Two important technological developments with transformational power in vehicles are taking place side-by-side: electric vehicles (EV) and autonomous vehicles (AV). They have the power of transforming consumers’ experiences of driving their cars, or travelling as passengers, and maintaining them, possibly changing the way consumers perceive passenger vehicles in whole. The purposes and functionalities of the… Read More
Rebuilding Customer Loyalty in Hospitality
The coronavirus pandemic, with its changing virus variants arriving in multiple waves, caused havoc and serious disturbances in tourism, including travel, hospitality, and myriad of touristic activities. In some periods the pandemic waves caused almost a complete halt of travel, while in other periods there was partial resumption of tourist travelling and vacations. As hospitality… Read More
Working Towards Display of Less Merchandise in Stores
As consumers purchase online more frequently, and in larger volumes, the experience of shopping in brick-and-mortar stores is changing. Consumers these days could be looking for something different than before when shopping in stores; and so, the roles of physical stores also have to be modified with the changes in consumers’ tastes and shopping behaviour.… Read More
A Road Map to Customer Insights
In the crossroads of marketing research and customer research, a field of customer insights is flourishing. Instead of talking merely about research findings and conclusions, practitioners (managers and professionals) are developing and discussing customer insights. The term ‘insight’ does sound deeper and more clever, with potentially more ingenuine and farther-reaching meanings and implications. Especially when… Read More
A Combined Impact of Sight and Touch on Product Choice
There is ample research and articles on the roles and effects of each of the five human senses (vision, auditory-hearing, olfactory-smell, taste and touch) on perception and higher-level cognition, emotions, decision making etc. But the senses very often do not operate in isolation from each other — two or more senses can be activated together… Read More
An Illusion of Living in the 1970s: The Design and Experience
The cinema film ‘La Belle Époque‘ (France 2019, Director & Writer Nicholas Bedos) is intriguing, amusing, and in some moments fascinating. The story and scenery are quite unusual, having many aspects, and holding some surprises. Beyond the story of this romantic comedy, viewers are introduced to a special experiential production of past periods that customers… Read More
Retail in Recovery
Wherever relief from COVID-19 is evident, we can see signs of recovery in offline retail, that is at physical stores and shops. In the first months of 2021 countries have lapsed again into third and fourth waves of COVID and lockdowns, which caused a reversal of earlier signs of recovery experienced. But where a recent… Read More
Designing Customer Experiences Around Personas
When mapping customer journeys, it would help to design and direct them with regard to personas of customers, ‘profile’ concepts of plausible types of customers that seem real and approachable. Having the image of a customer before one’s eyes with human traits, background, attitudes and preferences, can make it easier to plan and prepare for… Read More
Between Experience and Loyalty: The Case of Retailing
There is broad agreement, growing over the past decade, about the importance of improving and enhancing the experience of customers with companies, their brands, products or services. The journeys customers undergo, from shopping and purchasing through on-going service and support, should be streamlined and facilitated to make customer experiences more friendly and productive. It is… Read More
A New Opportunity Arises for Pop-Up Stores
Temporary stores pop-up in recent years more frequently in different retail locations such as central shopping districts (e.g., on high-streets or inside urban quarters) and in malls; as you might expect, they are called Pop-Up Stores. These stores or shops may operate for as short as a few days to as long as two or… Read More
Consumer / Shopper / Customer Behaviour 