Seek and You Shall Find: A Case Study at IKEA About Self-Service Technologies for In-Store Navigation
(2020) BUSN39 20201Department of Business Administration
- Abstract
- Research purpose: This study aims at finding out (1) how retailers' sales can be influenced if customers are offered to use SSTs (self-service technologies) for navigating themselves directly to the items they want to buy. (2) how the shopping experience can be influenced if customers are offered to use SSTs for navigating themselves directly to the items they want to buy.
Methodology: Based on findings from prior literature, directional research hypotheses were formulated with an independent variable of the use of SSTs for in-store navigation and dependent variables of basket size, the frequency of store visits, loyalty, customer satisfaction, hedonism and utilitarianism. A survey was conducted at IKEA Helsingborg in Sweden for customers... (More) - Research purpose: This study aims at finding out (1) how retailers' sales can be influenced if customers are offered to use SSTs (self-service technologies) for navigating themselves directly to the items they want to buy. (2) how the shopping experience can be influenced if customers are offered to use SSTs for navigating themselves directly to the items they want to buy.
Methodology: Based on findings from prior literature, directional research hypotheses were formulated with an independent variable of the use of SSTs for in-store navigation and dependent variables of basket size, the frequency of store visits, loyalty, customer satisfaction, hedonism and utilitarianism. A survey was conducted at IKEA Helsingborg in Sweden for customers who had finished shopping between the ages of 18 and 69. The Mann-Whitney U test was employed to compare data from the group that used SSTs for in-store navigation and the group that did not use them.
Empirical data: Quantitative survey data were collected. Among the 187 respondents, 38 respondents answered that they used SSTs for in-store navigation, and 66 respondents answered that they did not use them. 83 respondents submitted invalid questionnaires.
Findings and conclusions: The use of SSTs for in-store navigation did not reduce customers' basket size and did not increase the frequency of their store visits. Customers who used SSTs for in-store navigation were found to be more loyal and enjoyed their shopping more. However, SSTs at IKEA were proved not to have an outstanding ability to guide customers to the items they were looking for. SSTs at IKEA turned out not to add utilitarian value. Therefore, customer satisfaction did not increase even though hedonic value from the use of SSTs for in-store navigation was significant.
Practical implications: Without worrying about a decrease in customers' basket size, SSTs for in-store navigation can be adopted by retailers as a tool to promote customer loyalty and create hedonism in shopping. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9018702
- author
- Kim, Jooho LU and Larsen, Robin LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- BUSN39 20201
- year
- 2020
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- In-store navigation, Self-service technology, In-store path, Customer behaviour, Basket size
- language
- English
- id
- 9018702
- date added to LUP
- 2020-07-08 10:46:21
- date last changed
- 2020-07-08 10:46:21
@misc{9018702,
abstract = {{Research purpose: This study aims at finding out (1) how retailers' sales can be influenced if customers are offered to use SSTs (self-service technologies) for navigating themselves directly to the items they want to buy. (2) how the shopping experience can be influenced if customers are offered to use SSTs for navigating themselves directly to the items they want to buy.
Methodology: Based on findings from prior literature, directional research hypotheses were formulated with an independent variable of the use of SSTs for in-store navigation and dependent variables of basket size, the frequency of store visits, loyalty, customer satisfaction, hedonism and utilitarianism. A survey was conducted at IKEA Helsingborg in Sweden for customers who had finished shopping between the ages of 18 and 69. The Mann-Whitney U test was employed to compare data from the group that used SSTs for in-store navigation and the group that did not use them.
Empirical data: Quantitative survey data were collected. Among the 187 respondents, 38 respondents answered that they used SSTs for in-store navigation, and 66 respondents answered that they did not use them. 83 respondents submitted invalid questionnaires.
Findings and conclusions: The use of SSTs for in-store navigation did not reduce customers' basket size and did not increase the frequency of their store visits. Customers who used SSTs for in-store navigation were found to be more loyal and enjoyed their shopping more. However, SSTs at IKEA were proved not to have an outstanding ability to guide customers to the items they were looking for. SSTs at IKEA turned out not to add utilitarian value. Therefore, customer satisfaction did not increase even though hedonic value from the use of SSTs for in-store navigation was significant.
Practical implications: Without worrying about a decrease in customers' basket size, SSTs for in-store navigation can be adopted by retailers as a tool to promote customer loyalty and create hedonism in shopping.}},
author = {{Kim, Jooho and Larsen, Robin}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Seek and You Shall Find: A Case Study at IKEA About Self-Service Technologies for In-Store Navigation}},
year = {{2020}},
}