Balancing experience and convenience in retail

As part of an Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy (ANZMAC) Special Interest Group (SIG), members of the Customer Experience and Insight (CXI) Research Group are involved in an externally funded collaborative research project on the challenges of balancing experience and convenience in contemporary retail contexts.

Current focus

Showrooming drivers and strategies

With the rise of smartphones and online retailing, brick-and-mortar retailers are suffering from the effects of ‘showrooming’. This is when consumers investigate products in-store, benefiting from the advice of salespeople and the opportunity to inspect physical stock, but then make the actual purchase online. This practice is particularly problematic when consumers make the purchase through an online retailer that is unaffiliated with the physical store in which they investigate the product (e.g. Amazon).

Understanding the drivers of this behaviour and identifying strategies for retailers to cope with and/or discourage it is vital for the strength of the Australian retail industry.

Therefore, this research will investigate the personal and contextual factors driving consumers’ showrooming behaviour and hopefully develop practical strategies for retailers to change and adapt accordingly.

On-the-go consumption behaviour in Australia

The pace of modern life is not slowing, and a wide range of consumer trends are driving an increase in on-the-go (OTG) consumption. Today, consumers frequently carry drinks and food while on-the-run, be it picking up the kids, skipping traditional at-home meal occasions (i.e., breakfast), or racing between meetings.

This behaviour has become commonplace in modern society and as such, OTG consumption has grown substantially. However, OTG consumption remains under-researched, leaving brand managers in the dark with regard to macro-level consumption drivers, preferences and behavioural outcomes.

For retailers and food manufacturers seeking to succeed in this competitive sector, there is a necessity to understand how this behaviour is changing, but also what factors are driving these changes.

Such insight will aid in differentiating product offerings beyond standard packaging choices and addressing these changing lifestyles through new product development.

Project team

SIG leaders