Final Paper Topic

I am very interested in the retail industry, particularly high fashion retailers. I have always been up to date with fashion trends and find the industry very exciting. I also feel that the fashion industry is a very interesting to study when it comes to customer insights and experience.

I feel that the overall image of a retail store is a very important aspect for the retailer to emphasize. The retailer must pay close attention to every element of the store. This is where my research will begin. My paper will be focusing on customer insights into the elements of a retail store. I will write the paper as a case analysis focusing on a specific fashion retailer and touch on every element of their store.

I am currently questioning some issues. First, I am unsure whether I will find a retailer that successfully creates an image for the customer, or a retailer that has failed at accomplishing this task. I may also address one of each. In addition, I do not know at this point if I will also mention the online retail store and the message that it sends. I also have thought about addressing a retailer that is not exclusively a fashion retailer.

The paper will relate back to class by concentrating on the importance of customer experience in the retail store and the insights into the elements of the store. For example, customer experience is obviously important because retailers research every element of the store to create an experience that is equal to the image of the store in the customer’s mind. Customer insights are what leads the store to determine specific elements and what their overall image is.

To better explain what I mean, take Wal-Mart for example. Wal-Mart is a retailer that focuses on everyday low prices and wants the customer to see them as a no frills store. This is communicated through specific elements of the retail store. The shelving, the racks, and the flooring are elements of the store that scream, “I’m not expensive!” The image that the store exudes is consistent with the image in the customer’s mind. However, this is not just by chance, it is considered with deep thought and research on creating an experience and customer insight.

I have not, yet, found an article that completely addresses what my paper is focusing on; however, I have found an article that stresses the importance of store image. The article is called “On the relationship between store image, store satisfaction and store loyalty,” by Josée Bloemer from Limburg University Centre in Belgium and Ko de Ruyter of Maastricht University in The Netherlands. The article is from the website emeraldinsight.com that I found through Google scholar. The title explicitly states what the article addresses. It points out the positive relationship between store image and loyalty. Therefore, it is extremely important for a store to convey a store image in line with the image of the customer. This can lead to increased satisfaction and store loyalty. I plan to find more articles that are a closer match to my specific paper topic. I do worry; however, that I will not find enough outside research that coincides with my paper.

I think that this paper topic will be interesting and I hope that I can really delve into the research and find good stores to analyze.