Virtual Reality is based on three key characteristics: immersion, interactivity (Boyd & Koles, 2018). Firstly, when exposed to a virtual environment, the individual experiences the sense of immersion or presence within that environment. The user feels like being there and escaping or becoming isolated from the real world. Beside immersion, VR provides a very dynamic environment (Loureiro et al., 2019), which is important to create consumer involvement. Hence, the current study explores antecedents of emotions and purchase intention in virtual supermarket setting
Purpose – Currently, the distribution environment has been changing rapidly because of the advent of super-supermarkets (SSM),which adopt the "price break" and "lowest price" strategies. Specifically, a diversification of the distribution environment allowed customers to reasonably decide where to shop. With a broadened range of criteria governing the choice of a store, determining changes in the distribution environment should be based on customer satisfaction surrounding the service levels of SSMs. This study examines the effects of service quality and product quality of SSMs on customer satisfaction levels, and analyzes whether these factors affect customers’ revisit intention directly. Research design and methodology – A survey method was used and 127 SSM customers responded to the questionnaires that were developed to measure service quality, product quality, customer satisfaction, and store revisit intention. A multi-regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. Results – Except hypothesis 2, the other seven hypotheses were supported. Hypothesis 2 suggested a positive relationship between product factors and customer satisfaction. Conclusions – This study found a systematic effect of service factors and product factors on customer satisfaction and word-of-mouth, and consequently on store revisit intention.
Despite the enforcement of SSM control laws such as 'the Law of Developing the Distribution Industry (LDDI)‘ and ‘the Law of Promoting Mutual Cooperation between Large and Small/medium Enterprises (LPMC)’ stipulating the business adjustment system, the number of super-supermarkets (SSMs) has ever been expanding in Korea. In France, however, Super Centers are being regulated most strongly and directly in the whole Europe viewing that there is not a single SSM in Paris, which is emphasized to be the outcome from French government's regulation exerted on the opening of large scale retail stores. In France, the authority to approve store opening is deeply centralized and the store opening regulation is a socio-economic regulation driven by economic laws whereas EU strongly regulates the distribution industry. To control the French distribution industry, such seven laws and regulations as Commission départementale d'urbanisme commercial guidelines (CDLIC) (1969), the Royer Law (1973), the Doubin Law (1990), the Sapin Law (1993), the Raffarin Law (1996), solidarite et renouvellement urbains (SRU) (2000), and Loi de modernisation de l'économie (LME) (2009) have been promulgated one by one since the amendment of the Fontanet guidelines, through which commercial adjustment laws and regulations have been complemented and reinforced while regulatory measures have been taken. Even in the course of forming such strong regulatory laws, InterMarche, the largest supermarket chain in France, has been in existence as a global enterprise specialized in retail distribution with over 4,000 stores in Europe. InterMarche's business can be divided largely into two segments of food and non-food. As a supermarket chain, InterMarche's food segment has 2,300 stores in Europe and as a hard-discounter store chain in France, Netto has 420 stores. Restaumarch is a chain of traditional family restaurants and the steak house restaurant chain of Poivre Rouge has 4 restaurants currently. In addition, there are others like Ecomarche which is a supermarket chain for small and medium cities. In the non-food segment, the DIY and gardening chain of Bricomarche has a total of 620 stores in Europe. And the car-related chain of Roady has a total of 158 stores in Europe. There is the clothing chain of Veti as well.In view of InterMarche's management strategies, since its distribution strategy is to sell goods at cheap prices, buying goods cheap only is not enough. In other words, in order to sell goods cheap, it is all important to buy goods cheap, manage them cheap, systemize them cheap, and transport them cheap. In quality assurance, InterMarche has guaranteed the purchase safety for consumers by providing its own private brand products. InterMarche has 90 private brands of its own, thus being the retailer with the largest number of distributor brands in France. In view of its IT service strategy, InterMarche is utilizing a high performance IT system so as to obtainas much of the market information as possible and also to find out the best locations for opening stores. In its global expansion strategy of international alliance, InterMarche has established the ALDIS group together with the distribution enterprises of both Spain and Germany in order to expand its food purchase, whereas in the non-food segment, it has established the ARENA group in alliance with 11 international distribution enterprises. Such strategies of InterMarche have been intended to find out the consumer needs for both price and quality of goods and to secure the purchase and supply networks which are closely localized. It is necessary to cope promptly with the constantly changing circumstances through being unified with relevant regions and by providing diversified customer services as well. In view of the InterMarche's positive policy for promoting local partnerships as well as the assistance for enhancing the local economic structure, implications are existing for those retail distributors of our country.