Search results for " Retailing"

The determinants of conversion rates in SME e-commerce websites

2018

Abstract Web retailers invest significant resources to improve the proportion of website visitors that make a purchase, also known as the conversion rate. Improving this rate is particularly important to SMEs that have traditionally lagged behind larger firms as they have found it difficult to justify the significant investment involved in website development against the historical low returns associated with an online sales channel. Identifying methods that increase conversion rates reduces these perceived barriers and increases effective SME participation in the growing e-commerce sector. This paper uses 1184 observations from 6 SME websites to identify and analyse the factors, or combina…

First foreign grocery retailer enters the Finnish market—a stakeholder model

2004

Abstract Finnish grocery retailing has until recently been dominated by four major domestic retail groups. The first totally foreign grocery retailer, hard discount chain Lidl, was the first entrant into the Finnish market. This paper describes and analyses the entry process of Lidl from the perspective of the stakeholder groups in the host market. The stakeholder model of foreign retailer entry is used as a framework in exploring the stages of the entry as well as the reactions, roles and motives of the relevant stakeholders. Secondary data was collected from articles published in newspapers and business magazines and minutes of the municipal board meetings. The three stakeholder attribute…

Consumer perceptions of grocery retail formats and brands

2001

Grocery retailers are operating in a slow‐growth market. The pursuit of market share is one of the main concerns for retail managers. The retail structure is becoming increasingly standardized and homogenous because of concentration of the ownership of stores. Cultural differences remain, however, between different European countries. Cultural factors influence the success of a positioning strategy. This study examined how consumers perceive grocery retail formats and brands in Finland. Data from personal interviews were used in highlighting the consumer perspective. Consumers perceive meaningful differences in various store formats, meanwhile store brands are seen as quite similar. Consume…

Does the digitalization of retailing disrupt consumers’ attachment to retail places?

2022

This study breaks new ground in the marketing domain by extending the concept of place attachment to the study of the online retail environment. We provide empirical evidence that consumers can establish strong attachments not only with traditional offline places but also with online retail stores. Moreover, we assessed how distinct dimensions of the place affect the formation of consumers’ attachment and their behavioral loyalty. Our findings show that while consumers who feel a strong sense of attachment toward the place engage in spreading positive word-of-mouth regardless of the environment, their attachment to the store does not prevent them from switching to another provider, especial…

Congestion management rules and trading strategies in the Spanish electricity market

2009

Abstract This paper analyses the economic incentives embodied in the rules governing the resolution of transmission constraints in the Spanish wholesale electricity market and the way these incentives may have influenced on the trading behaviour of both the generators and the demand side. The evidence obtained is consistent with them responding to these incentives. In particular, buyers would respond to the way congestion costs are billed to them by abandoning the daily market in favour of the intraday market as far as possible. Additionally, some strategic generators may have been prompted the system operator to require them to inject electricity into the system to solve network congestion…

Impact of perceived multichannel retailing integration on multichannel strategy design

2013

Optimal pricing strategies in real-time electricity pricing environments: An Italian case study

2015

The energy market has changed radically over the last decade, mainly due to an increased penetration of renewable energies. Now the end users have directly access to the energy market and can actively take part to the electricity market. Electricity customers can indeed modify their behavior through Demand Response (DR), namely by means of pricing strategies that support a change in the end-users habits. This can be accomplished through a 'loads aggregator', a third party that collects the requests and signals for Active Demand-based services coming from the markets and the different power system participants. This paper describes a new framework able to optimally select the real-time prici…

Technical and economical assessment of distributed electrochemical storages for load shifting applications: An Italian case study

2016

Time-of-use (TOU) energy cost management involves the use of energy storage systems (ESSs) by customers to reduce their electricity bills. The ESS is charged during off-peak time periods, when electricity energy prices are low, and discharged during times when on-peak energy prices are applied. This article addresses the question whether it is economically viable to install medium-scale distributed ESSs designed to lower the electricity cost for a customer-side application, assuming flexible electricity tariffs. The technical/economical evaluation is carried out referring to lithium-ion (Li-ion), sodium sulfur (NaS) and vanadium redox battery (VRB) technologies, performing a parametric anal…

Perceived congruence and online loyalty as segmentation variables in multichannel retailing: a comparison between appparel and electronics

2017

As the interest of the literature on congruity between offline and online stores is relatively recent, empirical evidence is required to help marketing managers choose the most effective ways of contributing to the formation of consistent offerings as well as their contribution to generate customer loyalty. This study examines whether congruity can help to identify segments of heterogeneous consumers that differ significantly regarding these variables as well as other constructs related to the customer relationship with the retailer. The study attempts to identify which congruity attribute(s) are most relevant for differentiating customers by their loyalty towards the online store, so that …

Competitive reactions to market entry

2004

Grocery retailing markets are becoming more open and international. Finland is an example of a previously closed and restricted market which has recently opened its borders to foreign food products as well as food retailers. This paper describes the competitive dynamics and actions of the domestic retailers that took place when the first foreign grocery retailer entered the market. The paper concludes that the main competitive moves were related to the price of food products and to changes in product ranges. The domestic retailers imitated the concept of the entrant and added new low‐priced own brands into their product mixes. The roles of the market actors were reversed during the entry pr…