Innovation in retail: impact on creating a positive experience when buying fashion products
Author:Cristinel Vasiliu and Mihai Ovidiu Cercel
JEL:L81, O33.
DOI:
Keywords:retail, shopping experience, fashion products, salesperson, brand, innovation in
retail.
Abstract:
Innovation in fashion retail is critical in order to ensure competitive advantage in a
constantly evolving market, in terms of consumer expectations. The modern customer is
mobile, permanently connected to the Internet, well-informed about international trends,
mindful of the quality of products, but more price sensitive and less loyal to a brand. The
shopping experience provided by retailers is a crucial factor in purchase decision,
encompassing all these variables in a complex concept of exogenous variable. As retailers’
efforts to provide excellence in shopping experience are focused on operating costs and
thus on the profit margins, it is important to consider and identify which are the most
relevant variables that form the perception of excellence for Romanian customers, so that
retailers can innovate according to their expectations.
The purpose of this article was to highlight the role of innovation in creating a positive
experience for consumers buying clothes, shoes and accessories. The approach was based
on the conduct of exploratory research. The research ? represented by five original
objectives and as many different working scenarios ? resulted in the identification of
thematic outlined exploratory opinions, exploiting a first investigation of its kind in
Romania, less Pearson coefficients used in the analysis of ordinal variables or hierarchical,
but quickly assessed using SPSS, version 21. As a pioneering research emphasis was on
identifying potential associations and quantified correlations and less on rigorous
delimitation of exogenous or endogenous quality in general, leaving room for future
studies, sharper and with a higher degree of representation. Thus, we could highlight some
useful aspects of the investigated retailers, by the dominant character of interested
customers’ opinions according to their volunteer responses. Consumers are accustomed to
using the Internet to obtain information; they rarely express opinions on social sites about
the purchased goods, and are willing to receive information about special offers of the
stores on personal mobile devices since the entry into the stores. Customers would also welcome separate exposure areas in selling space, where they can find products in
promotional campaigns. Therewith, we could outline a primary profile of the ideal
salesperson on fashion products, less rigorous but relatively consistent.