Search Results (3)

The article aims to identify consumer types based on their attitudes and behaviors toward phygital tools and solutions. The analysis was based on the authors’ empirical research. The research was conducted on a sample of 2160 Polish consumers. The study employed an online survey technique. To determine the types of consumers, a 20-item scale was used, allowing the respondents to express their attitudes toward solutions and tools that improve shopping in the phygital space. The extraction of types was carried out in two steps. The first was cluster analysis, conducted using the hierarchical Ward method with the square of the Euclidean distance, and the second was non-hierarchical cluster analysis using the k-means method. As a result of the analyses, three relatively homogeneous types of consumers were distinguished: phygital integrators, digital frequenters, and physical reality anchors. The behaviours of consumers from each type were examined in the context of their impact on sustainable consumption and the sustainable development of the planet. The proposed typology contributes to developing consumer behavior theory in sustainable consumption environments. It provides practical implications for designing customer experiences that are more inclusive, resource-efficient, and aligned with responsible consumption patterns. Understanding how different consumer groups engage with phygital tools allows businesses and policymakers to tailor strategies that support equitable access to digital services and foster more sustainable, adaptive consumption journeys in an increasingly digitized marketplace. Full article

The rise of the silver economy has drawn a growing interest in understanding the needs and behaviours of older adults, both by academics as well as the business and public sectors. Services promoting wellbeing can have several benefits both on individual and national levels, and social connectedness, as one aspect of wellbeing, has been found to positively impact healthy ageing and quality of life among older adults. The aim of this study was to conduct a first exam of the potentials of a remote cultural event to facilitate social connectedness and well-being in a community of older adults through culture and the arts. This study utilised a qualitative exploratory approach in the form of a co-designed case study set in a Finnish care home. An opera streaming event was planned and organised in co-operation with multiple stakeholders including the residents. The results highlight the role of social interaction as part of a remote cultural experience, prior, during, and post-experience. Partaking in the event resulted in enhanced social connectedness, more positive views on technology and remote experiences, and overall satisfaction for joining. The social aspect, rituals, and etiquette are also present also in watching opera remotely, and emphasising these aspects in designing such services could leverage the potential that digital cultural experiences hold. Full article

Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) have flourished as local governance structures to foster the vitality and viability of traditional shopping districts that have struggled to adapt to retail changes. This paper examines the evolution of placemaking activities that former UK government-funded pilot BIDs have delivered over the last 15 years. Drawing on an exploratory sequential research design that combines a qualitative and quantitative thematic analysis of 72 BIDs’ business plans, the findings suggest that UK BIDs have described a non-hierarchical operational framework as services providers considering that: (i) elementary placemaking services, such as ‘clean, green and safe’, have regained thematic relevance due to recent environmental sustainability concerns; (ii) higher-tier lobbying and advocacy services have been an operational priority since BIDs’ inception; (iii) while consumer and place marketing/branding services have seen continual thematic reductions, digital presence and marketing services have emerged as a new category of operational activities. These results extend place management and BID-related literature by discussing the growing role that digital marketing services may perform in the management of town centers and high streets and are relevant to practitioners as it discusses how place management organizations should reposition their operational strategies towards the creation of places of phygital shopping experiences. Full article