparel sector

Purpose – The study investigates the cross-format shopping behaviour in the apparel sector. The purpose of this paper is to relate the number of store formats patronized to a set of consumer characteristics under a unifying theoretical framework emphasising cost-benefit analysis. Design/methodology/approach – The research involved questionnaire telephone surveys from a sample of 1,722 apparel shoppers in a European region. Findings – Among shoppers’ socio-demographic characteristics, age, gender, employment status and citizenship were found to have an impact on multi-store format patronage patterns for apparel purchases. Moreover, the store format preference and the sale proneness proved to be additional determinants of cross-format mobility. Practical implications – The findings provide retail managers with valuable insights for effective marketing strategies aimed to exploit customer loyalty potential. Originality/value – Despite consumers’ regular use of various alternative store formats for apparel pu...

Product versus region of origin: which wins in consumer persuasion?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of highlighting the geographical area in question – through either pictorial or pictorial-textual formats – in print-advertising messages for European Union geographical indication (GI) quality-labelled products. Design/methodology/approach A 2×3 between subjects factorial design was used to manipulate the type of GI, namely, protected designation of origin vs protected geographical indication, and the region of origin presentation in the advertisement (absent vs pictorial vs pictorial-textual), while measuring participant brand attitude and intention to buy (dependent variables). Findings Results show a significant main effect of the region of origin presentation on brand attitude and purchase intention. Communicating the region of origin through pictorial cues leads to more favourable responses than when there is no reference to it in the advertisement. The presentation of the region of origin through pictorial-textual cues leads to more positive responses than communication based just on pictorial cues. No interaction effect between the type of GI and the region of origin presentation is found. Originality/value The study makes a new contribution in the field of communication about typical food products, since the ability of the geographical area to increase consumers’ purchase intention has not been systematically tested in an advertising context. To date, there is no strong evidence on how effective it is to convey the values of the geographical area through its picture and/or name. On a practical level, the study supports new communication strategies for typical food products in a context where messages tend to use intrinsic advertising cues that emphasize physical product attributes, rather than extrinsic advertising cues that leverage intangible product values.

Sexual stimuli in advertising: The opposite sex effect

Sexual stimuli in advertising often evoke an emotional state able to shape both attitude towards the advertisement and towards the brands that interact in fostering consumers’ purchase intention. These relationships can be influenced by the interaction between the gender of the respondent and the gender of the model (opposite sex effect). The present study focuses on the interaction between brand and advertising attitude and their conjoint effect on purchase intention in the light of the opposite sex effect. Results show that such effect influences the attitude towards the advertisement while it does not emerges whit reference to attitude towards the brand and purchase intention. Implications for advertising and brand management are discussed.

Consumer Responses to Explicit Sexual Stimuli in Advertising: Artistic vs Provocative Style

This study extends prior research on sexual appeal advertising by developing a model of consumer responses to explicit sexual stimuli conveyed through different expressive styles (artistic versus provocative). A between-subjects experimental design (N=369) was conducted. The theoretical model includes ad-, brand- and behaviour-related variables. Structural equation modelling was used to estimate the hypothesized relationships. Findings reveal that the use of an artistic format stimulates a better response than the use of images in merely provocative poses. From a female consumer perspective, all paths were positive and significant when exposed to the artistic nudity stimuli, with the only exception of the positive emotions-purchase intention relationship. Results suggest a moderating role of the mode of representing sexual images on attitude-intention relationships. From a male consumer perspective, the response was similar, but any effect was present between attitude towards the advertisement and purchase intention. Support was found for a moderating influence of expressive styles on positive emotion-attitude towards the brand relationship. The paper sheds new lights on the way explicit sexual stimuli can be represented, offering a contribution to improving the communication effectiveness of products and brands that exploit sexual stimuli.

Innovare l’offerta estendendo il retail brand: il ruolo della fedeltà e della sensibilità a prezzo e promozione

Obiettivo del paper : L’articolo indaga il ruolo che la fedelta alla marca commerciale, la sensibilita al prezzo e quella alla promozione svolgono nel predire l’acquisto di un’offerta innovativa nel retail grocery, ovvero: i prodotti e servizi extra-core a marca insegna (PSEx). Metodologia : Ai dati ottenuti tramite un’indagine campionaria in-store su questionario strutturato (N. 139) e stata applicata una regressione logistica binaria. Risultati : La fedelta comportamentale alla marca commerciale e l’attitudine alla promozione risultano predittori dell’estensione d’acquisto, mentre la sensibilita al prezzo e solo debolmente significativa. Limiti della ricerca : Il campione indagato e relativo ad una sola insegna. Il concetto di fedelta considerato rappresenta solo una, anche se necessaria, delle componenti in cui si articola la customer loyalty. L’analisi non distingue tra singoli prodotti/servizi extra-core. Implicazioni pratiche : I risultati emersi consentono di supportare e dare validazione empirica alle scelte di estensione dell’offerta operate dai manager della distribuzione despecializzata. Implementando politiche volte ad incrementare la frequenza e lo scontrino d’acquisto della marca commerciale sull’assortimento core e investendo in offerte promozionali si innesca un processo di trascinamento virtuoso delle nuove tipologie di offerta extra-core. Per avere successo nella nuova offerta, i distributori devono concentrare i loro sforzi di marketing sui clienti piu sensibili all’acquisto di prodotti a marca commerciale e alle promozioni below the line. Originalita del lavoro : Il contributo verifica l’applicabilita di alcuni risultati emergenti dagli studi sulla marca commerciale anche ad un suo concetto esteso, ovvero in un contesto, quello dei prodotti/servizi extra-core, innovativo e non ancora analizzato in modo approfondito dalla letteratura.

L’acquirente cross-format: modelli di mobilità nel rocery

Lo studio indaga il comportamento di acquisto cross-format nel settore dei beni di largo consumo. L’obiettivo e mettere in relazione il numero di canali di acquisto utilizzati con un insieme di caratteristiche riferite al consumatore, secondo l’approccio costi- benefici. I dati di un campione di 1.674 consumatori indicano che, tra le caratteristiche socio-demografiche della domanda, solo il genere impatta sui modelli di frequentazione delle forme distributive. Ulteriori determinanti della mobilita risultano il canale di acquisto prevalente e la percezione dell’attivita di acquisto. Le implicazioni manageriali sono discusse con indicazioni per la ricerca futura.

Consumer Mobility among Store Formats in the Apparel Sector: An Empirical Research

The study investigates consumer mobility among store formats in the apparel purchasing process. The aim is to relate the number of visited store formats with a set of consumer characteristics. The results of a survey conducted with a sample of 951 consumers indicate that only some demand-related characteristics impact on consumer mobility. Among the socio-demographic characteristics, only the employment status significantly affects the number of store formats. Moreover, the type of preferred format and willingness toward discounts are also important for mobility. The managerial implications are discussed with directions for future research.