Timo Rintamäki

Decomposing the value of department store shopping into utilitarian, hedonic and social dimensions: Evidence from Finland

– The purpose of this paper is to decompose total customer value as perceived by department store shoppers into utilitarian, hedonic and social dimensions, and empirically test this conceptualization in a Finnish department store shopping context., – Data were collected by a questionnaire administered over three days at a department store that generates the second largest turnover in Finland. A total of 364 shoppers completed the questionnaire., – Empirical evidence supports our tripartite conceptualization of total customer value. In particular, social value is an independent construct. Further, social value varies by day‐of‐week, with a significant increase on Saturday (versus weekdays) when the store is more crowded, whereas no such differences in utilitarian and hedonic values were detected., – The principal contribution is a tripartite conceptualization of total customer value that incorporates utilitarian, social and hedonic value dimensions in a department store shopping context. Individually these dimensions are all well rooted in streams of consumer behavior literature, albeit mostly at the product or brand, not the store, level. Increasing our understanding of these softer aspects of shopping, particularly the social dimension, is important because they represent possible differentiating factors in the highly competitive and often commoditized retail markets.

Unlocking the transformative potential of customer data in retailing

Abstract Retailers collect, process, and use large amounts of data about customers: what they buy, how they buy, when they buy – and when customer loyalty cards are used – who buys the product or service. The use of customer data within the customer relationship management (CRM) framework has largely remained one sided. The potential of customer data for the benefit of the customer’s well-being still needs to be addressed. Reverse use of customer data, i.e. the process of firms converting customer data into information that is meaningful for the customers, extends attention toward using customer data for the benefit of the customer. In addition, selling goods to customers retailers can revise customer data into relevant and meaningful information that can support their well-being. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to identify and illustrate the transformative potential of the reverse use of customer data in retailing. This is achieved by reviewing literature on CRM, S-D logic, and transformative consumer research, and conducting a case study of a food retailer using point-of-sale data to provide customers with information about the healthfulness of their food purchases. Anonymous customer feedback data is collected and analyzed, and as a result, the transformative potential of customer data is reflected through five themes: self-monitoring, enhanced diet, food literacy, peace of mind, and beyond food healthfulness. These themes illustrate customers’ well-being outcomes resulting from reverse use of customer data.

Creating Information-Based Customer Value with Service Systems in Retailing

With the advent of mobile technology, addressing the information needs of customers across channels has become a key source for value creation. Also, this information-based value creation has implications for how retailers design and manage their customer value propositions for competitive advantage. As our data from the USA, Japan, and Finland show, shoppers already use multiple channels for their prepurchase, purchase, and post-purchase activities. Understanding the roles of different channels in the individual stages of the customer experience provides valuable input for service system development. Those retailers who have mastered the planning of service systems and consider their implications for information-based value creation can avoid being stuck as an endpoint of logistics.

Customer Value in the Sharing Economy Platform: The Airbnb Case

The sharing economy is a platform-based business model in which users are directly connected for creation, sharing, and exchange of goods or services that draw on underused resources. While this emerging phenomenon has been studied from several perspectives, including the technical, social, and economic, limited investigation has been conducted from the customer perspective. A study was carried out to narrow this research gap by applying the customer viewpoint to explore and analyse how the sharing economy reconfigures value creation. To reach the goal for this research, an interpretive approach was taken to the case of Airbnb. Customers’ experiences of using the sharing economy were examined to disentangle the economic, functional, emotional, and symbolic benefits and sacrifices that together capture the diversity of customer-perceived value of the sharing economy. Customer value is discussed as an important conceptual tool to identify and pinpoint the distinguishing characteristics of the sharing economy and to explore how conventional businesses and emerging sharing-economy platforms can recognise and capitalise on their competitive advantages. While the sharing economy gives customers alternatives that involve easier consumption methods at lower cost, it also provides a unique, personal, and socially integrated experience. This can contribute to values that extend beyond traditional hospitality management and thus imbue sharing-economy platforms with a unique and sustainable competitive advantage.

Consumer-to-consumer e-commerce: outcomes and implications

Abstract One outcome of the digitised retail environment is the emergence of consumer-to-consumer (C2C) electronic commerce. Existing research has extensively addressed C2C commerce in an offline environment, while relatively little is known about online C2C behaviour. Thus, there is a need to deepen the understanding of how and why consumers engage in C2C e-commerce as well as the implications that C2C e-commerce holds for retailers. To address this gap, a comprehensive survey targeting Finnish consumers was conducted. The survey yielded a total of 2823 respondents who had transacted on C2C e-commerce platforms. The data are used to profile C2C e-commerce with demographics, product categories, customer value and key retail outcomes. This analysis provides a well-grounded basis for discussing the implications of C2C e-commerce for retailers.