This study focused on how retail tech promotes differentiated customer experiences in offline fashion stores. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of the characteristics of fashion retail tech stores on consumers’ flow and satisfaction. We surveyed Koreans aged 10 to 50 who had experienced offline fashion retail tech stores. The survey was conducted from April 28, 2023, to May 21, 2023. The total number of survey respondents was 200. The quantitative data collected through questionnaires was analyzed using SPSS 25.0. To reveal the effects of fashion retail tech store characteristics on consumer’s flow and satisfaction, frequency analysis, we conducted frequency analysis, factor analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, and regression analysis. The results of this study, figured out that fashion retail tech store’s characteristics, including playfulness, efficiency, interaction, and information provision, have a significant impact on behavior flow, emotional flow, and satisfaction. As a result of analyzing the influence of consumers’ flow led to satisfaction, it was confirmed that emotional flow positively influenced satisfaction, but behavioral flow had no meaningful effect on satisfaction. The results of our study can be used to make a successful marketing strategy and can serve as foundational data for consumer research on retail-tech-applied offline fashion stores.

With the increasing popularity and attention towards virtual stores, the present study examines how consumers' perception of spatial and human crowdedness affects consumers' behavioral and attitudinal intention to shop at the virtual store through positive emotional arousals. Using two between-subject experiments (crowdedness: low spatial x high; low human x high), 171 participants were randomly assigned to each condition. The results demonstrated highly crowded virtual space with more merchandise creates a consumer’s positive emotional arousal, which leads to a positive attitude and satisfaction. Further, consumers perceive positive social crowdedness (i.e., when other shoppers are present) develops excitement among consumers who may entice positive attitude and satisfaction. Findings suggest that retailers should develop stimulating virtual stores.

Adding new stores close to incumbent franchisees, or franchise encroachment, has been a contentious issue in the marketplace. Prior studies on the encroachment effect focus mainly on the store-level cannibalization, lacking the understanding of customer-level post-encroachment outcomes. The authors investigate individual-level transaction data from a cluster of bakery franchise stores to quantify the franchise encroachment effect at store- and individual-levels with store and customer heterogeneity. Our results show that incumbents experience a decrease in sales, and the extent of the lost sales is attenuated by the distance between incumbent and new stores and the size of incumbents’ product assortment. The individual-level analysis reveals that three customer segments exhibit different post-encroachment shopping behaviors: (1) patronizing incumbents only, (2) patronizing both incumbent and new stores, and (3) completely switching to new stores. While the second segment increases the post-encroachment overall spending, the third segment contributes to both cannibalization to incumbents and higher sales to the franchisor. Our findings offer managerial implications of how to manage franchise encroachment with context-dependency and customer segmentation in terms of maximizing overall franchise performance.

This paper focuses on the importance of rethinking the functionality of the fashion retail store and suggests transforming the retail store into a space to educate consumers regarding important societal and cultural issues. Consumption trends and changes in consumer habits reveal that people are continuously looking for brand offers beyond services and products. Consumers are shifting the traditional consumer brands dynamics and societal sustainable brands are gaining momentum where consumers are seeking strong and deep relationships with such brands while discarding others. Despite brands' increased investment in e-commerce platforms and digital technologies, the retail store is still a pivotal space for brands to build and maintain a strong relationship with their customers. However, the traditional functionality of the retail store needs to be reconsidered.

As the importance of online virtual spaces increases due to COVID-19, interest in online virtual spaces using 4th industrial technology is increasing. Accordingly, the metaverse that combines virtual and real is becoming an issue. In the fashion industry, marketing using online is gradually increasing, and various attempts are being made by converging with the metaverse to provide new and enjoyable experiences to customers. This study looked at the impact of customer experience of a luxury fashion brand pop-up store on customer satisfaction, affective commitment and brand loyalty in a metaverse environment where utilization is increasing due to COVID-19 and technological development. For the analysis data of this study, a survey was conducted on the users who experienced the metaverse platform Zepeto's ' BVLGARI World'. As a result of examining the effect of the customer experience of a luxury fashion brand pop-up store on customer satisfaction, affective commitment, and brand loyalty in a metaverse environment, some of the customer experiences affect customer satisfaction, and the proposed hypothesis was partially accepted. In addition, it was confirmed that customer satisfaction affects affective commitment and brand loyalty, and affective commitment affects brand loyalty. In this study, we examine the impact of the customer experience of a luxury fashion brand pop-up store on customer satisfaction, affective commitment, and brand loyalty in the metaverse environment, and identify what is needed for more active convergence and activation of the metaverse and fashion brands. Also, we provide practical implications to people who involved in the metaverse and the fashion industry.

Store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) represents one of the major Ca2+ entry routes in non-excitable cells. It is involved in a variety of fundamental biological processes and the maintenance of Ca2+ homeostasis. The Ca2+ releaseactivated Ca2+ (CRAC) channel consists of stromal interaction molecule and Orai; however, the role and action of Homer proteins as an adaptor protein to SOCE-mediated Ca2+ signaling through the activation of CRAC channels in non-excitable cells still remain unknown. In the present study, we investigated the role of Homer2 in the process of Ca2+ signaling induced by the interaction between CRACs and Homer2 proteins in non-excitable cells. The response to Ca2+ entry by thapsigargin-mediated Ca2+ store depletion remarkably decreased in pancreatic acinar cells of Homer2–/– mice, as compared to wild-type cells. It also showed critical differences in regulated patterns by the specific blockers of SOCE in pancreatic acinar cells of Homer2–/– mice. The response to Ca2+ entry by the depletion in Ca2+ store markedly increased in the cellular overexpression of Orai1 and STIM1 as compared to the overexpression of Homer2 in cells; however, this response was remarkably inhibited by the overexpression of Orai1, STIM1, and Homer2. These results suggest that Homer2 has a critical role in the regulatory action of SOCE activity and the interactions between CRAC channels.

본 연구에서는 온라인 패션시장에서 소호 패션쇼핑몰의 성공적 창업의 성장 과정을 알아보기 위해 현재 성공적으 로 운영되고 있는 4개 소호 패션쇼핑몰을 대상으로 기업가 과정을 창업기회포착, 사업모델, 위기관리 및 사업성과 등 3개 단계로 구분하여 분석하였다. 사례연구의 결과는 다음과 같다. S사는 짧은 경력의 창업자가 패션감각과 기업 가정신으로 전자상거래를 창업한, 가격경쟁력과 디자인력, 다양한 상품구색을 갖춘 캐주얼 쇼핑몰로 데이터 관리/분 석, 유통채널 다각화를 통해 성장한 사례이다. B사는 짧은 경력의 창업자가 SNS 네트워크 역량과 기업가정신으로제조업/전자상거래를 창업한, 아이템 경쟁력과 스타트업 특성을 갖춘 컨템포러리 쇼핑몰로 브랜드 정체성 확립, 시장 확장을 통해 성장한 사례이다. M사와 C사는 보다 긴 경력의 창업자가 브랜드 인지도가 있는 소호 패션쇼핑몰 사례 이다. M사는 풍부한 경력과 디자인 정신의 창업자가 감성적/감각적 패션디자이너 브랜드를 창업하여 기업 지평을 넓히는 다양한 활동을 통해 성장하였고, C사는 디자인 역량과 기업가정신의 창업자가 감성 표현에 집중한 럭셔리 패션브랜드를 창업하여 적극적인 고객관리를 통한 브랜드인지도 및 매출 확보 등을 통해 성장한 사례이다. 본 연구 결과는 소호쇼핑몰 예비창업자나 창업과정의 교육 및 연구에서 기초자료로 활용될 수 있다.

Not only luxury brands, but also fast fashion brands such as ZARA and H&M have successfully opened flagship stores in prime locations such as Ginza, Tokyo. The market-entry strategy via flagship stores appears to be successful, as numerous companies have adopted it. However, for this strategy to work, it is important to consider and verify not only the place, but also the product, price, and promotion aspects. This study systematically investigates the flagship store strategy by comparing the strategies of luxury brands, represented by Chanel and Louis Vuitton, and those of SPA (Specialty store retailer of Private label Apparel) brands, represented by ZARA, developed by the Spanish Inditex Corporation.