Rituparna Basu

Promotion management stands at the intersection of brand strategy and consumer response (Purohit & Arora, 2022). Over the last few decades, the field has been based on the idea of mass communicatio...

E-commerce is critical for managing increased customer demand and maintaining operational efficiency during disruptions such as natural disasters, health crises, and political instability. Despite this, little is known about how crisis-driven market changes influence dynamic capabilities, technology adoption, and customer experience (CX). This study provides insights into how e-tailers can leverage technology to enhance the CX for first-time online shoppers (FTOS). Given the limited literature on FTOS, which differs from repurchasers, three studies were conducted using a multi-method approach. Study 1 involved an environmental scan of 109 news articles and journal papers for practical insights. Study 2 consisted of in-depth interviews (IDIs) with senior managers working full-time for e-tailers, while Study 3 involved IDIs with FTOS. Findings reveal that e-tailers adapt to crises by leveraging technology to bridge demand–supply gaps through dynamic demand forecasting and improved last-mile delivery. They also use advanced technologies to provide personalised and immersive experiences, helping narrow the gap between offline and online shopping for FTOS. This study contributes to theory with a conceptual framework, with empirically grounded, theory-informed propositions linked to the Resource-Based Theory (RBT) and CXM frameworks, to explore how e-tailers leverage crisis-led capabilities to enhance FTOS experience. It conceptualises a new understanding of how e-tailers adapt to enhance FTOS CX amidst crises which can serve as a springboard for future research. The insights from an empirically grounded conceptual framework and propositions, offer managerial implications for e-tailers and other service providers.

Purpose: This article attempts to understand consumer sentiments and emotions toward mobile grocery shopping applications (MGSA). Additionally, from a technology standpoint, the study examines the influence of different versions of mobile apps on consumer sentiments. Design/methodology/approach: We employ a big data-based natural language processing approach using online reviews to identify the positive and negative consumer emotions that drive mobile grocery shopping applications adoption and explore new possibilities for market expansion through consumer-driven recommendations and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) triggers. Findings: The analysis highlights key drivers of positive and negative emotions (trust, anticipation, surprise, joy, disgust, fear, anger and sadness) influencing consumers' intention to recommend MGSA. The study further emphasizes the impact of technological upgrades on consumer sentiments, underscoring the importance of mobile app management for effective customer engagement, adoption and long-term market performance. Originality/value: This study fills a research gap in the growing m-commerce grocery market by assessing the sentiments of early adopters using a large, unbiased dataset to ensure generalizable insights.

Purpose: The study investigates the exclusive effect of advertiser credibility (AC) on consumer’s attitude towards the brand’s genuinity and subsequent brand loyalty (BL). Additionally, the study examines the moderating role of brand attachment (BA) and usage on the direct and indirect relationships between AC, consumer attitude and BL. Design/methodology/approach: Five advertisements identified through a dipstick study served as brand stimuli and along with previously established scales were administered to a representative sample of 582 urban adult brand users. The two-step empirical study investigated the eight hypothesized relationships using covariance-based structured equation modeling. Findings: Results indicated significant direct effects of AC on attitude towards brand genuinity and attitude towards brand genuinity on BL, respectively. The study established the pivotal role of consumer attitude towards brand genuinity in fully mediating the relationship between AC and BL. BA and usage (in years) were confirmed as significant moderators in the relationship between AC and consumer’s attitude towards brand genuinity. Practical implications: The interlinkages between AC, consumer attitude and BL form the premise of BL practice for sustained brand performance. Originality/value: The study adopts a novel approach to examine and analyze the complex interplay of the less researched advertiser or corporate credibility with consumer attitude, pre-existing BA and usage in influencing BL outcomes.

Advertisements creating controversies and resulting in brands being subjected to intense criticism is not uncommon in the age of social media. India’s largest jewelry retail brand, Tanishq, too became a victim of one such controversy in 2020. On October 9, 2020, Tanishq, a division of the Titan Company and a part of Tata group, released an advertisement to promote its new line of jewelry collection called ‘Ekatvam’. The advertisement highlighted inter-faith marriage and showed how a loving Muslim mother-in-law respected the sentiments of her pregnant daughter-in-law’s Hindu faith by arranging for her baby shower according to Hindu rituals. Post the release of the advertisement, a vast number of protests broke out in the country and caused a stir. Prior to the ad release, around September 2020, news about love jihaad was doing the rounds in many parts of India. The stir led Tanishq to withdraw the advertisement with issuance of a statement by the company. In light of these developments, a number of questions were being raised. Was it correct on the part of the brand to remove the ad? Did the advertisement seem like a deliberate attempt to gain the attention of consumers? Could Tanishq have expected this controversy to occur given the history of a tense relationship between the two religions in the country? What could the brand do to avoid such controversies in the future?

As modern marketing environments become increasingly data‐intensive, the role of marketing analytics in illuminating the dynamics of customer psychology to inform marketing decision‐making becomes critical. This study conducts a systematic literature review using a bibliometric analysis of 122 studies identified and retrieved from Scopus, focusing on the expansive domain of marketing analytics. Our review serves as a conduit binding the fragmented past, present, and future of marketing analytics, presenting an organized framework that highlights the characteristic theoretical underpinnings associated with it. Beyond offering a panoramic perspective of key resources—encompassing journals, authors, countries/territories, and institutions—we delve deeply into predominant themes in marketing analytics. These themes underscore its vital applications, from decision‐making, forecasting, and capability building, to understanding customer journeys and gaining a competitive edge. Central to our discourse is the study's implication, emphasizing marketing analytics as a bridge to a more informed grasp of customer psychology in today's customer‐centric, data‐driven environment. Through this lens, marketing analytics becomes a potent tool to capture psychological nuances, uncovering facets that might be bypassed by traditional marketing, thereby empowering enriched decision‐making in modern marketing strategies.

Over the last two decades, motivated by the continuous evolution of the technology‐driven retail environment, researchers have studied various aspects of online consumer behaviour. This article attempts to take stock of this environment to critically assess the research gaps in the domain and provide future research directions. Applying a well‐grounded systematic methodology following the TCCM (theory, context, characteristics and methodology) framework, 197 online consumer shopping behaviour articles were reviewed. The findings reveal that the application of theories remains limited in the current pool of literature that focuses more on developed nations. While studies have primarily considered categories such as apparel and grocery, in terms of methodology experimental and survey‐based studies were most common. Additionally, the article suggests some future research directions. The use of combined theories to better understand technology acceptance by consumers of online‐shopping is recommended. Similarly, studies across other categories like online experiential luxury, luxury services, or second‐hand products that then link to novel constructs reflecting issues with payment methods, online service quality, and online store atmosphere are portrayed as meaningful avenues that will advance research in the domain.

Consumer vulnerability is gaining increasing attention from researchers and practitioners as a social phenomenon in modern consumption‐driven societies. In an attempt to conduct a comprehensive review using credible published research materials on the topic, this study applies a big data analytics approach to analyze scholarly research with a pool of 859 articles covering the last 25 years of post‐modern marketing practices that have been a precursor to market‐driven vulnerability. This paper identifies the most influential articles, as well as the top contributing journals and authors, along with their affiliations. In addition, this study reveals four major themes of research in consumer vulnerability, namely marketing, fraud and consumers, consumer vulnerability and well‐being, ethics and vulnerable consumers, and consumption, disability and gender. These integrative perspectives will serve as a critical starting point to encourage focused theme‐based exploration in the field.