The Future of Consumption: How Technology, Sustainability and Wellbeing will Transform Retail and Customer Experience

Acknowledgements
The Future of Consumption
Contents
Notes on Contributors
List of Figures
List of Images
List of Tables
1: Introduction: The Future of Consumption
	Retail and Consumption
	Major Trends in Retail and Consumption
	Technology
	Sustainability
	Consumer Well-Being
	Customer Experience
	Summarising Words
	References
Part I: Technology
	2: The Intersection of Sustainability and Technology in the Context of the Digital Marketplace
		Introduction
		Theoretical Background
		The Study
		Discussion: Are Digital Apps Enablers of Sustainable Consumption?
			Case Study 1: Think Dirty (Cosmetics)
			Case Study 2: Too Good to Go (Food)
			Case Study 3: Vinted (Clothing)
		Conclusion: Towards more Sustainable Consumption
		References
	3: Smart Signage: Toward a Transformative Model that Effectively Generates Consumer-Product Relationships
		Introduction
		Smart Signage: Importance to Retail and Potential Outcomes
		Proposed Model
			Two-Way Communication Design
			Smart Signage Design Characteristics
			Psychological Distance
			Privacy Concerns
			Consumer-Product Relationships
		Conclusion
		References
	4: Into the Metaverse: Technological Advances Shaping the Future of Consumer and Retail Marketing
		Introduction
		A McLuhanian Lens
		The Metaverse
		Marketing in the Metaverse
		Navigating a Mixed Reality Future
		Imagining the Future
		Conclusion
		References
	5: Consumer Trust and Platformised Retail Personalisation
		Introducing Trust-Dependent Personalised Retail
			The Unevenly Distributed Future
			Efficiency, Trust and Lack of Control
			Hybrid Retail Personalisation
			Resignation and Regulation
		Focus-Groups: Consumer Sentiment Regarding Data Collection and Personalisation
			Lack of Data-Collection Transparency: So-Called Consent
			Personalisation or Surveillance? The Level of Trust Decides
		Discussion: Platformisation and Personalisation
			From Platformisation to Personalisation
			From Personalisation to an Automated Lack of Transparency
		Conclusions
		References
	6: Friend or Foe? How Buy-Now-Pay-Later Is Seeking to Change Traditional Consumer-Retailer Relationships in the UK
		Introduction
			What Is BNPL?
			BNPL and Changing Consumption Patterns
		Conceptual Concerns
		The Study
			Data Generation
			Data Analysis
			Participants
		Results
			Mutualism (Win-Win-Win Outcomes)
			Commensalism (Mix of Win-Neutral Outcomes)
			Parasitism (Mix of Win-Lose Outcomes)
			Amensalism (Mix of Lose-Neutral Outcomes)
			Synnecrosis (Lose-Lose-Lose Outcomes)
		Discussion
		Conclusion
		References
	7: The Future of Grocery Retail
Part II: Sustainability
	8: Toward a Packaging-Free Society: A Historical Journey of Institutionalization and the Way Forward
		Introduction
		Packaging: Concurrently Reveal and Conceal
		Retailers and Sustainability
		Zero Waste Movement: Packaging-Free Retailing
		Re-Birth of Packaging-Free Shopping
		Overcoming the Barriers to Packaging-Free Shopping
		Conclusion
		References
	9: Trending Seaweed: Future Opportunities in Retail?
		Introduction
		Materials and Method
		Shopping for Seaweed
		Searching for Seaweed in-Store
			The Lack of Retail Innovation
		Seaweed Futures and Features
		Conclusion
		References
	10: Grocery Retailers’ Approaches to Discussion on the Food Waste Issue on Social Media
		Food Waste as a Topical Concern
		Retailers in Issue Arenas
			Issue Arenas as Sites for Public Discussion
			Social Media as a Context for an Issue Arena
		Studying Food Waste Discussion on Social Media
		Grocery Retailers’ Approaches to Food Waste: Reporting, Assisting and Initiating Discussion
			Reporting on Reducing Food Waste
			Assisting Households in Reducing Food Waste
			Initiating Discussion for Reducing Food Waste
			Summary of the Findings
		Retailers as Shapers of the Future of Food Waste
		References
	11: Sustainable Consumption in Taiwan and China: Drivers and Impediments
		Introduction
		Sustainable Consumption Factors
		Country Cases
			Sustainable Consumption in Taiwan
			Sustainable Consumption in China
		Concluding Discussion
		References
	12: Digitalization: A Potential Tool for Sustainable Consumption?
		Introduction
		The Emergence of e-commerce: The World Is Your Oyster
		Web 2.0: Empowered or Exploited Consumers?
		Virtual Reality: Consumption without Physical Limits?
		Can Digitalization Become a Tool for Sustainable Consumption?
		References
	13: The Challenge of Overproduction and Overconsumption
		Challenges Facing the Future of Consumption
		Discounting as the Missing Link
		Aim and Research Scope
		Design of the Study
		Types of Discounting
		Reasons Behind Discounting
		Ways to Reduce End-of-season Sales
			Optimising
			Stimulating the Market
			Finding Alternative Solutions for Unsold Products
		Conclusion
		Future Avenues for Retail and Consumption
		References
	14: Create Tomorrow’s Vintage
Part III: Wellbeing
	15: The Future of Wellbeing: Value Creation in Digital Mental Health Services
		Introduction
		Value Creation and Consumer Wellbeing in Digital Mental Health Ecosystems
		Mapping the Digital Mental Health Servicescape
			It’s a Wild Wild West: General Characteristics of the Digital Mental Health Servicescape
			Self-Care Valley: AI Platforms for Consumer Wellbeing
			The Blue Pill: Clinical AI Solutions
			The Happiness Market: Human Actors in Search of Wellbeing
			The Therapy Room: Online Clinical Human Interactions
		Discussion: Generating Transformative Value in Digital Mental Health
		References
	16: No Cash, No Coins, No Cards, But You: Biohacking the Future of Payments
		Introduction
		Transhumanism, Biohacking, and Embodied Technologies
		Present Futuristic Challenges
		Conclusion
		References
	17: Contemporary Consumption of Brand Activism
		Introduction
		An Opportunity to Match Values and Bolster Consumer Wellbeing
		Consumers of Brand Activism: An Exploratory Investigation
		Consumers of Brand Activism: Findings and Additional Insights
			Consumption of Brand Activism through Evaluations of Authenticity
			Negativity Bias in the Consumption of Brand Activism
		What Is Important to Contemporary Consumers of Brand Activism?
		Insights into Brand activism’s Effects on Consumers
		Concluding Remarks
		References
	18: Vegan Consumption: Insights into the Consumer-driven Emergence of the Vegan Market
		Introduction
		Understanding the Vegan Movement
		Consumption-driven Market Emergence (CDME)
			The Consumption-driven Emergence of the Vegan Market
			Emergence of the Counter-cultural Vegan Ideology
			Embedded Entrepreneurship in Veganism
			Vegan Market Catalysts
			Lifestyle Legitimation through Mainstreaming
		Conclusion and Way Forward
			Implications for Industry Practitioners
			Implications for Research and Ways Forward
		References
	19: Buying Happiness
		Consumption for Good
		Access Over Ownership
		Healthwashing or Brands as Role Models
		Consuming Healthcare
		Subscribing to Happiness
Part IV: Customer Experience
	20: Re-examining the Place of the Physical Store During the Digital Retail Era
		Introduction
		Classic Role of Physical Stores
		The Role of Online Stores
		Combination of Online and Physical Stores
		Methodology
		Results
			Shopping Behaviors
			Information and Inspiration
		Stores of the Future
			Important Attributes
			How the Store of the Future Should Be
		Conclusions
		References
	21: Employee-to-Customer Improvisation: A Value Creation Strategy for Navigating the Contemporary Consumption Experience
		Introduction
		Employee-to-Employee Improvisation and Employee-to-Customer Improvisation
		Practical Need for Employee-to-Customer Improvisation: Building a Conceptual Model
			Motivation: Customer Orientation
			Ability: Social Skill
			Opportunity: Job Autonomy and Service Scripts
		Boundary Conditions of Employee-to-Customer Improvisation
		Developing Improvisational Capability
		Closing Thoughts
		References
	22: (When) Is it Worth Investing in the Personal Service Encounter?
		Introduction
		What Is a Personal Service Encounter?
		A Delicate Balance
		Who Visits the Physical Store? And Why?
		Different Strokes for Different Folks
		The Future of the Service Encounter
		Implications
		Research Limitations and Outlook
		References
	23: Can Future Shopping Experiences Be Present in the Past? The Case of a Local High Street
		Introduction
			The Temporal Thrown-togetherness of a High Street
		The Circular Retail History of Södergatan
			Two Different Shopping Experiences
		Looking into the Future
			Retail Evolution and Devolution
		References
	24: Timeless Tricks
Index