Customer-centricity as an approach to retail solution development in brick-and-mortar
Ahonen, Riikka (2023)
Ahonen, Riikka
2023
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023121537693
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023121537693
Tiivistelmä
For many industries, recent years have been characterized by remarkable growth figures of e-commerce fueled by Covid-19. The growth figures in daily consumer goods trade have also been impressive but that is only one side of the story. In fact, in 2022 over 97 % of the total retail trade of the daily consumer goods still took place in physical store environment. In 2022, the total sales value of daily consumer goods in Finland was 21,6 billion euros. Considering all the facts, it is anything but insignificant what kind of physical retail solutions there are - and how they are being developed.
This Master´s thesis was commissioned by a Finnish retailer group. The purpose of the thesis is to define customer-centric process and set of methods for the group´s market trade chain management to be used in retail development projects in daily consumer goods trade to strengthen - and in the long run to help establish – customer voice in development work. The aim of the thesis is to explain factors affecting customer in-store experience in the daily consumer goods trade. The topic of the thesis is approached through a case study focusing on the development of the Frozen goods product area in hypermarket context.
Due to the aspiration for customer-centricity and complexity of the retail environment, Service Design is chosen approach for the development work. The Service Design process phases of discover, define, and develop are applied with suitable methods along the development process. The last phase of Service Design process (deliver) is out of the scope of the thesis.
The knowledge base of the thesis consists of three themes: customer-centricity as an approach to business development, importance of customer experience in today´s world and characteristics of customers´ buying behavior and decision making in connection to daily consumer goods. Modified version of the Customer shopping experience organizing framework presenting seven company-controlled experience factors forms the core of the theoretical framework of the thesis.
The research is conducted with a combination of quantitative and qualitative research approach. Online survey and group interviews are the research methods used in the thesis. Content analysis of the qualitative data is conducted with deductive approach using the seven company-controlled experience factors: Promotion, Price, Merchandise, Process, Location, Internal shop environment and Personnel. The identified development opportunities arise from the research data. Co-creational workshop with customers was organized to concretize the development ideas.
The aim of the thesis is reached. The seven company-controlled in-store shopping experience factors are identified. The research reveals that the significance of the experience factors varies in hypermarket context in connection of the Frozen goods product area. The study results to definition of the customer-centric process and set of six methods to be used in retail development projects in daily consumer goods trade in the future.
This Master´s thesis was commissioned by a Finnish retailer group. The purpose of the thesis is to define customer-centric process and set of methods for the group´s market trade chain management to be used in retail development projects in daily consumer goods trade to strengthen - and in the long run to help establish – customer voice in development work. The aim of the thesis is to explain factors affecting customer in-store experience in the daily consumer goods trade. The topic of the thesis is approached through a case study focusing on the development of the Frozen goods product area in hypermarket context.
Due to the aspiration for customer-centricity and complexity of the retail environment, Service Design is chosen approach for the development work. The Service Design process phases of discover, define, and develop are applied with suitable methods along the development process. The last phase of Service Design process (deliver) is out of the scope of the thesis.
The knowledge base of the thesis consists of three themes: customer-centricity as an approach to business development, importance of customer experience in today´s world and characteristics of customers´ buying behavior and decision making in connection to daily consumer goods. Modified version of the Customer shopping experience organizing framework presenting seven company-controlled experience factors forms the core of the theoretical framework of the thesis.
The research is conducted with a combination of quantitative and qualitative research approach. Online survey and group interviews are the research methods used in the thesis. Content analysis of the qualitative data is conducted with deductive approach using the seven company-controlled experience factors: Promotion, Price, Merchandise, Process, Location, Internal shop environment and Personnel. The identified development opportunities arise from the research data. Co-creational workshop with customers was organized to concretize the development ideas.
The aim of the thesis is reached. The seven company-controlled in-store shopping experience factors are identified. The research reveals that the significance of the experience factors varies in hypermarket context in connection of the Frozen goods product area. The study results to definition of the customer-centric process and set of six methods to be used in retail development projects in daily consumer goods trade in the future.