If there is one area that I believe COVID-19 did not do much damage to, it has to be the retail sector. One would have thought that with the lockdown and all its attendant effects on online business, retail outlets would have become a relic of the past.
However, right after the restrictions were lifted, retail outlets have actually become even more pronounced in our cities and towns.
In many of the major communities, retail giants are building larger outlets rather than cutting back. Melcom and Somotex in Ghana are two typical examples of retail businesses spreading their tentacles across the length and breadth of the country.
There is something the shrewd businesspeople behind these brands know that we might not know.
But maybe we should be pleased that more and more retail outlets are springing up around us. This is because, apart from the fact that they bring much-needed goods as close to our doorsteps as possible, there are other benefits of retail outlets that we might not have considered.
The truth is that people do not just go to shops and supermarkets, make purchases and walk away. There are always interactions that go on between customers and employees, between customers and customers and between employees and employees.
These kinds of interactions have a way of impacting the health and well-being of all the actors within the retail space.
When we think of services that impact our well-being, our minds usually drift to healthcare services, fitness centres, educational institutions, or even counselling services.
Rarely do we consider the humble supermarket as a place where our well-being is significantly affected.
However, a study published in the May 2021 edition of the Journal of Services Marketing suggests that retail ecosystems, particularly supermarkets, can have profound effects on the well-being of various stakeholders within that ecosystem. The study was titled, “Value Co-Creation Activities in Retail Ecosystems: Well-Being Consequences”.
The retail ecosystem is a place where we spend a considerable amount of our time and resources. Think about it: how many times do you visit a supermarket in a month? How much time do you spend there? How much of your hard-earned money goes into purchasing items from these retail outlets?
Clearly, retail outlets play significant roles in our lives as interactions within these spaces impact the well-being of the various actors involved.
For instance, a disagreement with an employee or another customer can have a lasting effect on the individual. If that customer has to go back to the same outlet because of limited options, one can imagine the stress the customer would have to deal with.
Value co-creation is not a new concept in business literature. It refers to the process where different stakeholders, such as customers and service providers, interact to create mutual value. In traditional business thinking, this value is usually measured in economic terms.
However, the aforementioned study shifts the focus from purely economic outcomes to well-being consequences that result from these interactions.
The uniqueness of the study lies in its approach to analysing well-being from an ecosystem perspective, particularly focusing on the micro and meso levels. At the micro level, the study examined the experiences of individual actors such as customers, employees, and suppliers.
The Meso-level analysis extended to include employees’ headquarters, suppliers’ headquarters, nearby competitors, family, other retail outlets, and external employees. This comprehensive approach provides a holistic view of how value co-creation activities within a retail ecosystem affect the well-being of various stakeholders.
One of the most striking findings of the study is that actors who spend more time or have fewer options available to them within the retail ecosystem see their well-being more deeply affected.
This makes perfect sense when you think about it. For instance, an employee who spends most of their waking hours within a retail environment will naturally be more affected by the interactions and experiences within that space compared to a customer who visits occasionally.
Similarly, individuals who have limited options—perhaps due to geographical constraints or economic limitations—are more susceptible to the effects of their interactions within the retail ecosystem.
Consider a small town, community or even neighbourhood with only one supermarket. Residents have no choice but to engage with this single retail outlet, making them more vulnerable to the positive or negative experiences that result from these interactions.
It is important to note that the retail ecosystem, like any other ecosystem, is a complex web of interconnected relationships. Actions taken by one actor can have ripple effects that impact others within the system.
For instance, a policy decision made at a supermarket’s headquarters can affect the well-being of front-line employees, which in turn can impact customer experiences and, consequently, their well-being.
The implications of this study are far-reaching, extending beyond traditional business metrics such as customer loyalty or employee turnover.
It suggests that businesses, especially those in retail, need to be cognizant of the broader well-being implications of their policies, practices, and interactions. It is not just about driving sales or increasing efficiency; it is about fostering an ecosystem that promotes the well-being of all stakeholders involved.
From a practical standpoint, the study proposes specific value co-creation actions that can be performed by employees, suppliers, and customers to promote positive well-being consequences at both the micro and meso levels.
These actions are not necessarily grand or resource-intensive; they can be simple adjustments to existing practices or policies. For instance, supermarkets could create more opportunities for positive interactions between employees and customers, or they could adopt more transparent and collaborative approaches with suppliers.
The social implications of this study are profound. It challenges the conventional wisdom that only services explicitly designed with transformative goals, such as healthcare or education, have significant impacts on societal well-being.
Instead, it empirically demonstrates that all services, even those without explicit transformative goals, need to be aware of the impact they have on societal well-being.
This is a paradigm shift in how we think about services and their role in society. It suggests that even the most mundane, everyday service encounters can have meaningful impacts on well-being.
This realisation places a significant responsibility on service providers, but it also presents an opportunity. By consciously designing services with well-being in mind, businesses can contribute positively to societal well-being while also reaping the benefits of more engaged customers and employees.
The retail ecosystem, with its complex network of actors and interactions, provides a rich context for studying these well-being effects.
Unlike healthcare ecosystems, which have been more extensively studied in the context of well-being, retail ecosystems are ubiquitous and touch the lives of virtually everyone in society. Understanding how value co-creation activities within these ecosystems affect well-being can provide valuable insights for a wide range of stakeholders, from business managers to policymakers.
In a world where concerns about well-being—both individual and collective—are increasingly at the forefront of public discourse, this study makes a timely and important contribution. It reminds us that well-being is not just the domain of health professionals or personal development gurus; it is influenced by our everyday interactions, including those within retail environments.
As businesses increasingly recognise the importance of purpose beyond profit, understanding the well-being implications of their operations becomes crucial. The study referred to above provides a framework for thinking about these implications systematically, focusing on the interconnected web of relationships that make up the retail ecosystem.
In conclusion, the study breaks new ground in our understanding of how retail ecosystems impact well-being.
By extending the conceptualisation of value co-creation to retail ecosystems and identifying the micro and meso-level well-being consequences of these activities, it provides valuable insights for both academics and practitioners.
It challenges us to think more broadly about the role of retail in society and encourages a more holistic approach to measuring the success of retail operations—one that takes into account not just economic outcomes but also well-being consequences for all stakeholders involved.
So the next time you pay a visit to the supermarket near you, be wary. Your actions and inactions might be having more of an effect on health and well-being than you might realise.
You are not just buying some groceries; you are doing much more. Your actions within that space affect more than your purse; your actions might be affecting your health as well.
