Sales and Merchandising Commons^™

Does Social Media Accelerate Product Recalls? Evidence From The Pharmaceutical Industry, Yang Gao, Wenjing Duan, Huaxia Rui

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Social media has become a vital platform for voicing product-related experiences that may not only reveal product defects but also impose pressure on firms to act more promptly than before. This study scrutinizes the rarely-studied relationship between these voices and the speed of product recalls in the context of the pharmaceutical industry where social media pharmacovigilance is becoming increasingly important for the detection of drug safety signals. Using Federal Drug Administration (FDA) drug enforcement reports and social media data crawled from online forums and Twitter, we investigate whether social media can accelerate the product recall process in the context of …

The Value Of Nfts, Angelina Tham

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Non-fungible token stories have flooded the media since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. NFTs have changed the public’s views on art, finances, and the self. The emergence of Web 3 redefined ways of self expression with the help of NFTs. What are NFTs, how are they valuable, and how will they shape the future of digital art? The data visualization for this project indicates that the most popular type of crypto art is in the style of a profile picture. The discussion suggests that NFTs are in their infancy and there will be more to come from digital art, …

The New Consumed Consumer: The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On The Compulsive And Impulsive Buying Habits Of Gen Z, Kristen Kline

Honors Program Theses and Projects

This study focuses on the compulsive and impulsive spending habits of Gen Z over the past year. Gen Z is defined as the generation born within the years of 1997-2013, following the millennial generation. This generation has been raised surrounding the internet and social media and are considered one of the most technologically advanced generations (Schroth, 2019). Gen Z’s use of technology continues to drastically increase. Recent Data shows that 98% of Gen Z own a smartphone and average a usage time of about 4 hours per day (Kastenholz, 2021). The most popular social platforms among Gen Z are Instagram, …

The Impact Of E-Service Quality On The Customer Satisfaction Of Electronic And Small Appliances Online Shoppers In Saudi Arabia, Majed A. Almobarak

Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this quantitative study, which utilized a non-experimental, correlational predictive design, was to evaluate the association between perceptions of e-service quality by Saudi Arabian adult residents and their overall satisfaction with the online retailer from which they buy their electronics and small appliances products. The study also sought to determine to what extent e-service quality factors, as a group and independently, predict the customer satisfaction of the participants of this study. The participants of this study were limited to adults (18 years of age or older), male and female, who live in any region of Saudi Arabia, and …

Can I Choose My Offer: How Choice On Sales Offer Impacts Consumer Purchase Decision?, Atmadeep Mukherjee

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While making a purchase decision consumers tend to evaluate various assortments. Most of the research in choice literature has focused on the impact of focal product assortment size and consumer preferences. With the advent of a novel sales promotion strategy, where consumers are provided with a choice to select an offer, this dissertation investigates the effect of choice on sales offer, specifically free offers on purchase evaluations. Building on choice literature and sales promotion this dissertation argues that choice on sales offers, particularly free offers, will have a positive effect on purchase evaluations and the effect gets accentuated under certain …

Beyond Nutrition: Three Essays On The Effects Of Food Processing And Sustainability Labeling On Consumer Perceptions And Evaluations, Garrett J. Rybak

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent consumer trends reveal increasing demand for greater product transparency including how products are processed, the types of ingredients used, and the impact on the environment. As a result, food marketers often use a combination of processing, nutrient content, and/or sustainability claims to convey specific information to consumers. Considering these developments, several questions arise about how these claims affect consumer evaluations of healthfulness, sustainability, disease risk, and intent to purchase while considering the unregulated and regulated nature of many of these claims.

In Essay One, we extend our understanding of consumer responses to package claims by comparing the direct and …

Shopping Marketing Tactics That Drive Purchases, Dinesh K. Gauri

Marketing Faculty Publications and Presentations

Technology is reshaping the retail experience. In the fight for market share, how effective are traditional marketing tactics and technology offerings at attracting shoppers?

The Forces Changing U.S. Shopping Behavior, Dinesh K. Gauri

Marketing Faculty Publications and Presentations

The future of retail is all about catering to the consumer. To survive retail’s newest challenge, retailers must understand what’s shaping consumer demand.

Marketing Activity Influences On Brand Attractiveness & Loyalty, Keiondre' Mcallister

McNair Scholars Research

While selecting a specific brand could seem simple, many variables are considered. Consumers must trust that the chosen brand meets their needs by providing value. Value differs for everyone; however, four value pillars within the value creation pyramid could explain which value attracts the consumer most to a brand. These value elements will be explored to explain consumer preferences.

Enhancing Sales Education By Incorporating An Innovative International Role Play, Diane R. Edmondson, Lucy Matthews, Hannah Makarczyk

Atlantic Marketing Journal

In today’s society, the global marketplace has become more relevant to all businesses to help ensure sustainability (Hummel, 2012). In marketing, students pursuing a career in sales can find significant opportunities; however, there are unique skills needed when selling internationally (Salesforce, 2021). Prior research has highlighted lost revenue due to internationally incompetent employees (Daniel, Xie, & Kedia, 2014). A content analysis of 139 Sales Education Foundation universities was completed to determine the extent to which international sales education is currently being incorporated in sales curriculum. Results indicate that only 6.5% include some international sales element as part of their program. …

Understanding Millennials Regarding Online Versus In-Store Grocery Shopping Preferences, Timothy L. Schauer

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Grocery shopping has changed in significant ways over the last 150 years – all to allow customers to choose their own items (Strasser, 1989). Within the last decade, large U.S. supermarkets, like Kroger, Walmart, and Safeway have rolled out online stores (Perez, 2015). However, in 2017, when the Internet-based giant, Amazon, acquired Whole Foods and developed the Amazon Go concept store, the march toward online-only sales came into question. The purpose of this research is to attempt to understand the preferences associated with Millennials regarding online versus in-store grocery shopping preferences. This paper provides the following contributions. First, it extends …

The Importance Of Agile Reporting Methods In A Retail Sales Environment, Katie Haefner

Information Systems Undergraduate Honors Theses

The primary objective of this project is to understand the importance of agile reporting methodologies for a retail sales team. Data has proven to be very vital for businesses to use and understand. In software systems that serve as data warehouses, it is expected that value be provided at each iteration within the system. This includes all the measurements, metrics, and reports. Agile reporting effects the way that data is utilized within a company. This paper looks at some of ways that value can be added when companies focus on ways to consolidate and standardize data as well as make …

Business Plan: Refuge Coffee, Zachary Lewandowski

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

Refuge Coffee will be the premier vendor of high-quality and sustainably sourced specialty coffee in Springdale, Arkansas. Its mission is to improve lives by providing a space that reflects the community—a space in which ideas, beliefs, attitudes, and values can be exchanged, with coffee acting as a common denominator. Refuge Coffee will offer specialty coffee beverages, locally baked goods, and merchandise to consumers. We intend to partner with Canopy NWA, a refugee resettlement organization that aims to welcome and equip refugees with all they need to build new lives, through the means of employment for refugees and the continuous donation …

Insomnovation – Natural Sleep Solutions Business Plan, Nikolas Limperis

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

Currently, 70 million Americans suffer from some sort of sleep issues from trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, and daytime drowsiness. However, the sleep solutions on the market today are either highly artificial or only address the symptoms of sleep issues rather than the underlying cause. This is what Insomnovation seeks to address. By providing supplementation to seven key vitamins and minerals, Insomnovation hopes to bring a natural solution to put the issue of sleep disorders to rest.

Target Internship During The Covid Pandemic, Laura Jo Randall

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

The coronavirus pandemic has triggered both social and economic changes around the world. Retail companies have been at the forefront of these changes due to widespread supply chain disruptions and supply shortages. Companies have struggled to meet the challenges caused by the pandemic including supply shortages and social distancing. Target Corporation is the eighth largest big box retail chain in the United States (Tanha, 2022). It has faced the challenges with innovation and implementation of new programs this year. During the summer of 2021, I had the pleasure to intern at Target and witness firsthand how this large corporation embraced …

Keurig Dr. Pepper Internship: Development Of A Tool In A Big Data Environment To Uncover Risks And Opportunities, Lindsey Ross

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Selling and sales management professions permeate job application websites. Sales is often associated with a pushy used-car dealership and cold calling. These practices are necessary, but selling, especially in our increasingly consumerist society, has long influenced and is a part of almost all business professions. You could argue that almost every employed individual operates in some sort of sales function due to the current job landscape. Whether this includes working directly with the sale of a product or even selling one’s self to a company or client. Selling in the retail space is understandably the heartbeat of the company, especially …

Harvesting Growth -- An Internship Thesis, Emma Conover

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

During the Summer of 2021, I had the privilege to Intern with Harvest Group in Rogers, Arkansas. During this 12-week internship, I was placed in the Client Services division and was a part of a consumables team that served several clients. I gained invaluable experience from this internship and developed both personally and professionally.

Are Lonely Salespeople Costing You Customers?, Valerie Good, Lisa Earle Mcleod

Other Faculty Publications

As customer interactions have shifted to Zoom, sales jobs have become increasingly transactional and lonely. Recent research suggests this is a costly problem that goes beyond a hit to morale: It’s actually causing three problematic behaviors — social awkwardness, impaired memory, and conspicuous overspending on customers — that could damage business performance. The authors offer eight strategies managers can implement to help salespeople feel less lonely and ensure your team is approaching customers with confidence.

Walmart Vs Amazon: How Walmart Can Compete With Amazon In The Age Of E-Commerce, Andrew Turner

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

In the growing battle between the retail giants, Walmart, and Amazon, it has become clear that Walmart must take steps to secure their place in a market where a pandemic-driven technology enabled e-commerce industry is expected to grow leaps and bounds over the next several years. In order to compete with Amazon, who dominates the majority of e-commerce in the US, Walmart must identify core competencies that drive revenue and customer loyalty and adapt them to a new age of retail. By taking advantage of physical locations and access to customer data, Walmart may be able to continue to offer …

Consumers Perception Of Quality For Ladies' Swimwear Based On Price And Brand, Jennifer Avila

Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses

Consumers shop at multiple retailers for different needs. It is understood that many choose a retailer for an experience and others will shop at large discount retailer for the better savings aspect. These two retailers are constantly working on improving customer experience as well as trying to increase their sales. In a time where E-commerce is at an all-time high, these two retailers also need to consider how other retailers compare against them in different sales categories. Since March of 2020, the retail world shifted with COVID-19 disrupting the supply chain. As retailers solve ways to keep consumers content and …