Current Issue : October-December Volume : 2026 Issue Number : 4 Articles : 5 Articles
In 2021, Bristol, UK, implemented a city-wide policy restricting advertising of unhealthy commodities on council-owned sites. We aimed to describe advertising exposure before and after the implementation of the policy in Bristol. We collected data from bus shelters in Bristol (N = 283) and neighboring South Gloucestershire (SG, comparator, N = 65), using in-person and Google Street View audits, before (T0, 02/2022 – 07/2022) and after (T1, 04/2023 – 07/2023 and T2, 11/2023 – 02/2024) policy implementation. We captured unhealthy commodity adverts on display; high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS) products (defined using the UK Nutrient Profiling Model), alcohol, gambling or payday loans; information on brands; whether they appealed to children or adolescents and split analyses by area deprivation and proximity to schools. At T0, unhealthy commodity advertising in both areas was relatively low, however the policy successfully reduced unhealthy commodity advertising in Bristol at T2 (11.3% to 0.8%), compared to an increase in SG (0.9% to 18.1%). Most restricted adverts in both areas displayed HFSS products (ranging 60–100%), especially fast food, with limited alcohol and gambling and no payday loan advertising observed. A few adverts displaying non-compliant products were maintained in Bristol but advertisers also switched to advertising alternative, compliant products. Minimal unhealthy commodity advertising appealed to children/adolescents (1.1–8.8%) or appeared within 100m of schools (N = 2 adverts), and no clear association with area.........
The transition from cash to digital payment instruments is reshaping retail commerce across Europe unevenly, with Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries exhibiting both some of the fastest growth and some of the lowest baseline levels in online shopping participation. This study examines whether the development of digital payment infrastructure proxied by the share of individuals using internet banking (NetBank) is associated with e-commerce adoption across eleven CEE EU member states over the period 2014–2023, yielding a balanced panel of 110 country-year observations. Drawing on harmonised data from Eurostat, the World Bank, and the ITU, we estimate a two-way fixed-effects model with kernel-robust standard errors and a dynamic specification with a lagged dependent variable. The results indicate that a one-standard-deviation improvement in internet banking penetration is associated with a 6.2 percentage point increase in the share of online shoppers once country and year fixed effects are controlled for, a finding that is precisely estimated under kernel standard errors (p < 0.001). Income-group heterogeneity analysis suggests that this association may be substantially larger in lower-income CEE countries (β = 6.9, p = 0.006) compared to higher-income ones (β = 2.3, p = 0.554), consistent with the hypothesis that payment infrastructure improvements generate the highest marginal returns where baseline access is lowest. Romania, despite recording the steepest absolute growth in online shopping in the EU over the sample period (+33 percentage points), remains persistently below the CEE median, illustrating how payment infrastructure constraints can slow convergence even during periods of rapid digitisation. The findings should be interpreted as robust conditional associations rather than causal effects, given the limitations of macro-panel identification....
Augmented reality (AR) provides a new format for retailers to connect with consumers. However, different consumer subgroups may have varying perceptions of AR as an integral technology within the retail experience. Since Millennials currently have an increasing disposable income, this study explores Millennials’ diverse perceptions of AR via Q methodology. Q methodology is a research approach that studies subjective viewpoints by having participants rank statements within a defined grid, which reveals shared patterns of perspective. To measure perceptions, participants were given a survey consisting of a Q sort with 14 statements that needed to be ranked from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree” and open-ended questions about why they ranked the statements in a specific order. In response, five unique factors emerged from the Q analysis. Factor 1 demonstrated a gamified view of AR, Factor 2 focused on the utilitarian benefit of AR, Factor 3 highlighted the innovation and effectiveness of AR, Factor 4 shared how AR can be enjoyable and realistic, and Factor 5 found AR to be immersive but not interactive....
As payment tools proliferate, consumers routinely combine cash, cards, mobile wallets, and peer-to-peer apps, yet relatively little is known about how they explain their payment choices in specific purchase contexts. This qualitative study draws on semi-structured interviews with 38 U.S. adults to provide an interpretive, exploratory account of the mechanisms that guide everyday payment decisions. The analysis identifies five recurring motivational profiles related to managing risk and control, pursuing rewards, simplifying finances, seeking convenience through digital integration, and aligning payments with ethical and relational concerns. These motivations reflect the role of trust in institutions and technologies, emotional responses to complexity and fraud, and early financial socialization. We interpret these profiles through four theoretical perspectives: the Technology Acceptance Model, trust-based models of technology use, Regulatory Focus Theory, and research on moral consumption and the social meaning of money. These perspectives show that payment choices reflect more than convenience or cost alone. Participants described treating payment instruments as a flexible set of tools and switching between them to manage risk, effort, and relationships within context-specific constraints. The study highlights how these mechanisms can inform formal payment-choice frameworks and suggests that trust, perceived fairness, and routine are central to understanding digital payment adoption alongside access and functionality....
High-end models form the brand’s core value, influence its basic models. This study examines the integrated pricing mechanism by which the halo effect from high-end models in the jewelry industry influences both the list, secondary market prices of basic models. List prices were analyzed using multiple regression on basic models of bracelets from 28 brands. Secondary market prices were assessed using qualitative comparative analysis on basic models across all product categories. The results indicate that the list prices of basic models of bracelets are linked to the presence of high-end model offerings, the diamond carat weight. Offering high-end models is associated with an increase in list prices of about JPY 280, 000 (approximately EUR 1, 500). Additionally, brands whose basic models trade at secondary market prices that are above their list prices are those that offer high-end models, do not operate outlet stores. This study suggests that producing high-end models, although seemingly contrary to economic rationality, is linked to increased profitability, brand value. This study contributes to the literature by conceptualizing the halo effect as a cross-industry pricing mechanism, extending its applicability beyond technical value-driven sectors to aesthetic-value-driven markets such as jewelry....
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