E-Commerce Commons^™

Bridging The Intention-Behavior Gap In Adopting Zero-Waste Grocery Retail Store, Elizabeth Jacob, Salil Sahadevan

Asia Marketing Journal

Growing interest in sustainability within marketing has renewed attention to zero-waste retail, yet it remains largely niche. This study investigates the challenges limiting zero-waste retail adoption and explores consumer expectations through key stakeholder interviews and a large-scale consumer survey in India. Building on earlier work that focused primarily on individual barriers, it incorporates structural factors and the interconnected nature of these obstacles. Adoption of zero-waste shopping practices is constrained by emotional labor, cognitive overload, and systemic friction. Cultural norms favoring convenience and hygiene reinforce disposability, and the lack of conventional packaging creates logistical hurdles. In this connection, the study identifies …

Are Loyalty Programmes Still “A Thing” In High-Fashion Retail? Understanding Generation Z’S Perspective, Živa Kolbl, Lori Šušulić

Economic and Business Review

This study investigates the relevance and perception of loyalty programmes (LPs) among Generation Z (Gen Z) consumers in the high-fashion retail sector. While LPs are well-established tools for fostering customer retention, their effectiveness among Gen Z, a cohort characterized by digital fluency, a preference for authenticity, and distinct consumption values, remains underexplored. Given the high-fashion context, where exclusivity and identity are critical, this study examines the extent to which LPs resonate with this generation. Utilizing a qualitative methodology and with the help of thematic analysis, we reveal four key dimensions: drivers of high-fashion consumption, shopping preferences, customer loyalty patterns, and …

Resale Revolution: Trend Implications From Media Presence Transcended To Luxury Retail Markets, Penelope Prochnow

Capstone Projects

This study aims to deepen understanding of fashion trend decline from peak popularity to obsolescence, with implications for sustainability and producer profit margins. It investigates how the attributes and media presence of fashion items influence their journey from high-end editorial coverage to resale platforms. Using survival analysis to model trend lifetimes and cosine similarity metrics to compare resale and magazine keyword frequencies, alongside machine learning for price prediction, the study uncovers critical temporal patterns. Results show that resale trends reflect magazine content with a lag of approximately 18 to 30 months and draw from long-wave revivals spanning 6 to 14 …

Omnichannel Retailing: An Exploratory Study Of Limiting The Customer Journey In A Digital-First Context, Terence L. Holmes, Edward C. Brewer, Elizabeth Patterson

Atlantic Marketing Journal

A recent retail trend is the rise of “digital-first” firms, where their merchandise is sold primarily via online efforts. In this exploratory study we describe our investigation of the customer journey for a digital-first seller of cosmetics and personal care products. We collected qualitative and quantitative data from a customer survey and follow-up interviews. Results indicate that personal connections and actual product use are the two most important touchpoints customers consider in first discovering the seller and then building a relationship with the brand. We describe practical applications of the findings and suggest ideas for future research.

Exploring Factors That Influence Web Technology Adoption In A Time Of Crisis: A Ukraine Sme Perspective, Olena Kublitska, Róisín Vize Dr, Isobel O'Reilly Dr

Conference papers

This paper aims to investigate factors that influence web technologies adoption among small and medium enterprises in Ukraine and understand how volatile conditions influence managerial decisions about the operation of small retailers' businesses. This research takes a case study approach and uses qualitative semi-structured interviews. This study contributes to the existing literature on web technologies adoption among SMEs in developing countries, improves the understanding of the role of web technologies within SMEs operating in volatile conditions, and explores key-decision makers’ attitudes towards web technologies adoption within SMEs. The proposed framework based on Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) is enriched with individual decision maker …

Digital To Phygital: An Analysis Of How A Better Collaboration Between Interior Designers And Mobile App Developers Could Improve The Future Of Retail, Hayden Wyrick

Interior Design Undergraduate Honors Theses

Interior designers and mobile app developers equally play a role in the design of omnichannel retailing spaces (either within the physical or digital realm) where retailers and consumers interact with each other; yet they hardly work in tandem. Omnichannel retailing creates a seamless experience for consumers when interacting with a retailer and allows them to purchase items in a cross-channel setting. Consumer expectations of retailers’ omnichannel approaches are increasing, and therefore this study investigates two of the most successful retailers, Walmart and Amazon, through a qualitative approach of case studies, interviews, and public observations. This study intended to explore the …

Sustainability Of Traditional Retail In An Emerging Market: A Conceptual Framework Applied To A Vietnamese Wet Market, Thi Tuyet Nhung Tran

Asia Marketing Journal

In emerging countries, traditional retail, such as wet markets, still accounts for a large proportion of retail sales. Traditional retail has poor infrastructure compared to modern retail, and is often associated with problems of waste, water, and environmental pollution. Therefore, traditional retail faces extreme difficulties in achieving sustainability. This study aimed to determine what value traditional retail contributes to sustainability. We generated and applied a conceptual framework of sustainability to explore this question. We used a single case study of a small-scale wet market in Vietnam. The results showed that wet markets have significant value for the development of sustainable …

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 …

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.

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 Pandemic Changed The Face Of Retail. Here’S How Center City, Philadelphia — The State’S Leading Job Market — Is Faring On The Road To Recovery, Francisco O. Velasquez-Turcios

Capstones

The pandemic changed the face of retail. Here’s how Center City, Philadelphia — the state’s leading job market — is faring on the road to recovery.

Link to capstone project: https://franvela033.github.io/Capstone/

Popular: Still Singapore’S Favourite Bookstore, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Popular is evolving into an omni-channel retailer to improve its customer experience

Inditex: A Case Study In Transferring Fast Fashion To International Markets, Anna Stooksbury

Senior Theses

Using Industria de Diseño Textil, S.A. (Inditex) and its subsidiaries as a case study, this thesis is an analysis of the largest fashion group in the world and its success in transferring a unique fast fashion business model into almost 100 markets worldwide. This thesis examines the internationalization of a large company and the steps it must take to enter into a new market, including internationalization motivations, market selection, and entrance strategies (both physical and virtual). This analysis uses an in-depth case approach to analyze the fast fashion business model that has made Inditex a success. Using extensive secondary research, …

Walmart Strategic Analysis, Christian Burbach

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This strategic analysis of Walmart touches on the factors that affect the business going forward. Ecommerce, PESTEL analyses, and other analyses come together in this article.

The Challenges And Opportunities Created By A Global Pandemic's Effects On Consumer Shopping Behavior Within The Fashion Retail Industry, Kate O'Connor

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The fashion retail industry has already been undergoing an extensive transformation since the introduction of e-commerce in the late 1990s. However, changes in consumer shopping behavior caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have fundamentally altered the industry in a matter of months. Because the COVID-19 pandemic is relatively recent, there is a lack of literature regarding the challenges and opportunities for fashion retailers in light of these changes in consumer behavior. This project will illuminate the challenges and opportunities created by the COVID-19 pandemic for the different distribution modes in the fashion retail industry: brick and mortar stores, e-commerce, and omnichannel …

Make Amazon Your Servant, Not Your Master, Lisa Takabori

Marriott Student Review

This article explains how consumers can make better purchasing decisions by recognizing how benefits of local brick-and-mortar stores, such as Target, surpass the perceived benefits of e-commerce giant, Amazon.

Emarketplaces: Strategic Challenges And Considerations, Sam Too

Asian Management Insights

Building scale and volume rapidly is key to surviving the roller-coaster journey and staying the course for a digital entrepreneur.

The Future Of Retailing: When The Artificial Becomes Real, Jagdish Sheth

Asian Management Insights

Digital technology, including e-commerce and e-market exchanges, has been the most significant disruptive force for the retail industry in the last two decades.

In The Midst Of The Apocalypse, Artificial Intelligence Can Save Brick And Mortar Retailers, Vrushank Nayak

Capstones

You might have heard that brick and mortar stores are closing by the thousands but I bet you didn't hear that brick and mortar stores are using artificial intelligence and customer data to help them counter closures and stay relevant in the transitioning retail industry.

https://coveringcompanies.journalism.cuny.edu/2020/01/07/in-the-midst-of-the-apocalypse-artificial-intelligence-can-save-brick-and-mortar-retailers/

Iuiga: Defining An Omni-Channel Strategy, Kapil R. Tuli, Sandeep R. Chandukala, Sheetal Mittal

Asian Management Insights

Iuiga, a lifestyle retailer, has a curated range of high quality products at transparent, affordable prices, effectively leveraging the original design manufacturers’ model and an online retail platform.

Is American Retail At A Historic Tipping Point?, Violetta Torres-Baron

Capstones

There’s a transformation happening in the American economy as consumers increasingly buy things online and e-commerce approaches 10% of all US retail sales with Amazon leading the way. Now, nearly everyone knows that Amazon is one of the hottest stocks on Wall Street right now given its impressive gains year after year. With its technological sophistication and ability to know it’s customers in ways never seen before, many retailers fear the “death by Amazon” as the company moves into different sectors and diversifies its product offerings – but is this is a bonafide fear for the retail sector? The big-box …

An Investigation Of Web Atmospherics In Online Luxury Branding, Emilie E. Jones

Honors College Theses

Having an online presence for a retail store has transitioned from serving as simply a new avenue through which a profit can be made, to a tool that can be harnessed to express a brand’s personality. So how do luxury brands manage to maintain a high-end, exclusive status on the highly available landscape of the internet? The intention of this research is to identify whether luxury brands are currently taking advantage of differential web atmospherics cues, in a way that significantly sets them apart from non-luxury brand websites. To do this, we measured elements including screen space, reduction of elements, …

Consumer Welfare And Price Discrimination: A Fine Line, Marie Wallmark, Eyal Greenberg, Dan Engels

SMU Data Science Review

Traditionally, it was not feasible for businesses to determine the maximum price the buyer was willing to pay, but with the availability of big data and the deployment of sophisticated algorithms, with a great degree of precision businesses can ascertain the maximum willingness price. Some forms of price discrimination are prohibited under the Robinson-Patman Act of Antitrust (1890), provided demographic characteristics such as race and gender are the determining factors. The problem with this interpretation is that sellers are not transparent about what factors are taken into consideration when determining price. Current laws are either limited in their interpretation or …

Retail Visual Assistant Digital Artefact, Neville Knott

Dissertations

Window display, store layout and visual merchandising are defined as the ability to attract and sell to the consumer silently. One of the biggest challenges facing small retail businesses in towns and villages around the globe is how to compete against large multinationals in the visual layout and presentation of their merchandise and shops. One of the key advantages that large retail units have over small ones is professionally merchandised stock incorporated into a strategic spatial layout. The cost of employing a full- or part-time design expert within the field of visual merchandising is not viable for smaller shops, resulting …

Social Media Impact On Virtual Shopping, Tarah Soltis

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

The following senior honors thesis project was developed to look at the connections between the topics of social media and virtual shopping. The domains of technology and e-commerce have created a fast-paced and fluctuating retail environment. Both social media and virtual shopping are increasing in popularity and use across the country and are influential in how consumers shop virtually and in real time. The research on social media and virtual shopping informs how the topics impact one another and the larger retail market. Research that looks at the connection between social media and virtual shopping can help companies prepare to …