Mystery Shopping: A Marvelous Tool in the Hands of Organized Retailers

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Shruti Anand
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Customer Experience ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Customer Engagement ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Mystery Shopping ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Communication Gap ◽  
Source Of Information ◽  
Prime Source

Customer engagement is a key to the success of organized retail. Now-a-days, retailers engage their customers by luring them with various facilities. It is through customer engagement that they are able to provide a long lasting experience to customers. This provides a competitive advantage and becomes the ultimate reason for customer attraction. It is the in-store experience of customer that adds on to the frequency of their visit. Experience though once gained has a long effect, but it needs to be replicated to give an everlasting effect. Feedback received from customer is not only a prime source of information but also an effective tool to manage customer relation in a manner where it would fulfill expectations of customer and organization as well. Often the large size of operation becomes a challenge for the organized retailer in maintaining close relationship with each customer. Notwithstanding various technological involvements in the working environment of retailers, they still lag behind in getting feedback of customer experience in the store. Feedback given to them is generally in a hurry or mostly vague. Absence of feedback is slowly and gradually creating a lacuna between organized retailers and customers. The concept of mystery shopping has evolved in order to cope with this challenge. This paper is conceptual in nature and hovers around mystery shopping. The objective is to explain in detail its relevance and significance for organized retailers. Application of mystery shopping might prove to be a significant tool in the hands of organized retailers as it provides first-hand information which helps to bridge the communication gap between the organized retailer and customer.

Does Customer Experience Always Benefit Company? Examining Customers’ Epistemic Motivation and Interaction With Service Contexts

2021 ◽  
pp. 183933492199886
Author(s):  
Vu Thi Mai Chi ◽  
Widya Paramita ◽  
Tran Ha Minh Quan
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity Theory ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Customer Experience ◽  
Customer Engagement ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Epistemic Motivation ◽  
Engagement Behavior ◽  
Company Identification ◽  
Employee Identification

The main purpose of this study is explaining how and when customer experience benefits the company. Built upon social identity theory, we propose that customer experience leads to customer engagement behavior, via two routes: customer-company and customer-employee identification. Furthermore, we advance that customers’ epistemic motivation negatively moderates the mediated effect of customer experience on customer engagement behavior. We ran two studies to validate the measurement of customer experience and to test our hypotheses. For the two studies, we employed a survey method by recruiting consumers of beauty salons in Vietnam. The results demonstrated that EXQ as a measurement for customer experience is applicable to the context of the study and provided empirical support for the hypotheses. Such as, this research found that customer experience positively influences customer engagement behavior as mediated by customer-company and customer-employee identification. Furthermore, this research revealed that customer epistemic motivation negatively moderates the mediated effect of customer experience on customer engagement behavior via customer-employee identification. However, the moderating role of customer epistemic motivation is insignificant for the mediated relationship via customer-company identification. Finally, this research offers theoretical and practical contributions that are elaborated and further discussed.

Just Fresh: fresh juices from the desert!

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Syed Zamberi Ahmad ◽  
Norita Binti Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Small Business ◽  
Strategic Management ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Direct Interaction ◽  
Customer Experience ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Analysis Model ◽  
Content Type

Subject area Strategic management, Strategic marketing, Entrepreneurship and Small business ventures. Study level/applicability This case study will be useful for undergraduate level students majoring in strategic management, entrepreneurship, small business ventures and marketing. Case overview Just Fresh Juice is a small entrepreneurial venture in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), specialising in preparing all-fresh juices, special mixes and fruit salads. The purpose of this paper is to analyse how Just Fresh can maintain its competitive advantage, and how it could sustain its rapid growth in the market and gain more market share in the long run. Just Fresh focuses on satisfying its customers more effectively than its competitors through a competitive strategy of cost leadership (Papulova and Papulova, 2006), direct interaction with the customers through social media (Srinivasan, 2014) and creating a customer experience (Porter, 2008), as delivering a good customer experience is often more effective in building a competitive advantage than optimising internal processes. Expected learning outcomes The purpose of this case is to enable management students to evaluate and analyse a small business established in the United Arab Emirates. Students will gain a comprehensive understanding of new business set-up and build proper business strategy. They will be able to perform the company’s competitive standing using Porter’s Five competitive forces and analyse its business strategies as well. They will be able to analyse the current status of the company using SWOT analysis and to design alternative strategies for the company using TOWS analysis. Furthermore, students will be able to build a cost analysis model for the company. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email [email protected] to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Exploring the influence of store attributes on customer experience and customer engagement

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (11) ◽  
pp. 1138-1158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suhaily Mohd-Ramly ◽  
Nor Asiah Omar
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Department Store ◽  
Customer Experience ◽  
Customer Engagement ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Retail Sector ◽  
Term Survival ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Store Attributes

Purpose The global retail landscape has changed drastically. The rising role of Asia as one of the fastest growing international retail penetration and expansion will continue to make the region to be the driving force in world economic growth. However, the ambitious expansion plans are making the retail sector to be more challenging. Emphasizing on the customer experience and enhancing the value proposition to customers are undeniably vital factors for the long-term survival of any retail business. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of store attributes on customer experience and customer engagement in the context of department store in Malaysia. Subsequently, the influence of customer experience on customer engagement is also analyzed. Design/methodology/approach Using drop and collect survey, 484 valid responses of department store cardholders of age 18 years and above in the area Klang Valley, Malaysia, were collected. PLS structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses of this study. Findings Results revealed that customer experience is influenced by merchandise, store atmosphere, and loyalty program, while customer engagement is influenced by merchandise, communication, interpersonal communication, and loyalty. In contrast, post-transaction services were found to have non-significant impact on both customer experience and customer engagement. Analysis also revealed a strong relationship between customer experience and customer engagement. Research limitations/implications This study is carried out on customers of department store in Malaysia. However, the researchers urge other researchers to replicate the study from different countries and category of department stores. Originality/value Retail researchers recognize little knowledge on the contribution of store attributes to customer experience and customer engagement. This paper represents original research that encourages foreign retailers to employ service-dominant logic as a new marketing thought in designing strong customer engagement and experience strategies to capture the Malaysia market.

scholarly journals From WOM to aWOM – the evolution of unpaid influence: a perspective article

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 314-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel L. Williams ◽  
Nicole Ferdinand ◽  
John Bustard
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Natural Language Processing ◽  
Natural Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Customer Engagement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Dominant Source ◽  
Source Of Information

Purpose Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) natural language processing may see the emergence of algorithmic word of mouth (aWOM), content created and shared by automated tools. As AI tools improve, aWOM will increase in volume and sophistication, displacing eWOM as an influence on customer decision-making. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the socio technological trends that have encouraged the evolution of informal infulence strategies from WOM to aWOM. Design/methodology/approach This paper examines the origins and path of development of influential customer communications from word of mouth (WOM) to electronic word of mouth (eWOM) and the emerging trend of aWOM. The growth of aWOM is theorized as a result of new developments in AI natural language processing tools along with autonomous distribution systems in the form of software robots and virtual assistants. Findings aWOM may become a dominant source of information for tourists, as it can support multimodal delivery of useful contextual information. Individuals, organizations and social media platforms will have to ensure that aWOM is developed and deployed responsibly and ethically. Practical implications aWOM may emerge as the dominant source of information for tourist decision-making, displacing WOM or eWOM. aWOM may also impact online opinion leaders, as they may be challenged by algorithmically generated content. aWOM tools may also generate content using sensors on personal devices, creating privacy and information security concerns if users did not give permission for such activities. Originality/value This paper is the first to theorize the emergence of aWOM as autonomous AI communication within the framework of unpaid influence or WOM. As customer engagement will increasingly occur in algorithmic environments that comprise person–machine interactions, aWOM will influence future tourism research and practice.

USING OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE TO PROTECT THE CONSUMER IN THE BANKING SERVICES MARKET – OPPORTUNITIES AND POSSIBILITIES

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-157
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Butor-Keler
Keyword(s):  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Customer Experience ◽  
Banking Services ◽  
Consumer Interests ◽  
Market Opportunities ◽  
Scope Of Protection

Customer Experiece is the total customer experience in connection with using service or product. Research and analysis regarding this factor is an important element of building a competitive advantage by entrepreneurs. These activities allow to determine the level of customer satisfaction with the services provided or products delivered. Such research is important in particular in the financial services market, which is characterized by high competitiveness, as well as the volatility of the product offer and solutions used, which result in the need to update its policy and solutions on an ongoing basis. The purpose of this publication is to determine whether and if so how the conduct of Customer Experience surveys may affect the scope of protection of consumer interests in the banking services market. This issue is important because the market generates a number of threats to these interests, which will be presented in this article.

scholarly journals Competing in the Global Solar Photovoltaic Industry: The Case of Taiwan

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Shan Su
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cell ◽  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
The United States ◽  
Solar Photovoltaic ◽  
Cost Advantage ◽  
Sequential Order ◽  
Large Size ◽  
The World

The top five solar cell supply countries in the world in sequential order are China, Taiwan, the United States of America, Japan, and Germany. The capacity of Taiwanese solar cell production is ranked top two in the globe. The competitive advantage of the Taiwanese electronics firms has facilitated the rapid developments to its solar photovoltaic industry. The Taiwanese solar photovoltaic industry possesses a large size and a complete value chain of upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors. In this study, I analyzed the trends and developments of the solar photovoltaic industry in Taiwan and in the globe. And I also investigated the positioning and competitive advantage of Taiwanese firms in the value chain of the global solar photovoltaic industry. I found that Taiwanese firms continue to have an important and indispensable role in the global solar photovoltaic industry by either differentiation or cost advantage.

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