Past research has shown that consumers believe there is a strong relationship between price and quality; they also believe there is a strong relationship between brand and quality. Therefore, when comparing similar pieces of apparel, items with a designer brand or a higher price are perceived, by most customers, to be of higher quality. The purpose of this study was to compare the pricing and quality of identical designer merchandise sold in department stores and manufacturers’ outlet stores. The researchers found no significant differences in the quality of apparel sold in the two retail formats; however, there was a significant difference in the price. The department store merchandise was 31 per cent higher in price than the outlet store merchandise.
This study examined the pricing accuracy at retail stores using scanners. Reports from weights and measures inspectors in nine states were analyzed over a four-year period. Findings are reported on the number of pricing errors, the number and percentage of overcharges, and the number and percentage of undercharges. The results revealed an error rate of 3.86 percent. Undercharges represented 2.21 percent of the total errors, while overcharges represented 1.65 percent. In addition, the research found that error rates declined over the four-year period. The implications of these findings for retailers and consumers are discussed.
This chapter provides a review and synthesis of information related to technologies available at the retail POS (point-of-sale) checkout. Several POS technologies available to retailers are described, detailing their benefits and drawbacks for both retailers and consumers. The five technologies described and analyzed are barcode scanning, electronic shelf tags, shelf-checkouts, RFID tags, and fingerprint authentication. The extent to which retailers have implemented these available technologies is described, and perspectives on the future implementation of these technologies and emerging trends are also presented. Findings would indicate that there will continue to be innovations in retail technology at POS, and shopper expectations will continue to change. At the same time, retailers will probably remain cautious in deciding if and when to adopt new technologies. They must be convinced that the innovations will deliver sufficient value to offset their expenses.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.