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The purpose of this study is to draw from sustainable social innovation theory and the Consumer styles inventory (CSI) instrument to examine secondhand clothing consumption habits for Russia. The secondhand market is the logical outcome of efforts to adopt resale as a facet of sustainable social innovation, with which to drive sustainable decision-making and socially responsible marketing in the secondhand high-end clothing market. Resale represents the cornerstone of business model innovation (BMi) for the retail sector, offering substantial opportunities for retailers who understand changes in consumption behaviour. More cost-effective and arguably greener, the sale of secondhand clothing is expected to be double the volume of fast fashion by 2030 but it remains an understudied field of research in the literature relating to the fashion industry.

Hypotheses are developed from the existing literature. Survey methodology is used to collect data from 250 Russian consumers in the city of Petersburg. The objective is to test the veracity of CSI shopper orientations, focusing on nascent motivations for high-end branded secondhand clothing, to examine sustainable social innovation and resale in an emerging market.

Four new shopping orientations are identified. Based on the empirical data, the authors suggest that five (out of the original eight CSI shopping orientations) are of internal statistical relevance, and that our new orientations are relevant for not only this market, but for neighbouring Eastern European countries too. The findings reflect postmodern evolution in behavioural motivations for Russian consumers, that can inform retail strategy in terms of BMi consumer for harnessing opportunities offered by sustainable social innovation and resale.

Whilst the CSI has been widely used, research for Eastern Europe is limited. Understanding the shopping orientations for sustainable alternatives to newly produced clothing has theoretical and practical implications for improving circularity, post-war entry strategies and countries facing economic downturn. This study contributes novel insights by examining consumer decision-making and shopping orientations in an emerging market.

Few studies have examined technology-enhanced atmospheres for strengthening customer experience and brand engagement in physical store settings. This study builds on the social presence theory to test for the first time the moderating effects of virtual social presence on customer responses, through AR adoption in-store. Our study aims to understand the impact of technology-enhanced in-store atmospherics (TEISAs) with emphasis on AR elements and virtual social presence on customer experience and engagement behaviours (CEBs) in luxury settings.

Hypotheses are developed and a survey using 566 responses were collected using Qualtrics. T-tests, two-way ANOVA and structural equation modelling were used for analysis of CEBs. Moreover, using PLS-SEM, we test whether virtual social presence moderates this relationship in a cross-country context; Britain and China, two of the largest economies for luxury growth.

The findings demonstrate that TEISAs have a positive impact on emotion and perceived value, with virtual social presence moderating this relationship. The cross-cultural comparison results show that the impact of TEISAs on emotion and perceived value is stronger for British than for Chinese millennials.

Our model is the first to incorporate technology into various store atmospherics, to employ virtual social presence as a new moderator, and to provide empirical evidence on the effects of AR on customer experience and CEBs in the real-time luxury retail environment. This study is also the first to consider virtual social presence on social media as a moderating variable.

The purpose of this paper is to explore Chinese consumers’ motivations to purchase luxury fashion products in the UK and how far sustainability plays a role in the decision-making process, by extending the consumer typology of translators, exceptors, selectors. The authors further add an additional dimension to defining “luxury”.

An exploratory design utilising multiple qualitative research tools (semi-structured interviews, focus groups) provides the basis for this research. A grounded analysis was applied.

Findings map motivational drivers to purchasing luxury products and establish a fourth consumer type “indulgers”. Well-being further emerged as a key characteristic that defines “luxury”.

The sample size is limited to Chinese consumers purchasing luxury fashion in the UK, and thus may not be generalised.

This research helps managers to understand the consumer types and underlying motivations of Chinese consumers purchasing luxury fashion in the UK. As one of the largest target groups, this research informs managers on how to further capitalise on this market.

This paper creates a new consumer typology that not only categorises consumers according to their consumption aspects, but further identifies their underlying motivations to do so.

This paper represents an initial investigation into the strategic implications of providing training to all employees of coffee shops in the UK, including baristas (coffee makers) on temporary or part‐time job contracts. In particular, the paper aims to investigate whether service quality can be significantly improved by devoting substantial resources to staff training.

Two focus groups were conducted to obtain a demand side picture of this market. One of these groups comprised customers under the age of 30 years and the other was made up of customers between 30‐50 years of age. Managers of two coffee shops were interviewed to get a supply side view.

The attitudes of the two focus groups were surprisingly similar. Generally, customers did not expect more than basic product knowledge from their baristas. On the supply side, it emerged that the coffee chains provided basic training to all of their employees. This training was firm specific and revolved around a workbook that employees completed in a matter of weeks.

This market is a highly volatile one and customer expectations may well change in the near future. Moreover, future research will compare the UK coffee market with other countries, to further contextualise the results.

Current spending by firms on front line staff typically amounts to approximately £200/person per year. This research suggests that coffee shops are behaving rationally in providing limited training to their staff. There is no evidence, on the demand side, that perceptions of service quality would be enhanced by spending significantly more on training baristas.

This paper adds insight to the discussion surrounding consumer perception of service quality in the context of a rapidly growing market.

This case study investigates attitudes towards delicatessen and speciality food for consumers in the North West region. The speciality food sector has experienced above average industry growth over recent years. The UK market for speciality food and drink was £3.3 billion in 2001, according to market analyst Datamonitor, which predicts sales will grow by 5.5 per cent over the next five years. The heart of the category, the traditional speciality counter, shows clear signs of being seriously under threat. Market forces have put speciality food into a paradoxical situation – growing in response to demand while simultaneously losing traditional small outlets. The traditional speciality counter needs to adapt in order to survive