6533b82efe1ef96bd129435d

RESEARCH PRODUCT

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ON COMPLEMENTARY SERVICES IN ROMANIAN GROCERY RETAILING

subject

description

The attaining of an adequate market positioning requires from the retail company not only a thorough study of consumers` needs and desires, but also an attentive differentiation of its customer service. The creation of comparative competitive advantages takes place/ occurs in grocery retailing not only through the operated retail format (supermarket, hypermarket, etc.) or retailer`s own brands, but also through the customer service being performed. After a succinct review of theoretical concepts assumed by retail service, the present article presents a classification of complementary retail services provided by grocery retailers in Romania. An empirical research carried out in two different periods in Romanian grocery retailing highlights the evolution of consumers` perception of the existence of two complementary services provided by the analysed stores loyalty programmes and merchandise return policy.