Special issue on Social and experiential retailing

Citation

(2006), "Special issue on Social and experiential retailing", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 34 No. 9. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijrdm.2006.08934iaa.002

Special issue on Social and experiential retailing

Special issue on Social and experiential retailing

For decades retailers and researchers have been aware that shopping is not just a matter of obtaining tangible products but also about experience and enjoyment. Some researchers find that service and experience are more associated with shoppers' choices than are shops and merchandise. They find that enjoyment and entertainment are important benefits of shopping, valued by consumers, and reflected in their spending. These benefits for shoppers can link to increased sales and profits for retailers; and higher rental incomes for shopping centers. According to an overwhelming majority of studies, the link between retail atmosphere and sales is "very strong and robust". If two stores differ in atmosphere, but are otherwise similar, researchers report enhanced mood, goal attainment and higher spending on unplanned purchases at the one with the pleasant atmosphere.

The social and experiential aspects of shopping are not of trivial importance but may be literally a matter of life and death. Social science and medical researchers find that socially isolated people have mortality rates between 50 per cent and 300 per cent higher than those who socialise. People who are happy are ill less often and recover quicker – and practitioners contend that shopping can help people to be happy!

E-shopping is growing fast and commentators suggest that to compete, "bricks" (conventional) retailers are changing their orientation from sellers of goods to providers of entertainment. On the other hand, the successful e-retailers may be those that seek to replicate or enhance social and experiential benefits online, using techniques of web atmospherics.

Our goal for this special issue of the International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management is to disseminate a coherent body of research that will provide insights into how the (e-)retail sector is responding (or should respond) to the challenges of social and experiential retailing. Empirical, conceptual and practitioner approaches are welcomed but all contributions should address the practical implications of the research.

Topics may include (but are not limited to):

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  The effects of retail atmospherics on retail performance and/ or shopper satisfaction;

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  Social, health and wellbeing effects of shopping;

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  Comparison of social and experiential shopping across cultural, socia-demographic or behavioural segments;

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  The psychological and/or neurological mechanisms or effects of shopping;

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  The environmental psychology framework to social and experiential retailing;

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  The relevance of other frameworks, e.g. evolutionary psychology.

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  Bricks retailers' responses to the growth of e-shopping;

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  The social and experiential aspects of e-shopping.

All papers should be between 3,000 and 6,000 words in length (counting everything including introductory pages, tables and references). Authors are advised to seek guidance from the "notes for contributors" for the International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management available fromhttp://www.emeraldinsight.com/ijrdm.htm

Process of submission/review

Each submission will be double blind refereed by at least two referees. A two-phase review process is planned, to allow for the reconsideration, where appropriate, of revised papers by at least one of the reviewers.

Submission deadline

The final deadline for the submission of papers is end of September 2006, but the editors strongly encourage early submission of an abstract, for guidance on focus and content, prior to the final submission.

Publication date

The issue will be published as a part of the 2007 volume of the journal.

Manuscripts should be submitted electronically, as Word or PDF documents, to Charles Dennis at: Charles.Dennis@brunel.ac.uk

Dr Charles Dennis, FCIM, Senior LecturerBrunel Business School, Brunel University,Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 3PH, UKTel: +44 (0) 1895 265242; Mobile: +44 (0) 7984 921139;Fax: +44 (0) 1895 269775Home page: http://www.brunel.ac.uk/about/acad/bbs/bbsstaff/bm_staff/charlesdennis