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    ARA Research Hub (3)

    Welcome to the ARA Research Hub

    Here you will find a diverse range of consumer research insights that can deliver positive benefits to their business and the retail sector.

    This content is developed by a team of leading researchers at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and powered by the ARA Consumer Research Committee which is a unique strategic collaboration between the ARA and QUT. Together with some of our leading ARA members, we are helping fund and create the generation and publication of new research to inform Australia’s leading retailers.

    To access the articles and summaries below you need to be an ARA member. If you are not a member, please contact the ARA membership team on 1300 368 041 (Option 2) or email membership@retail.org.au

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    ARA Retail Review Author-1

    Professor Gary Mortimer
    Chair – ARA Consumer Research Advisory Committee

    ARA Retail Review Author (1)-1

    Dr Frank Mathmann
    ARA Industry Research Advisor 


    Research Translated 

    Academic research can be challenging to read and comprehend. In conjunction with QUT, new academic studies are now being translated into ‘research summaries’, designed to offer members exclusive and easy access to the latest retail and consumer knowledge.  

    LOGIN TO VIEW ARTICLES
    Research Hub version

    Thank You, But No Thank You - Emotional Responses to Preferential Treatment 

    From priority services and exclusive offers, retailers use preferential treatment in promotions, to reward loyal customers and recover from service failure.

    Research Hub version (3)

    Our Emotional Connection to Service Robots

    The AI revolution is already upon us, with digital assistants transforming the way we access information and personal robotics automating tasks long thought to be too complex for machines to handle

    Research Hub version (1)

    Why Loyalty Programs Cannot Prevent Switching

    In retail, it is often much more difficult to attract new customers than it is to increase sales from existing ones

    Research Hub version (4)

    Working with Robots

    For many retailers, service robots are the new frontier in automation. Rather than being hidden away behind the scenes in assembly lines, warehouses and fulfilment centres, these service robots are on the frontline, directly interacting with customers and staff

    Research Hub version (5)

    Social distancing and employee wellbeing

    One of the most critical measures for slowing the spread of COVID-19 is social distancing, interrupting the transmission of the virus through minimizing physical contact

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    COVID-19 – Enabling Entrepreneurship?

    The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had profound impacts on the business environment, not just the direct health impacts

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    Vulnerable consumers and hardship programs

    Retailers across a variety of sectors offer hardship programs to assist consumers who are experiencing vulnerability

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    Effects of Imaginative Displays on Customers’ Purchase Behaviour

    The ‘attractiveness’ of a store environment is a key strategic goal for retailers, creating positive shopping experiences and driving purchase behaviour.

    Untitled design (9)-2

    Food waste reduction in the supply chain

    With some 1.3 billion tonnes of food wasted globally each year, almost one third of all food produced

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    Examining consumer intentions to use smart retail technology

    Smart retail technologies (SRT), such as nearfield communication, interactive displays, touch screens, and self-checkout systems

    Customers’ sensitivity to employee displayed authenticity

    A simple smile, a warm welcome or a genuine empathic response can make all the difference to customer experience

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    How crowdedness influences restaurant patronage in the COVID-19 pandemic

    From the buzz of a crowded restaurant to the anticipation of a packed queue

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    How consumers react to changes in price and size

    Inflation is a fact of life in retail, and marketers will often find it necessary to increase the unit price of a product

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    The blockchain panopticon to secure the beef supply chain

    A panopticon is a conceptual prison, with a central tower at its heart. Prisoners would be unable to tell if they were being watched from the tower at any given moment

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    Online Repurchasing: Disclosure, Hope and Goal Attainment

    Online shopping has changed the relationship between consumers and brands. While in a typical bricks and mortar store the consumer is largely anonymous

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    A Cinderella Story: Upcycling and Past Identify

    A leaky boat turns into a table. An old mosquito net transforms into a laptop sleeve. An old t-shirt become a grocery bag

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    Embracing consumer difference in competitive strategy

    Early marketing strategy was dominated by a mass marketing paradigm, the goal was to create products and marketing campaigns with the broadest possible appeal to achieve efficiencies of scale

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    You got a free upgrade? What about me? Entitlement and envy in tourist judgements

    All consumers want to get the best deal possible, and in an age of fast comparison websites, online testimonials and coupon aggregates

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    The use of the number eight in discounts to influence gift purchasing 

    The field of psychological pricing suggests that the presentation of numbers IS critical in determining how the total price or discount is interpreted by customers

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    Community engagement and social licence to operate

    In a free and open market economy, organisations depend on the actions of stakeholders to continue to do business.

    Retail and Consumer Insights

    In conjunction with QUT, a collection of the latest consumer and retail industry insights from leading Australian and international researchers are now offered in one convenient location for members.   

    What is adaptive clothing?

    cc1Have you ever tried to do up a zip or button a shirt one-handed? Put on a pair of jeans while seated? Click here to read more

    The suburbs are the future of post-COVID retail

    blog cc

    The COVID-19 pandemic delivered a body blow to CBD retailers, but it’s just the latest of their challenges in recent years. Click here to read more

    How supermarket pharmacies could change the way we shop

    file-20190913-190026-w27h4g

    On the way home, you wander into the supermarket for a loaf of bread. But before you reach the bread aisle, you drop in your prescription at the supermarket pharmacy. Click here to read more

    How the attention economy helps stoke aggression towards retail workers

    cc4Australian retailers and unions say there is an epidemic of abuse and aggression directed towards retail staff. Click here to read more

    Coronavirus has turned retail therapy into retail anxiety

    cc5Some of the routines developed during lockdown, such as cooking and baking at home or foregoing daily takeaway coffees, may continue post-pandemic if money is tight. Click here to read more

    The self-surveillance strategy

    cc6Supermarkets are trying overt surveillance that also encourages “self-reflection” on any impulse to exploit loopholes in the bagging and payment systems. Click here to read more

    COVID-19 has changed the future of retail

    cc6-1Even as social-distancing rules ease, this trend will consolidate. Many bricks-and-mortar shops are in trouble, particularly those in shopping centres. Click here to read more

    Overhaul of payments system

    cc7Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has announced a comprehensive reform of regulations governing the payments system. Click here to read more

    Landlords and tenants ponder mutually assured destruction

    cc8The chief executive of Mosaic Brands has said of his threat to permanently close 300 to 500 stores in Australia unless landlords reduce rents. Click here to read more

    Can’t resist splurging on online shopping?

    cc9Higher levels of distress have been linked with higher purchase intentions. Click here to read more

    The war on abandoned trolleys can be won

    cc9-1Recovering trolleys is time-consuming and sometimes risky depending on the location. Collection often involves a significant cost to councils and commercial businesses. Click here to read more

    Fast fashion shoppers on how ethical concerns shape their choices

    Capture-Jan-14-2022-07-18-08-65-AMWe conducted in-depth interviews with fast fashion shoppers to find out how much they think about the conditions of the workers who make their clothes, and what effort they take to avoid slave-free clothing. Click here to read more

    Delivery and supply chain problems are multiplying

     Capture-Jan-14-2022-07-19-32-28-AME-commerce is booming but despite rerouting deliveries and staff working extra shifts, delays are becoming the norm. Click here to read more

    Why retailers are tapping into paper catalogues

    Capture-Jan-14-2022-07-23-23-01-AMWhile it might seem that paper catalogues would be relegated to history with the advent of e-commerce, it seems as if, at least for these retailers, they are still part of doing business. Click here to read more

    Any toy is educational if you support kids in their play

    Capture-Jan-14-2022-07-24-47-17-AMWhat’s the best educational toy to buy for the child (or grandchild) in your life? Click here to read more

    Making it harder to import e-cigarettes is good news for our health

    Capture-Jan-14-2022-07-26-54-81-AMAccess to e-cigarettes will require a doctor’s prescription. It’s good news for public health and bad news for the tobacco and e-cigarette industries. Click here to read more

    Melbourne’s vanishing small businesses

    file-20210412-15-1z02g7yAbove all, this book of photographs is a reminder of a slower and simpler way of living. Click here to read more

    How retailers are dealing with changing consumer habits

    Capture-Jan-14-2022-07-28-54-97-AMConsumer habits form around regular patterns of daily activity. As these patterns change, so do consumer habits. Click here to read more

    Cashless payment is booming, thanks to coronavirus

    Capture-Jan-14-2022-07-31-54-13-AMA poll conducted by MasterCard found 82% of its users see contactless payments as cleaner than cash. Click here to read more

    Retailers must innovate during the holidays and beyond

    Capture-Jan-14-2022-07-34-00-61-AMHow do physical retailers increase in-store sales? Click here to read more

    Up to 40% of UK retail space is not needed

    Capture-Jan-14-2022-07-35-05-39-AMThe reality is that there is far too much retail floorspace in the UK. Dealing with it is going to be one of the big challenges of this decade. Click here to read more

    Customer experience will help retailers overcome the financial hit from coronavirus

    Capture-Jan-14-2022-07-36-23-68-AMThe growth of online commerce eroded many retailers’ top-line revenues, forcing them into an ongoing cycle of discounts and promotions just to keep up. Click here to read more

    Fashion retailer Primark is refusing to sell online

    Capture-Jan-14-2022-07-37-49-89-AMIrish fast-fashion retailer Primark has no plans to sell its clothes online. Click here to read more

    The demise of the department store

    Capture-Jan-14-2022-07-40-57-51-AMA poll conducted by MasterCard found 82% of its users see contactless payments as cleaner than cash. Click here to read more

    Pandemic-era retail

    Capture-Jan-14-2022-07-45-29-99-AMThe inability to mask for medical reasons raises important questions about the application of well-established principles of human rights law to the retail sector. Click here to read more

    Creating middle-class retail jobs

    Capture-Jan-14-2022-07-50-34-30-AMGrocery-store cashiers and other frontline retail workers have helped get us through the pandemic, but do we value them? Why are retail jobs middle-class in Sweden, but low-wage work in Canada? Click here to read more

    The rise and rise of Aldi

    Capture-Jan-14-2022-07-52-06-29-AMTwenty years ago, on January 25 2001, a virtually unknown German supermarket chain quietly opened its first stores in Australia. Click here to read more

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    The ARA acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we work, learn and live. We pay our respects to their elders past and present, and also recognise Australia’s First Nations’ peoples as Australia’s first traders with a sophisticated network of trading paths that have facilitated the exchange of goods, knowledge and culture for millennia

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