The Issues Troubling Consumers, and Their Search for Answers

For a fifth year in a row, consumers worldwide are living in an era that can be closely described as very busy, oftentimes turbulent, and full of challenges. It is an unstable era. The events or developments of this era, explicitly or through their consequences, touch on multiple areas: health-oriented, economic, political, socio-cultural, and technological.… Read More

Jelmoli Prepares for a New but Different Chapter in Its Retailing Legacy

Jelmoli is a Swiss department store in Zürich well-known to residents and visitors of the city. Last year (2023) the retail brand celebrated “190 Years of Jelmoli” with the tagline “Full of Stories” (e.g., posted on the store’s front windows). However, this celebration also marks in all likelihood a conclusion of its function as a… Read More

Directions for the Future of Research on Consumer Behaviour

There are so many changes and developments that have taken place since the start of the 21st century to talk about — social, technological, and environmental; the social dimension includes both socio-economic and socio-political changes. Consumers are affected by the shifts that surround them, modifying and adapting their behaviours of shopping, purchase and consumption. In… Read More

On the Verge of Subscription Fatigue

Magazines & newspapers, video (TV) streaming, online shopping, water containers (mineral) or filters, shaving razors, and so on — almost anywhere companies are ready to offer consumers subscription programmes for their goods or services. The monthly or annual subscriptions may be offered by manufacturers (selling directly to consumers), service providers and retailers. The scheme is… Read More

Wake-Up to Your Energy Drink

Every now and then people need a little help to ‘boost their energy’. To the rescue comes the ‘energy drink’ (e.g., Red Bull, Monster, Rockstar, and more recently Prime). It is an invigorating, non-alcoholic drink, but one that usually contains high levels of sugar, caffeine, and other stimulants to create its effect. Energy drinks have… Read More

A Spotlight on the Gap Between Purchase Intention and Actual Behaviour

Rick, who is unhappy with the increased frequency of repairs that his current car requires, intends to buy a new car to replace it within the next six months. Sandy, on the other hand, has her mind set on buying a bicycle in the coming month to help her move around more freely within the… Read More

From Research Findings to Business Decisions: Reporting or Telling a Story?

It is a challenge that follows marketing and consumer research for many years: How to get not only the interest of business decision-makers in the findings from research but also their readiness to implement their lessons from the research? More than being intrigued and interested in the details of analytic findings, business decision-makers (e.g., owners,… Read More

Let Segmentation Go Deeper

Consumers may differ in their demographics, lifestyles and personality, tastes and preferences, attitudes and behaviour. Consequently, a couple of consumers who differ on any of these characteristics may experience differently the same event or activity, service episode or product usage (e.g., by the thoughts and conclusions, feelings and emotions the experience evokes in each consumer).… Read More

Digital Changes Coming Ahead for Marketers and Consumers

The digital landscape in marketing and e-commerce is fluid and evolving continuously. In the meantime, the patterns and habits of consumer shopping behaviour also keep changing. Most notably in recent times, consumers were driven to modify their shopping behaviour due to restrictions imposed during the course of the coronavirus pandemic. However, consumers have had to… Read More

When Solving More Complex Problems

Once in a while consumers face more complex and difficult problems they need to solve in order to achieve some end goals. These problems are likely to be compounded by multiple decisions, and furthermore, some of the decisions could be inter-related or interdependent. In the process of problem solving, consumers may be required to perform… Read More