Editorial

Citation

Fernie, J. (2008), "Editorial", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 36 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijrdm.2008.08936baa.001

Editorial

Our second issue of the year begins with an article by Anne-Sophie Binninger on the relationships between retail brands and consumer store loyalty in France. Surveys were carried out in five major French cities to determine satisfaction, loyalty and behaviour with respect to their main store visited and product categories purchased. The results unsurprisingly show that an increase in retail brand satisfaction and loyalty influences store loyalty, especially when a retail brand is identifiable, i.e. it equates to the store name. Jason Carpenter and Marguerite Moore then discuss US consumers' perceptions of non-price retail promotions, specifically gifts with purchase, sweepstakes/contests, movies/theatres/sport tie-ins, in-store events and interactive displays. Using a sample of 500 from retail forward panel data their results show that females perceive higher levels of fun associated with non-price retail promotions, especially gifts with purchase and sweepstake/contest promotions. In terms of age there is an inverse relationship with younger consumers more likely to participate in such promotions than older consumers. Also, larger households should be targeted by retailers because their participation rates are higher than smaller ones.

Our third paper, also from US authors, discusses the issue of corporate irresponsibility. Tillman Wagner and his colleagues from Texas Tech University undertake a two-step research method to identify initially the key factors which consumers feel are socially irresponsible before testing the 14 factors on a larger online survey of students (n¼331) The results show that CSR is important to consumers and should be added to customer satisfaction surveys. In terms of demographics, female and older consumers tend to be more concerned about retailers actions towards corporate responsibility.

Another US paper by Seung-Eun Lee, Kim Johnson and Sherri Gahring also targets consumers to ascertain their satisfaction with local independent retailers in the wake of intense competition from “big box” discount retailers and non-store shopping such as the internet. Over 900 consumers were mailed in three small mid-west communities where at least one big box retailer was located. The overall finding from the research was that local retailers did not meet local consumers' expectations, especially in the area of merchandise assortment and availability leading the authors to advocate a more unique, niche marketing strategy to attract local consumers.

Our final paper is by Christina Boutsouki and her colleagues of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece. The Greeks, like other European countries, have demanded more organic food products and this paper addresses consumer attitudes and behaviour to the advent of such products in the marketplace. From a sample of 600 consumers in Thessaloniki it is shown that health, concern for the environment, support for the local economy are drivers of organic consumption. Fruit and vegetables are the main products associated with organic products and consumers tend to be better educated with higher incomes.

John Fernie