Editors Judith A. Evans and Alan M. Foster present readers with a collection of expert contributions on the ways in which to optimize refrigeration display cabinets and refrigeration systems for sustainability. The selections that make up the main body of the text cover the latest technologies and contemporary best practices from around the world in maximizing efficiency and minimizing waste in retail refrigeration. The Editors are both faculty members of London South Bank University in the UK. (© Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR)

Background

Cabinet and in-store layout design impose high demands on supermarket refrigeration systems, due to temperature requirements and interactions between the ambient environment and the display. It is clear that views diverge on how different barriers should be investigated, and there are reasons to believe that energy efficiency measurements, with regards to both energy efficiency in buildings and energy efficiency in the operations, have weak points. The energy efficiency situation is a paradox that needs to be elaborated on.

Scope and approach

The paper presents a systematic literature review of research on open (no doors) or closed refrigerated cabinets (with doors) energy efficiency, chilled groceries and the consumer behavior, followed by an analysis of the contemporary research. The paper draws on findings and collects peer-reviewed articles from databases in order to examine how research has reported on this issue. As a result, 31 articles were framed, with different variables, to form a body of this article.

Key findings and conclusions

Empirical research is needed that uses actual data, such as perceptions, behavioral research with lab experiments, and field measurements. Consumers shopping situation, for chilled groceries, is an extensive and complex topic, and a single study cannot provide a complete overview of all its related aspects. The results focus on two objectives. Firstly to present the review and secondly to analyze and identify knowledge gaps within the energy efficiency and store installations in the grocery context.

In the supermarket environment three factors must be considered: food (food quality), personnel (working conditions), and customers. The customers do not remain in this environment very long but are of particular interest since they constitute the supermarket’s commercial basis. However, there are no recommendations on the indoor environment based on this category. This study compares the perceived indoor thermal environment with simultaneous objective measurements of the thermal environment and includes multiple enquiry methods. These methods have been used for this specific environment in order to understand how customers perceive, evaluate, and prefer variations in the thermal environment. Measurements were performed in summer and winter in front of twelve display cabinets, and over 1100 questionnaires have been received. To provide recommendations, this study presents measured and perceived comfort in supermarkets, information which can be used for prescribing suitable thermal environments for customers.

In the retail grocery business, new competitors such as pure e-commerce players are growing fast, and, in order to compete, ‘brick and mortar’ stores such as supermarkets need to become more professional at providing excellent customer service, and to use the physical servicescape as the main competitive advantages. However, supermarkets also face a challenge to offer consumers high quality products while at the same time providing a pleasant and functional servicescape. Products like groceries often need to be stored in cabinets due to strict regulations and in order to maintain correct temperatures. Some of these cabinets have doors which make them more energy-efficient (Evans et al., 2007 ;  Faramarzi et al., 2002), reduces costs, and contributes to grocery quality, but it can also affect the perceived servicescape, and risk a negative impact on sales (Waide, 2014; Kauffeld, 2015). For example, moisture from the atmosphere that condenses on the inside of the door glass (Fricke and Bansal, 2015) may make the cabinets less transparent, and doors can obstruct consumers from passing by. Thus, having chilled groceries in cabinets with doors can be both beneficial and problematic. However, no studies have been conducted on how open (no doors) or closed (with doors) cabinets for chilled groceries impact consumer perception and behavior. Hence, the purpose of the study is to contribute to an understanding of how consumers behave and what they perceive when shopping chilled groceries from cabinets with doors and without doors in the supermarket.

Based on a qualitative research approach, combining in-store observations and focus group interviews, and focusing on Bitner's (1992) three environmental variables in the servicescape, i.e. (1) ambient condition, (2) space and functions, and (3) signs, symbols and artifacts, the study investigates the question: do open or closed cabinets for chilled groceries in the supermarket impact consumer perception and behavior, and if so, how?

Our results indicate that consumers’ behavior and perceptions of the foodscape differ when there are doors or no doors on the cabinets. The paper thereby contributes to servicescape research by focusing on a particular part of supermarkets – the foodscape for chilled groceries–and by enhancing the understanding of environmental variables in the servicescape. The results further show how doors lead to different forms of approach or avoidance behavior in terms of accessibility and that consumers’ vision, olfaction and tactility all influence consumers’ perceptions of freshness and cleanliness in relation to doors or no doors. Our results also have practical implications for retailers who are designing new stores or considering changes in existing store layouts.