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doi:10.1016/j.jre

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 13 (2006) 377–380

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Guest Editorial and Commentary

1. Introduction

Retailing worldwide is passing through a dramaticperiod of transformation in a climate where businessesare obliged to generate ever-increasing levels of differentia-tion just to maintain market share. New technologies andpractices combined with the globalization of products andservices have driven retailers to leverage every part of thebusiness in strategic response. Consumers have become, toa large extent, more sophisticated and demanding withtheir expectations of products, services and businesses.Crossing geographical and cultural boundaries generatesparticular sets of conditions, internally and externally, thatstretch the resources of retail institutions that are oftendesperately short of knowledge capital. To succeed in mostmarkets requires retailers to place great (some would sayoverriding) emphasis on the consumer, with the formula-tion of contemporary retail strategy necessitating adeveloped knowledge of consumer behaviours, intentions,expectations and profiles. This Special Issue sought there-fore to provide a collection of articles on contemporaryresearch in consumer behaviour and related fields, drawingtogether the current and potential strands of academicresearch to elucidate future directions for JRCS readers.

An editor is faced with many complications whenconfronting the task of attracting and assembling scholarlyresearch in the field of consumer behaviour. The first ofthese is to gather a suitably varied number of articles thatappeal to the widest possible audience. This importantgoal, and the diverse nature of human behaviour, creates asecond level of difficulty that of integrating the verydifferent perspectives and stances held. Psychologists andsociologists may well argue fiercely for their favouredtheoretical stances. Some scholars may assert that theeclectic and rich blend of perspectives inspires and deliversnew advances and directions, for academics and practi-tioners alike. The variety of perspectives and orientations,however, make it inherently difficult to suggest howretailers should respond to specific consumer predisposi-tions.

Consumer behaviour is necessarily complex; it may bestudied from a wide number of theoretical approaches, andis generally difficult for practitioners to operationalize.Practitioners tend to engage with the customer on a morepractical level, which equates to ‘‘much of the academicresearch is too theoretical’’. The goal for educators in this

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field is therefore to integrate and, where possible, todisentangle the commercial relevance from the theoretical.Above all, we should attempt whenever possible to offernew insight into the development of successful retailstrategy.Popular consumer behaviour texts (e.g. Schiffman and

Kanuk, 2004; Solomon, 2003; Blackwell et al., 2001)mostly stem from the US and contain material of acontextual nature to international or European specifica-tions. These works have substantially supported theresearcher and reader with numerous propositions, con-cepts and theories. Texts written in the European market-place (e.g. Hogg, 2005; Foxall, 1990; Foxall et al., 1998)tend to offer a more theoretically developed approach fromwhich to frame studies and management programmes, orare case driven and culturally specific (Gerrit and VanRaaij, 1999). As with other domains, the practitioner rarelycontributes to this knowledge pool. The majority ofmanagement insight (for academics, students and practi-tioners alike) emerges via the journal route and empiricallybased research applied in retail contexts. It is thesescholarly works that guide our management students andpractitioners of the future.

2. The manuscripts

Research into consumer behaviour has enthusiasticallyupheld the importance of recognizing cultural diversity andits impact on consumer choice. However, in terms ofresearch output the story is very different with a paucity ofempirically developed theory that successfully crossescultural divides. I therefore took the decision to offer inthis Special Issue a series of papers that delivered as muchinsight as possible over a range of contexts. The ensuingarticles deal with the detail of an individual consumer’sbehaviour and the macro environmental influences onbehaviour, and mostly in a manner that alludes to culturaldifferences between such behaviours. The five papers thatnow follow are a compilation of studies that range from thesociology of consumption to the psychology of specificshopping behaviours. These are placed in context by thefirst manuscript, which historically considers the changingshopping behaviour in the United Kingdom (UK).Potentially, for those scholars and practitioners who wishto theorize the extent of change indicative of othergeographic regions, this paper takes a 20-year perspective

ARTICLE IN PRESSGuest Editorial and Commentary / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 13 (2006) 377–380378

on changing consumer behaviour. From the author’sstandpoint, research of this nature necessitates considera-tion of a wider social practise embedded in a defined socialcontext (place and time), rather than the practice ofviewing each purchase as a unique decision.

Taking the view that a symbiotic relationship existsbetween consumer behaviour and long-term retail change,Hallsworth et al. argue that the consumer affects and isaffected by the altering retail scene or landscape. One of thekey drivers of change is thus society, the work people doand the consumption of goods, with later emphasis onretail structure, in-store provision, local choice and retailchange and legislation. In illustration of this the authorsdraws our attention to the poor and immobile consumers,and Tauber’s (1972) question [in a very different era andcultural landscape] ‘‘who shops where’’, suggesting thismay be reduced to ‘‘wherever they can reach’’ and theoverwhelming issue of convenience. Hence, the authorsassert that (consumer) choice is partly a function of what isreadily available and, invariably, begs the question howdoes this compare with other cultures?

For some JRCS readers this explanation of the devel-opment of the UK retail-consumer scene will seem familiarand perhaps analogous with their own. Others may bringto the discussion Wal-Mart’s one-stop appeal in thedramatically different consumer culture (and geography)of the US. Is this also a function of convenience or is itabout value? Interestingly, the unstoppable retail giant iscurrently struggling (at time of writing) to adjust to thelocal Japanese consumer culture (Parker, 2005). Similarly,French retailing scholars may reflect on the alteringpatterns of their consumers from parochial tendency toconsume in local and often expensive stores in pre-1978France, to the hypermarket mentality promulgated by theCarrefour and Continent phenomenon. We are thus drawnto the Hallsworth et al. manuscript as a particularperspective on retail consumer behaviour that drawstogether the facets of socio-cultural detail that applyequally to disparate social and cultural systems. In effect,this paper acts as a useful starting point and precursor tothe manuscripts that follow and emphasises the diversity ofthe subject area.

At this point we turn to the micro marketing ofindividual behavioural choices, as well as the widercommercial implications of such choices. The next paperexamines and ties together human personality traits andconsumer choice behaviour in respect of own and nationalbrands, and in the context of three major retail businessesin the food, cosmetics and grocery sectors. Whelan andDavies argue that traditional (marketing) methods ofmarket segmentation based on demographic variables haveshown mixed results in differentiating between consumerswho are more likely to buy own brand products and thosewho prefer national brands. Taking advantage of theemerging convergence in human personality research onthe ‘‘big five’’ dimensions and its implications for consumerresearch (Baumgartner, 2002), the paper focuses on the

potential of human personality as a method of identifyingdifferent customer segments.Whelan and Davies draw attention to the lack of

sophistication in the literature, which tends to concentrateon developing profiles of shoppers based on demographic,socio-economic, and attitudinal or behavioural character-istics. Remarkable as it may seem, earlier studies of ownbrands focused primarily on demographics. The additionof human personality as a distinguishing variable offers asupplementary measure that may help to refine segmenta-tion techniques, and thus enhance the retailer’s response toconsumer purchasing patterns.Academic research of this type is critical for practitioners

who seem more than ever before prepared to adopt andoperationalise new perspectives and concepts appertainingto consumer choice criteria. This increasing awareness hascompelled UK retailers and consultancies to allocategreater investment for the deconstruction of the customerexperience. Perhaps more importantly, there is mountingevidence on an international scale to suggest thatcompanies in both the UK and the US are more willingto embrace the academic foundations and theories ofconsumer research (Shaw, 2005). Recent initiatives in theUK retail sector have successfully driven the refinementand sophistication of segmentation variables. This ismanifested in the ‘super customisation’ of merchandisecategories in the 2000s from the rudimentary analysesperformed by the early retail marketing efforts common inthe 1960 and 1970s. For example, UK grocery giant Tescohas successfully harnessed the CRM principles to greatadvantage based on a stream of behaviourally rich datathat informs communications and placement decisions tiedto customer service strategies. The picture is similar infinancial services with emphasis on the service environmentand service component (Greenland and McGoldrick,2005). Whelan and Davies’s paper in this Special Issue isindicative of the research that academia can produce inresponse to the needs of business.The paper presented next draws attention to the

theoretical minutia of the psychology of purchasing, byquestioning and reconfirming the significance of emotionsin the manifestation of behaviours. Yani-de-Soriano andFoxall reveal the significance of negative emotions likesadness and anger during buying event, and in the contextof studies undertaken cross-culturally. In their paper, theauthors assert that emotions are central to the actions ofconsumers and managers alike, and vital to our under-standing of behaviour. It is notable that practitionerstudies in the 2000s have increasingly acknowledgedemotions [in the service experience] as ‘‘one of the mostoverlooked aspects of business today’’ (Shaw, 2005, p. 5).In response, Yani-de-Soriano and Foxall’s work demon-strates the implications of ignoring very specific emotionssuch as dominance, as a valid emotional dimension in retailsettings or stores. Their research employs Mehrabian andRussell’s (1974) model, and advocates the use of all threedimensions of pleasure, arousal and dominance. This work

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has major implications for evaluating the effectiveness ofatmospherics in the setting in mediating actual consumerbehaviour, and may be expressed as: (a) a desire to affiliatewith others in the setting; (b) a desire to stay in or escapefrom the setting; (c) a willingness to spend time and money(to consume).

The Yani-de-Soriano and Foxall studies [their paperdraws attention to many] support and enrich, theoreticallyand empirically, the basis for future retail managementdecisions, by demonstrating the relevance of the ‘dom-inance emotion’ to consumer behaviour and marketing. Inillustration, the paper reports that some personality scalesrelate primarily to the dominance emotion. This clearlyreveals the potential for the further refinement ofpersonality constructs as segmentation variables. In othercontexts the paper draws attention to the usefulness of thedominance emotion as a mediator of consumer responsesto advertising using the three-factor pleasure-arousal-domination framework (Holbrook and Batra, 1987). Theaugmentation of consumer variables helps to developpractitioner thinking commercially and contributes to thedevelopment of future managerial actions. Moreover, thisroute deepens our understanding of consumer behaviour ina retail context. Of major consideration in this work is thevery robust cross-cultural evidence that the authors havegenerated with a mounting body of empirically basedknowledge.

Continuing with the theme and microanalysis ofconsumer behaviour, my next selection is authored byBackstrom and Johansson and is set in the Swedish retailsector. The paper investigates the substance of anexperience-oriented economy and experience-seeking con-sumption in Swedish retailing. Employing a case studyresearch approach and critical incident technique, theauthors explain how retailers and consumers relate to in-store experiences. Research suggests that retailers’ use evermore advanced techniques in order to create compelling in-store experiences to their consumers (one might speculatethat this is partly due to the increasing pressure fromcompetitors). In contrast, the depiction given by consumersreveals that their in-store experiences to a large extent areconstituted by traditional values such as the behaviour ofthe personnel, a satisfactory selection and a layout thatfacilitates the store visit. This presents a traditional andutilitarian view of consumer choice behaviour.

At a deeper level of analysis, the authors argue thatpositive store atmosphere is crucial in order to offerexperiences rather than just products and services. Theysuggest that atmosphere is of great importance specificallyin a service context because of the abstract (vis-a-visintangible) nature of services. By consistently seeking tocontrol and add substance to the atmosphere of retailstores, Backstrom and Johansson assert that retailers mayinfluence consumers when they are evaluating what type ofservice and what type of products are on offer. ByInvestigating retailers and consumers’ views on in-storeexperiences, their research expands the existing literature

where a presumed increase in experience-orientation is infocus. This study explores what is actually behind notionsof such an increase, from the retailers as well as from theconsumers’ point of view. The Backstrom and Johanssonpaper shows that when consumers’ in-store experiences arein focus, there are considerable differences betweenretailers and consumers opinions on what constitutespleasurable experiences and how these might be inducedin store environments.It is notable that the perceived differences between what

consumers consider pleasurable and the retailer’s view ofthe same may differ so widely. For practitioners this seemsto confirm two fundamental points about the nature ofconsumer behaviour: It is constantly altering and thepresence of a knowledge gap which is comparable to thequality gap relating to customer expectations. Retailersmay in fact approach this important issue with a similarmodel for determining empirically the components ofquality, and conceptualising the gaps that can damageservice quality (Zeithaml et al., 1990). Of major relevancefor practitioners is therefore the degree to which theydisplay marketing orientation (Newman and Patel, 2004),at a time when the global retail marketplace is at its mostunpredictable. How will, for example, the expansion of thevirtual shopping influence the traditional ‘bricks andmortar’ experience?The opening paper (Hallsworth et al.) in this Issue

proposed that convenience, or what is readily available, is amajor influence in consumer decision-making. The Littlerand Melanthiou research presented next focuses on achannel that is fast becoming the most convenient for someconsumer purchases, the Internet. The phenomenal rise inthe use of the Internet as a major shopping channel hasbeen experienced in most parts of the world, from an initialslow take up and means of securing a competitiveadvantage. In the UK, for example, most retailers andproviders of retail services are now compelled by compe-titive forces to adopt Internet-based services and transac-tional sites. Littler and Melanthiou assert that InternetBanking has enjoyed more than average activity in thisregard, and therefore has gained acceptance as a shoppingchannel. Of added importance to the study is the revolutionthat the provision of retail financial services is allegedlyundergoing because of the impact of on-line shopping andrelated searches. In support of this, the authors drawattention to the abundant evidence to suggest that increasesin on-line purchasing of goods and services, and the use ofthe Internet for product information search, would appearto be having a growing and significant impact for retailingin general.At the time of writing, the UK has experienced a slow

down in the growth of consumer spending in the high streetwith retailers recording around 18% reduction in sales in2005. This systematic fall in sales is matched by a gradualrise in the growth of Internet sales, which approached 27%in 2005 (BBC News, 2005), though not really comparinglike with like. These figures also reflect important increases

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in the acceptance of the Internet as a shopping channel,with associated payment systems and financial risks. TheLittler and Melanthiou research, which is the last paper inthis Special Issue, analyses the risks and the uncertaintiesassociated with the consumer decision to adopt InternetBanking. This channel, the authors stress, is in the earlystages of its market development when there is littleexperience, and has thus heralded a significant change inbehaviour, necessitated by the introduction of additionalrisks and uncertainty. The authors contend that the partplayed by uncertainty has at best remained in the shadows,mainly because it has generally been seen as a componentof ‘perceived risk’. The argument advanced by Littler andMelanthiou is that uncertainty is separate from riskbecause it exists where there is an ‘inability to know’.Perceived risk is based on a model of the consumer asdeliberator and evaluator.

3. In summary

Readers may recall the earlier debate this editorialupheld concerning generic consumer behaviour theory. TheLittler and Melanthiou paper, and those that preceded it,illustrates the need for wider and deeper understanding ofthe behavioural processes that surround the buying event.In the case of perceived risk, as the authors assert, populartheory is based on a model of the consumer as deliberatorand evaluator. This is predicated on the view that whenfaced with novel experiences it is possible for the consumerto outline the possible consequences and at least implicitlyattribute some measure of chance to them. There areclearly instances when this cannot be expected to apply andnew knowledge and understanding of the risk-uncertaintydimensions of behaviour serve to enlighten the develop-ment of management thinking. Consumer behaviourtheory generally fails to implicitly acknowledge how thepassage of time alters behaviour, as illustrated by the rise inuse of technology and the potential for informationgathering, in the search before decision-making. Thus, weare grateful for, and formulate strategies from, the researchthat re-examines and reconfirms theory and the manypropositions that comprise the subject area. I sincerelyhope that academics will find the ensuing papers worthy of

deeper reflection and that practitioners use them forma-tively in the retail strategy process.

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Guest Editor

Andrew NewmanManchester Business School, University of Manchester,

Booth Street West, PO Box 88, Manchester M15 6PB, UK

E-mail address: anewman@man.mbs.ac.uk