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Engaging in webcare, i.e. responding to online reviews, can positively affect consumer attitudes, intentions and behavior. Research is often scarce or inconsistent regarding the effects of specific webcare strategies on business performance. Therefore, this study tests whether and how several webcare strategies affect hotel bookings.

We apply machine learning classifiers to secondary data (webcare messages) to classify webcare variables to be included in a regression analysis looking at the effect of these strategies on hotel bookings while controlling for possible confounds such as seasonality and hotel-specific effects.

The strategies that have a positive effect on bookings are directing reviewers to a private channel, being defensive, offering compensation and having managers sign the response. Webcare strategies to be avoided are apologies, merely asking for more information, inviting customers for another visit and adding informal non-verbal cues. Strategies that do not appear to affect future bookings are expressing gratitude, personalizing and having staff members (rather than managers) sign webcare.

These findings help managers optimize their webcare strategy for better business results and develop automated webcare.

We look into several commonly used and studied webcare strategies that affect actual business outcomes, being that most previous research studies are experimental or look into a very limited set of strategies.

This paper aims to explore the influence of a particular label surface texture, i.e. embossing, on consumer purchase intentions and willingness to pay. This paper further highlights the underlying mechanisms explaining this relationship by unveiling the mediating role of willingness to touch and perceived package uniqueness.

Based on the visual salience theory and the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) model, this paper tests mediations and serial mediations across two online experiments and evidence from a laboratory experiment.

Study 1 reveals perceived package uniqueness as the mediator, such that embossed elements on the label increase perceived uniqueness, hence leading to greater purchase intentions and willingness to pay. In addition, Study 2 replicates these results and goes further by demonstrating the positive effect of embossing on purchase intentions and willingness to pay through willingness to touch then perceived package uniqueness.

The findings provide insightful managerial implications by drawing attention to the importance of using embossed elements on packaging, particularly when companies seek to differentiate themselves from competitors by stimulating consumers to touch their product packaging and having them perceive their products as unique.

Using visual salience theory and the SOR model, this research is, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the first to shed light on the effect of embossing as a visual element of the packaging design on willingness to touch the product (haptics) and perceived uniqueness, ultimately enhancing purchase intentions and willingness to pay.

This study examined the links between user-generated content (UGC), dissatisfied customers and second-hand luxury fashion brands. A central premise of luxury fashion brands is the perceived status and privilege of those who own such items. Despite their marketing logic emphasising exclusivity and rarity, they have broadened their reach by integrating new digital marketing practices that increase access to luxury brand-related information and create opportunities for consumers to purchase products through second-hand sellers.

Building on an inductive qualitative study of 59 millennials from three European countries (France, Italy and the UK) and by examining the mediating role of UGC and dissatisfied customers, this paper develops a conceptual framework of three clusters of second-hand luxury fashion goods customers: spiritual consumers, entrepreneurial recoverer consumers and carpe diem consumers.

The proposed SEC framework (spiritual consumers, entrepreneurial recoverer consumers, and carpe diem consumers) illustrates how the emerging themes interconnect with the identified consumers, revealing significant consumer actions and attitudes found in the second-hand luxury goods sector that influence the usage of UGC and its integration into service failure and recovery efforts

This study suggested that the perceptions of consumers seeking second-hand luxury fashion products differ from those who purchase new or never previously owned luxury fashion products. Overall, this research sets the stage for scholars to forge a path forward to enhance the understanding of this phenomenon and its implications for luxury fashion companies.

Building on technology acceptance and learning transfer theories, this study aims to evaluate the integration of mobile augmented reality (MAR) in omnichannel retailing touchpoints for Generation Z (or Gen Z)'s apparel shopping, assessing how habitual augmented reality (AR) use in nonretailing contexts impacts Gen Z's motivations, acceptance and use of MAR shopping apps.

A total of 562 participants downloaded a footwear MAR app and completed a survey. Data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and multivariate regression to explore moderated mediation effects.

The study reveals a paradigm shift: Gen Z's habitual use of AR in social media (e.g. Snapchat and TikTok face filters) significantly influences their intent to use MAR in shopping, overshadowing hedonic motivations. This marks a transition from AR as a gimmick to a practical utility in omnichannel touchpoints, with performance expectancy emerging as a critical mediator in adopting MAR for utilitarian purposes.

This study highlights how Gen Z consumers’ tech habits influence their pragmatic view of MAR, urging re-exploration of the main constructs of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) model.

Findings suggest Gen Z values practicality over fun in MAR shopping apps, guiding marketers to emphasize tangible benefits for this demographic.

This research underscores the evolving perception of AR in retail among mobile natives, highlighting the shift from novelty to habitual utility. It offers strategic insights for integrating AR into omnichannel strategies, catering to the utilitarian expectations of Gen Z in the digital retail landscape.

In the competitive app store environment, understanding how various app store elements influence user preferences is crucial. While prior research has primarily focused on textual and numeric elements of app stores, the role of visual elements remains underexplored. This study addresses this gap by investigating how color temperature (warm vs. cool) in app screenshots can influence users’ intentions to download hedonic vs. utilitarian mobile apps.

Multiple online experiments were conducted, including two main experiments (N = 192) and two supplementary experiments (N = 157). The experiments manipulated the color temperature of screenshots for hedonic (e.g. gaming) and utilitarian (e.g. banking) apps and measured participants’ perceptions of color appropriateness, attitudinal responses, and download intentions.

Warm colors were perceived as more appropriate for hedonic apps, while cool colors were perceived as more suitable for utilitarian apps. The congruence between color temperature and app value orientation significantly influenced users’ ad attitudes and app download intentions. Specifically, hedonic apps in warm colors and utilitarian apps in cool colors received more favorable responses, with perceived color appropriateness mediating this effect.

This research enhances the understanding of the impact of color on app users’ perceptions and behaviors and also offers valuable insights for app developers and marketers on effectively using color as a visual marketing tool in app store environments.