Editorial

Citation

Towers, N. (2014), "Editorial", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 42 No. 9. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-08-2014-0112

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Volume 42, Issue 9.

There is a particular consumer focus throughout the four submissions to this issue. The topics of the submissions include interaction between gender and emotions affects consumers’ shopping behaviour outcomes, the motives and nature of first-party fraud in e-tailing, the effectiveness of coalition loyalty programme (CLP) implementation in town centre management and the relationship between service quality, the service encounter and the retail experience.

Research suggests that women demonstrate higher levels of shopping satisfaction, recommendation, return intentions, and hedonic shopping than men. However, is it possible to reduce the effects of gender on shopping behaviour? The first contribution by Herter, Pizzutti dos Santos and Costa Pinto explores how the interaction between gender and emotions affects consumers’ shopping behaviour outcomes. The results demonstrate that positive (vs neutral) emotions increase shopping behaviour outcomes for men, to reach the same level as for women. The findings also indicate that retail environment perception mediates the effects. Moreover, the results show that positive emotions increase levels of hedonic shopping for men and that negative emotions reduce levels of hedonic shopping for women. This paper helps retailers enhance shopping behaviour outcomes in retail environments. From a managerial perspective, the findings also provide insights on how to improve shopping behaviour outcomes for male consumers.

First-party fraud is fraud committed by an account holder or customer that does not involve the use of a stolen identity. The second contribution by Amasiatu and Shah provides insights into the motives and nature of first-party fraud in e-tailing. A systematic literature review was used to synthesise existing research on first-party fraud. We used scholarly literature as well as grey literature to help understand the motives and nature of this growing business problem. Findings reveal a myriad of schemes and motives for engaging in first-party fraud. This study will be useful to researchers as well as practitioners in the retail industry in helping understand the nature and motives of first-party frauds which could in turn help devise preventive strategies. The study also makes a case for increased managerial interest and involvement in reducing first-party fraud.

To counter the proliferation of out-of-town shopping centres, a spontaneous or planned CLP involving most retailers in an urban network can positively affect a town centre's capacity to entice customers and may enhance its competitiveness. The aim of the third contribution by de Noni, Orsi and Zanderighi is to assess the effectiveness of CLP implementation in town centre management as a tool for enhancing urban commercial-system attractiveness. The theoretical framework used in this study is supported by the evaluation methodologies of an empirical case study: the Savigliano Card project. CLP performance analysis uses a dynamic network-competitiveness index, an approach based on Laspeyres-type decomposition. The effects on each retailer's profitability are then tested by matching network and regression analyses. The results suggest that CLPs implementation in a town centre management scheme can produce benefits and positive externalities for customers, retailers and urban areas. CLPs can influence a town centre's revitalisation process, improve the attractiveness of the urban commercial network and increase the profitability of private retailers by enhancing cross-selling dynamics.

The final contribution by Resnick, Foster and Woodall explores the relationship between service quality, the service encounter and the retail experience within a changing UK retail environment. Data was gathered from 40 customers and twenty staff of an established UK health and beauty retailer with a long-standing reputation for personal customer service. A qualitative analysis was applied using both a service quality and a customer value template. The findings suggest that customers focus more on the utilitarian features of the service experience and less on “extraordinary” aspects, but service staff still perceived that the customer encounter remained a key requisite for successful service delivery. The implication is that recent environmental developments involving customers, markets and retail platform structures are challenging traditional service expectations in retailing.

Neil Towers