Gaining customer centric understanding of retail displays for future innovations

Abstract

PurposeThe aim of this research is to provide insights for future display design through understanding the processes of sensemaking of retail displays in digitised retail.Design/methodology/approachThe research applies media elicited interviews and engages thematic analysis to understand agency and advance mental models of retail display. Actor Network Theory (ANT) is engaged to flatten the ontology to traverse digital and physical realms as well as more semiotic sources.FindingsThe article presents a system comprising sensemaking processes of displays in digitised retail and traces the blending traits of physical and digital displays labelling an emerging display terminology applicable across realms.Research limitations/implicationsThe participating retail concepts' limited resources for technological innovations plus the customers all being local and recruited through the physical store represent this study's limitations.Practical implicationsThe developed system reveals a process for abandoning the familiar but obsolete understanding of retail displays to replace it with new insights to support the judgement and decision process for designing innovative future displays with a customer centric logic.Originality/valueThe article is novel in flattening the ontology of retail displays to fit an organisational interface perception of the link between customer and retailer.

Digital healthcare retail: role of presence in creating patients' experience

“…As per the application of actor network theory (ANT) to digital retail environments, the differences of hierarchies between humans, non-humans and digital entities are getting demolished as digital ontology enables coming together of actors originating from different semiotic sources (Madsen, 2021). Human interaction with digital systems is rooted in the theory of presence (Riva et al, 2003), which promulgates creating mediated (digital) systems that provide users an experience which is akin to actual presence, thus enriching their technology enabled service experience.…”

“…The line between healthcare and retail is getting blurred, and the future of healthcare includes a collaborative service scape comprising of traditional healthcare providers, new players from the fields of technology and retail and customers as co-creators of healthcare experiences (Smith and Bernene, 2014). Technological innovation defines the future of retail (Madsen, 2021). The spread of COVID-19 pandemic has precipitated the need for digital transformation of the healthcare landscape (Keesara et al, 2020), and information technology enabled retailing of healthcare services may be a potential way forward.…”

Rethinking the impact of interactive technologies on the retailing experience: Synthesis, conceptual approach, and research agenda

“…Astonishingly, less attention was dedicated to the impact on consumers’ perceived and lived experience in retail shopping (Esbjerg et al, 2012) until recently (Farah et al, 2019; Rauschnabel et al, 2019; van Esch et al, 2019). Literature shows that interactive technologies, as part of smart retailing, allow consumers to experience both the physical and digital worlds by connecting and bringing digital experience into physical stores (Madsen, 2020; Siregar and Kent, 2019). It is said that ISTs revolutionized the way traditional retail displays information, enhancing the environment (Roux et al, 2020), promoting constant information sharing and collaboration, which was unfeasible before their introduction (Pantano et al, 2018).…”

Repenser l’impact des technologies interactives sur l’expérience de distribution. Synthèse, approche conceptuelle et agenda de recherche

“…De manière étonnante, moins d’attention a été portée à leur impact sur l’expérience de shopping perçue et vécue par les consommateurs (Esbjerg et al, 2012), jusqu’à récemment (Farah et al, 2019 ; Rauschnabel et al, 2019 ; van Esch et al, 2019). La littérature montre que les technologies interactives, en tant qu’élément de smart retailing , permettent aux consommateurs d’expérimenter à la fois le monde physique et le monde digital, en connectant et en amenant l’expérience digitale dans les magasins physiques (Madsen, 2020 ; Siregar et Kent, 2019). Il est alors dit que les ISTs ont révolutionné la façon dont la distribution traditionnelle présente l’information, en améliorant l’environnement (Roux et al, 2020), en promouvant un partage d’information et une collaboration constants, ce qui n’était pas faisable avant leur introduction (Pantano et al, 2018).…”