Colour and Light in Berlin and Wrocław (Breslau) Department Stores Built between 1927 and 1930

This paper presents the theoretical assumptions and design praxis concerning colour schemes used in the multi-threaded Moderne, Streamline Moderne and Art Deco styles, which were used in Germany during the interwar period to design commercial facilities. We based our analysis on selected cases of department stores built in the years 1927–1930 in Berlin and Wrocław (Breslau at the time). Streamline Moderne and Art Deco, which was present in Germany alongside Expressionism, operated using a simple spatial structure that followed the precepts formulated by the Bauhaus: it featured rhythmically divided, disciplined facades clad in ceramics, sandstone or travertine, as well as large storefront windows with brass frames. These Modernist compositions were enriched with ceramic or brass cornices and friezes, overhangs and full-figure sculptures that were often gilded. The buildings’ interiors, designed following the principles of efficiency and functionality, had spatially accentuated and colour-marked entrance zones and grand, glazed courtyards that were given an expressive décor via ceramics, stone or exotic wood. The expression of these compositions was underscored by linear illumination and cascade-like chandeliers that formed light sculptures. In our paper, we also presented problems associated with the contemporary revitalisation and reconstruction of such buildings. We specifically focused on research findings that identified original ceramics production technologies and methods that allowed the recreation of the texture and colour of the facade of the A. Wertheim department store in Wrocław.

Hyper-reoriented walking in minimal space

We present a new reorientation technique, “hyper-reoriented walking,” which greatly reduces the amount of physical space required in virtual reality (VR) applications asking participants to walk along a grid-like path (such as the most common layout in department stores). In hyper-reoriented walking, users walk along the gridlines with a virtual speed of twice the speed of real walking and perform turns at cross-points on the grid with half the speed of the rotation speed in the physical space. The impact of the technique on participants’ sense of orientation and increase in simulator sickness was investigated experimentally involving 19 participants walking in a labyrinth of infinite size that included straight corridors and 90° T-junctions at the end of the corridors. Walking accuracy was assessed by tracking the position of the head mounted display, and cyber-sickness was recorded with the simulator sickness questionnaire and with open questions. Walking straight forward was found to closely match the ideal path, which is the grid line, but slight errors occasionally occurred when participants turned at the T-junctions. A correction algorithm was therefore necessary to bring users back to the gridline. For VR experiments in a grid-like labyrinth with paths of 5 m in length, the technique reduces required size of the tracked physical walking area to 3 m × 2 m.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic upon fashion consumer behavior: focus on mass and luxury products

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused a decline in overall consumption, but luxury sales within offline department stores rose significantly. This study identifies changes in the market environment variable (i.e. pandemics) and their impact on clothing consumption behavior. Moreover, it examines consumer behavior characteristics and provides implications for future fashion marketing and merchandising strategies.Design/methodology/approachThis study analyzed post-pandemic consumption trends by obtaining luxury brand sales data from the Korea National Statistical Office and department stores. Moreover, it investigated luxury consumption fluctuation after the pandemic and statistically analyzed the characteristics of luxury consumers by customer level (CL) that affected sales.FindingsThe results of the study showed that offline (online) clothing consumption at mass markets has decreased (increased) since the pandemic, whereas sales of luxury fashion brands at offline department stores have grown. Moreover, the in-depth analysis showed a significant sales decline (increase) for clothing-centered (leather-centered) luxury brands.Practical implicationsIf such a trend in luxury brand consumption continues, current polarization is expected to be maintained. Therefore, the study’s findings can be used as basic data in strengthening luxury brands and planning products.Originality/valueThis is the first work to undertake a comparative study of fashion consumer behavior, before and after the pandemic, involving the mass and luxury markets in South Korea.

Assessment of contamination of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides in rice samples collected from Songkhla province, Thailand

Study on assessment of contamination of natural and artificial radionuclides in agricultural products samples are very important to all human being as a consumer. In the present study, we have measured and evaluated the specific activities of natural (40K, 226Ra and 232Th) and anthropogenic (137Cs) radionuclide in rice samples. The 30 rice samples were collected from general and department stores at Songkhla province in the south of Thailand. The high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector and gamma-ray spectrometry analysis system which was set-up in advanced laboratory in Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology (public Organization) or TINT were employed to perform all of measurements and analysis for this study. The frequency distribution of specific activities of 40K, 226Ra, 232Th and 137Cs for this study were also studied and found to be asymmetrical distribution with the skewness of 1.29, 1.43, 2.32 and 0.82, respectively. For this reason, the median values of specific activities of 40K, 226Ra and 232Th which were 620.04 ± 44.30, 3.73 ±0.54 and 2.44 ±0.54 Bq/kg respectively, should be selected and also used to calculate some related radiological hazard indices in this study. Furthermore, the excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) would be also evaluated and presented. Moreover, the results of present study were taken to compare with some data and studies in Thailand and global measurement and calculations. It was found that the outcomes satisfied the standards of UNSCEAR and IAEA.

Status signalling in the market for consumer goods

People are concerned with signalling their social status to others, and conspicuous consumption may be a prevalent means of signalling, such that purchasing decisions are motivated not only by the direct value of a product, but by the indirect value gained from what the product might communicate to others. Here we measure which products people might use as signals and ask how the signalling potential of products relates to the distribution of product offerings in the consumer goods market. In particular, we asked how the signalling potential of products influences the number, price, and dispersion of prices within and across department stores. Using data scraped from 11 department stores, we found that products with greater signalling potential are available in greater quantity, more expensive within a given store, and that more expensive stores stock more products with higher signalling potential, leading to greater global variance in prices for goods with greater signalling potential. Further, we use product visibility as an instrumental variable to estimate the causal effect of signalling potential on product offerings. Altogether, these results suggest that consumers demand to use visible goods as social signals, and being sensitive to this demand, suppliers of consumer goods position their product offerings to supply ample material for signalling via consumption.

Shopgirls as Consumers: Selling Popular Music in 1920s Australia

The mid-1920s were boom years for the Australian gramophone trade. The most prominent multinational record companies had established local branches, and a handful of new factories produced millions of records for sale on the local market. Department stores joined an established network of music traders in retailing these cultural products. This article explores the labour of women involved in the retail sale of gramophone records in Melbourne. Selling recorded sound animated a charged rhetoric of musical meliorism, class and taste, according to which the value of the product was determined by the supposed musical quality thereof. Australian saleswomen or “shopgirls” were required to perform evidence of their modernity in the commercial encounter. I propose that conceiving of record saleswomen as simultaneously sellers and consumers provides valuable insight into the entangled nature of capitalism and culture in the realm of Australian music. This exploration of the process of commercialisation of recorded music illuminates the connection between labour and culture, leisure and society in colonial modernity.

Importance of Marketing Mix Elements in Determining Consumer Purchase Decision in the Retail Market

This research aimed to identify the linkages between marketing mix elements and the purchase decision process among consumers in the Malaysian retail industry. To fulfill this objective, the present study followed a quantitative survey for gathering the data from the consumers of department stores at the East Coast region in Malaysia. All of the obtained data were inserted and coded using SPSS and then analysed by AMOS 18. The findings indicated that the impact of advertising on the consumers' purchase decision is positive and statistically significant. Besides that, the findings demonstrated that distribution intensity has a negative effect on purchase decision, whereas price plays a key important role in affecting purchase decisions process of the consumers. Lastly, the findings of this paper verified that store image and store location have significant positive linkages with purchase decision. These outcomes enhance our understanding on the role of marketing mix elements in determining a consumer's purchase decision, particularly in the retail context.

Comparing shopping experiences in department stores and street markets: a big data analysis of TripAdvisor reviews

Purpose Based on big data analytical and statistical techniques, this study aims to examine tourists’ shopping experiences at department stores and street markets in Phuket. Design/methodology/approach A Naïve Bayes machine learning algorithm was used to identify the most frequently used terms in TripAdvisor reviews of both department stores and street markets contributed by the same pool of 729 tourists. Findings A total of 18 out of 62 terms used were common in reviews of both shopping settings. However, the study found significant differences in the mean use of the 18 common terms and the likelihood of those terms being used in overall positive reviews. Practical implications The study’s findings indicate differences in tourist shopping experiences at department stores and street markets. Several concrete recommendations are made, including a greater focus on the linkage to the national characteristic of street markets, and particularly the quality of local fruit, to enhance the tourist shopping experience. Originality/value Understanding the differences between shopping malls and street markets from the tourist’s perspective would further enhance the coexistence of shopping malls and street markets in tourism-led growth cities. As such, using reviews of both shopping malls and street markets from an identical pool of tourists, the present study will analyse and compare tourists’ actual shopping experiences, thereby addressing this gap in the research canon via integrated statistical and big data analysis techniques.