In a rather exceptional move, Netflix, the prominent streaming company, reaches its customers-viewers beyond the screen and enters the physical space in newly created experiential hubs, titled each a Netflix House. When we say ‘physical’, it actually means that the House harbours a virtual world of fiction and fantasy by tangible means within the physical… Read More
How Things Have Changed in Hotel Booking
It is doubtless that the online (Internet) domain has considerably changed the practices of hotel booking. Still, consumers-tourists may not be fully aware of how dramatically obtaining lodging in hotel rooms has changed over the past thirty years (i.e., compared with the 1990s and earlier). Moreover, the transformation is mostly felt when it comes to… Read More
Retailing From the Viewpoint of Young Bright Talents in Design
It is the 13th year in a row that VMSD magazine (Visual Merchandising & Store Design) publishes its annual list of winners of the Designer Dozen award (March 2025). The young designers chosen (age 35 and under) are considered the best and brightest designers in retail in their generation. The 12 designers specialise in interior… Read More
The Rising Wonder of Smart Vending Machines
A new generation of automated smart vending machines, including refrigerators and coolers, is taking its place within stores (e.g., food, pharma, convenience) and in public spaces (e.g., train stations & airports, malls, service waiting lounges). There is variation in their models and features, but they have some common characteristics: they are AI-augmented, data-driven, and often… Read More
When Aesthetics Meets Neuroscience: Neuroaesthetics
Seeing or hearing a beautiful creation — of art, design, or nature — usually makes us feel good, bringing in us a feeling of pleasure, elevation, calm or thrill. Often enough, the aesthetics of a scenery, artefact or person is realised almost instantly (i.e., astounding beauty). Neuroaesthetics, a young field of the neurosciences, is devoted… Read More
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
Listening to Managers and Consumers When Building Marketing Theory
Academic articles in marketing can be very instructive, occasionally eye-opening, on various issues and topics; one can learn from them about theory, research methodology and models, and the findings and conclusions reached from their analyses. Yet, it would not be presumptuous to say that managers do not rush to search for, read and consult with… 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
Differences and Conflicts Between Metrics of Response to Customer Service Calls
First Call Resolution (FCR) is a key performance indicator for service call (contact) centres. The indicator pertains to success in achieving a resolution to a problem or an issue raised by a customer in his or her first call made to a contact centre. The metric of FCR success rate (%) usually concerns phone calls,… Read More
Consumer / Shopper / Customer Behaviour 