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
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
Digital Price Display: Opportunity & Risk
The landscape in food stores is gradually changing with a transition of retailers from printed price labels to digital price tags, formally known as electronic shelf labels (ESLs). When looking from some distance, shoppers may not notice the difference in appearance of the label, but the digital price display can have implications that shoppers may… 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
Globus: A Department Store Changes Its Face
A visitor returning to the flagship department store of the Swiss chain GLOBUS in central Zurich after a long absence is headed for a surprise. The visiting shopper is about to encounter on entry a completely different landscape — bright and flashy, with a large avenue stretching from the front entrance (on Bahnhofstrasse) to the… Read More
Marketing-Driven Financial Valuation of Brands
Assessments of the monetary value of brands has long interested and motivated the management of firms, and their investors. From a business perspective, the financial value is a preferred measure of brand equity or return-on-investment in brands. But a brand is a marketing-driven and consumer-based entity, and hence one cannot detach the financial value of… 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
Consumer / Shopper / Customer Behaviour 