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HALLENSTEIN BROTHERS
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE MODEL ANALYSIS
BY HAI HA TA
POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA IN BUSINESS
APMG 8119: DIGITAL ENTERPRISE
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DR. NITIN SETH
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AUTHOR CONTACTS
NAME: HAI HA TA Mobile: 020 415 05614 Email: [email protected] Student ID: 1491643
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
AUTHOR CONTACTS ........................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................... 2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................... 4
BUSINESS BACKGROUND .................................................................................. 4
CONSUMER EXPERIENCE MAP ......................................................................... 7
CONSUMER REAL VITURAL EXPERIENCE ..................................................... 11
COMPARING KEY FINDING ............................................................................... 13
REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………14
APPENDIX……………………………………………………………………………..17
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Hallenstein Brothers is a New Zealand based men's fashion brand at the cutting
edge of retail. Hallenstein Brothers has to recognise industry challenges
including the continuing globalisation of the fashion marketplace, lack of support
for young talented designers and the need of creating exportable and competitive
products in international marketplace. Because increasing competition happening
at both store level and online sales, Hallensteins should have effective strategies
to attract their targeted price conscious customers.
Hallensteins’ promised values are expressed continually during Hallensteins’
Customer Experience map that visually identifies every interaction a customer
has (or could have) with Hallensteins brand through awareness, consideration,
purchase, retention and advocacy stage. As there are several antecedents that
motivate and influence online users, effective use of digital attributes will
positively influence customer trust and satisfaction. Trust and satisfaction will
positively contribute to customer loyalty with Hallensteins. However, the
relationship between digital features and customer trust as well as satisfaction
can be limited by consumer’ online purchase experience.
After conducting a detail survey, I can conclude that digital features (web design,
order fulfilment, communication, merchandising, security and promotion) play
important roles in increasing customer trust and satisfaction. If online shoppers
trust and satisfy with the site, they will re-purchase and become loyal customers.
Recognising these essential theoretical implications can help the company
continue build and develop an effective digital site.
There are several managerial implications that are value for Hallensteins in
increasing online customer experience. Hallenstein Brothers should develop their
mobile-friendly and ipad-friendly websites that allow their customers to room in
and look at items in various angles easily. Hallenstein Brothers can also create
the like function in their digital site to let users like items that make them
interested. Buying anywhere at anytime via social media is one benefit that
Hallensteins can bring to their consumers.
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1/ BUSINESS BACKGROUND
a) Hallenstein Brothers, commonly referred to as Hallensteins, is a New
Zealand based men's fashion brand at the cutting edge of retail. The
company has its roots founded in 1873 in Dunedin by Bendix Hallenstein.
Hallenstein Brothers is part of Hallenstein Glasson Holdings Limited. Their
products are clothing, footwear and accessories which range from street
and lifestyle fashion to contemporary innovative suiting options.
HBrothers, the in house brand, is designed to mainly focus on modern
suits. Hallensteins has stores located in cosmopolitan areas throughout
New Zealand and Australia. Hallenstein Brothers serves worldwide and
according to Glenn Hunter, General Manager of Hallenstein Brothers, with
online business Hallensteins’ reach is “becoming more global.” Chairman
Warren Bell said “all the brands would continue to be aggressive in their
online marketing” since the group saw double-digit online growth for the
six months to February 2017 (Edmunds, 2017).
As a part of New Zealand fashion industry, Hallenstein Brothers has to
recognise challenges facing local clothing industry now. Continuing
globalisation of the fashion marketplace will increase competition and
bring more cheap and fast fashion to battle with middle price local brands.
Lack of support for young talented designers will eventually reduce
options of buying New Zealand made. As New Zealand is very small
market, local fashion needs to create products or services that have a
strong identity to be exportable and competitive in international
marketplace (Walker, 2015).
Hallensteins’ target customers are young men who are less concerned
about quality and durability and more about price and style (Harris, 2013).
Because increasing competition happening at both store level and online
sales, Hallensteins should have effective strategies to attract their targeted
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price conscious customers. In brick-and-mortar business, Hallensteins has
to compete with strong existing local competitors and competitive
international brands entering NZ market while the competition is even
more intense in online business because of the unlimited accessibility of
global products via Internet.
b) Engaging with company’s stakeholders is essential because it can help in
ensuring clear communication and addressing potential problems. Besides
important stakeholders, namely consumers, employees, competitors,
shareholders and government, the advertising/ communication agencies
and media are considered noteworthy for Hellensteins as they keep
customers informed on new available items and help spread information to
targeted consumers. Hellensteins also has to care about ethical fashion
when working with suppliers because NZ shoppers want to protect child
labour and stop exploitation in the garment industry by choosing ethical
brand. Fashion Industry New Zealand (FINZ) is the voice of New
Zealand's fashion and apparel sector. This organisation was formed to
provide representation and support for clothing industry.
c) Hallenstein Brothers is a New Zealand based men's fashion brand at the
cutting edge of retail. As a part of New Zealand fashion industry,
Hallenstein Brothers has to recognise industry challenges including the
continuing globalisation of the fashion marketplace, lack of support for
young talented designers and the need of creating exportable and
competitive products in international marketplace. Because increasing
competition happening at both store level and online sales, Hallensteins
should have effective strategies to attract their targeted price conscious
customers. Hallensteins’ important stakeholders are consumers,
employees, competitors, shareholders, government, advertising/
communication agencies, media, suppliers and FINZ.
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2/ CONSUMER EXPERINCE MAP
a) Hallensteins’ mission is to provide everyday clothing essentials to all guys
that are young at heart. Hallensteins can fit customer out for every
occasion from work to play. Hallensteins recognises that young men does
not like the restrictive feeling of traditional clothing, therefore the company
tries to bring the youth and the unique in each design. On the website, the
company affirms that Hallensteins creates “street inspired fashion and
high-quality suiting at a reasonable price point.” In order to express the
feeling of street inspired menswear, Hallensteins’ casual designs are
captured in street style images in an exclusive way. Contemporary suits
are introduced to bring a whole new level of freedom for young generation.
Customers do not see pictures of models wearing street style clothing in
metropolitan areas or wearing suits in the office background because
Hallensteins want to deliver their message of pushing the boundaries in
men’s fashion to their beloved customers.
b) A Customer Experience map visually identifies and organizes every
interaction, commonly referred to as “touchpoint”, a customer has or could
have with Hallensteins (Kramp, 2011).
i) In awareness stage, customer could passively receive information
about Hallensteins brand and products through online advertises, radios
or words of mouth from family and friends. Customers could also
actively search for the company brand via Internet. Online advertises
from Hallensteins always show discounted information, which is a good
point to attract price conscious customers and deliver brand’s value of
reasonable price point.
In consideration stage, customers’ search is likely to be tailored to their
requirements and interactions may be more specific like reading
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reviews or comparing similar products. Information processing and
perceived ease-of-use are two important antecedents. Because young
customers nowadays have good knowledge and experiences for both
clothing and online shopping, a range of website features including
merchandise information, delivery policy, privacy and so on will directly
influence customer experiences. Thanks to the videos included in the
product page, potential customers of Hallensteins know more about
items through videos that show a 360 view of the products on the
models. Hallensteins also has clear searching and navigating services
which help users save time in finding and selecting products.
At the purchase stage, the touch points are interactions between
customers and the site. This stage is definitely important because how
easy the site is to use and how fast is an online purchase processed
can immediately bring positive emotion to customers. At this stage,
Hallensteins has a fast and convenient purchasing process that has
positive effects on customer’s perceived ease of use. Hallensteins
allows their customers to read full reviews of other existing consumers;
therefore people will have more sense of control. Suggesting similar
products based on the taste of each individual contributes positive
perception about perceived benefits of customers.
In retention and advocacy stage, FAQ information and base knowledge
such as return policy are easily to search, so customer tends to be
happy and have more satisfaction about Hallensteins brand. Sending
promotions about needed products or newsletter also help in
maintaining communication with customers and create their loyalty.
ii) Because the focus of this assignment is a detailed analysis of
customer experience in a digital context, interactions between customer
and the site will be analysed at the states that have intense co-
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communications, namely the consideration and purchase state. The
model used to study in this assignment is The Proposed Research
Model and Hypotheses (Jin & Park, 2006).
Consumers continuously evaluate their online experience and past
experiences affect the probability of re-purchasing an online brand
(Rose, Hair & Clark, 2011). All features of digital site, namely web
design, order fulfilment, communication, merchandising, security and
promotion, will have a positive influence on customers’ trust and
satisfaction. As the perception of how easy a site is to use and how
useful a site is to meet users’ need are linked to positive online
experience (Rose, Hair & Clark, 2011), navigating service in web design
and merchandise purchase procedure are important contributors.
Hallensteins’ potential customers are young men who probably have
good understanding about fashion and online purchasing experience,
so they can be consider as skilled users. Internet provides unlimited
information so customers have a strong desire for control when
interacting with digital site. Hallensteins provided detail information
(description, size guide, return policy) and several pictures taken from
various angles for each product, which increase customers’ control over
their own access. Being able to read full reviews of other customers
positively increases users’ supervision. Security and privacy protection,
such as keeping personal information and payment method secure,
also support high levels of feelings of control among online users.
Online customers are looking for the feelings of reward and positive
benefits in digital sites, therefore exclusive promotion for online users
and 365-day returning time frame from Hallensteins site can increase
levels of trust and satisfaction of online shoppers. Recommending items
based on specific needs of each customer is a great benefit in online
shopping because it creates the feeling of being understood to
customers. Enjoyment is one of antecedents that determine the
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consumers’ likelihood of returning to the site. Impressive impression of
Hallensteins web design actively contributes to positive emotion of
young users who are inspired by the concept of beyond boundaries in
men fashion. Including videos which show 360 view of the products on
the models creates enjoyable experiences for users. Hallensteins’
online users can involve in showroom experience, and be able to
virtually walk around the product and get a better look.
As there are several antecedents that motivate and influence online
users, effective use of digital attributes, namely web design, order
fulfilment, communication, merchandising, security/ privacy and
promotion, will positively influence customer trust and satisfaction. In
my opinion, trust enhances satisfaction in online purchasing context.
Trust and satisfaction will positively contribute to customer loyalty with
an online retailer. However, the relationship between digital features
and customer trust as well as satisfaction can be limited by consumer’
online purchase experience. The more experienced customers are, the
more difficultly customer trust or satisfy with a digital site.
c) Hallensteins’ mission is to provide everyday clothing essentials to all guys
that are young at heart. Hallensteins can fit customer out for every
occasion from work to play. Hallensteins creates “street inspired fashion
and high-quality suiting at a reasonable price point.” These promised
values are expressed continually during Hallensteins’ Customer
Experience map that visually identifies every interaction, commonly
referred to as “touchpoint”, a customer has (or could have) with
Hallensteins brand through awareness, consideration, purchase, retention
and advocacy stage. In digital context, interactions and intense co-
communications between customer and the site usually happen at
consideration and purchase state. As there are several antecedents that
motivate and influence online users, effective use of digital attributes will
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positively influence customer trust and satisfaction. Trust and satisfaction
will positively contribute to customer loyalty with Hallensteins. However,
the relationship between digital features and customer trust as well as
satisfaction can be limited by consumer’ online purchase experience.
3/ CONSUMER REAL VITURAL EXPERIENCE
a) Three young people aged 19 to 29 were asked to interact with
Hallensteins site over a period of a week. After that, each person
participated in a survey about Consumer Real Virtual Experience.
b) The survey asked firstly about personal information to see participant
demographics, secondly about their online purchase experience such as
past online purchase or Hallensteins brand awareness, then finally about
Real Virtual Experience with Hallensteins site. Customer real virtual
experience was measured by the seven-point Likert scale (1= extremely
disagree, 7 = extremely agree). The mean was calculated an presented in
the following table:
I trust Hallenstein
Brothers website
because
Pictures are enlargeable, are not
photoshopped and are taken from various
angles. This website is well-organised and
navigation service is easy to use.
5.33
I satisfy with
Hallenstein
Brothers website
because
Pictures are enlargeable, are not
photoshopped and are taken from various
angles. This website is well-organised and
navigation service is easy to use.
5
I trust Hallenstein
Brothers website
because
This website allows to return products within
365 days of receipts to get a full refund,
provide information on delivery time and fee
4.33
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I satisfy with
Hallenstein
Brothers website
because
This website allows to return products within
365 days of receipts to get a full refund,
provide information on delivery time and fee
5.33
I trust Hallenstein
Brothers website
because
This website suggests items based on my
need and appreciate my orders by sending
thank you email, order confirmation
4.67
I satisfy with
Hallenstein
Brothers website
because
This website suggests items based on my
need and appreciate my orders by sending
thank you email, order confirmation
5
I trust Hallenstein
Brothers website
because
This website provide detailed information
about each merchandise (description, video,
size guide, return policy), and I can easily
read detailed reviews from other customers,
and merchandise purchase procedure is
easy and convenient
4.33
I satisfy with
Hallenstein
Brothers website
because
This website provide detailed information
about each merchandise (description, video,
size guide, return policy), and I can easily
read detailed reviews from other customers,
and merchandise purchase procedure is
easy and convenient
5.33
I trust Hallenstein
Brothers website
because
This website keeps my personal information
confidential and keeps my credit card
information secure
5
I satisfy with
Hallenstein
Brothers website
because
This website keeps my personal information
confidential and keeps my credit card
information secure
5
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I trust Hallenstein
Brothers website
because
This website clearly states available
promotion and allows me to sign up to get
20% discount
4.67
I satisfy with
Hallenstein
Brothers website
because
This website clearly states available
promotion and allows me to sign up to get
20% discount
5.33
Because I trust this website
I satisfy with Hallenstein Brothers brand 5
Because I trust this website
I will continue to purchase in Hallenstein
Brothers website
5.67
Because I satisfy with this website
I will continue to purchase in Hallenstein
Brothers website
5.33
4/ COMPARING KEY FINDING
a) Because we could not do hypothesis testing if the number of respondents
is less then 30, we just evaluate the information based on the mean value.
All the values are more than 4 that means neutral, therefore we can see
that in general three participants agreed that all online attributes (web
design, order fulfilment, communication, merchandising, security and
promotion) positively influence their trust and satisfaction. They also
acknowledge that trust precedes satisfaction and both trust and
satisfaction actively affect customer loyalty. One respondent who does not
know Hallenstein Brothers brand can be considered to be a low
experience shopper. Providing information about return policy or delivery
time and privacy protection did not make her feel trust about Hallenstein
Brothers site. The only male participant disagreed about the fact that
promotion can influence his trust and satisfaction. Interestingly, male
shoppers tend to feel uncomfortable when buying online. It seems like we
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cannot affirm that the relationship among digital features, trust and
satisfaction depends on customer experience.
Digital features (web design, order fulfilment, communication,
merchandising, security and promotion) play important roles in increasing
customer trust and satisfaction. If online shoppers trust and satisfy with
the site, they will re-purchase and become loyal customers. Recognising
these essential theoretical implications can help the company continue
build and develop an effective digital site.
b) As digital attributes increase the level of customer trust and satisfaction,
Hallenstein Brothers should continue focus on creating online experiences
that secure brand’s promised value. In order to continue provide benefits
to online users, Hallenstein Brothers should develop their mobile-friendly
and ipad-friendly sites which allow customers to room in and look at items
in various angle easily. Hallenstein Brothers can also create the like
function in their digital site to let users like items that make them
interested. Liked product will be automatically added on customer wishlist
and company can send customers updated information about stock,
promotion for these specific items they loved. And the website can update
information about how many likes each merchandise received so
customers can see how popular the item is. Enabling users to comment or
answer question of other customers about the product also can build the
feeling of control for users. Buying anywhere at anytime is one benefit that
Hallensteins can bring to their consumers. Nowadays, people tend to
spend more and more time on social networks to connect and keep in
touch with others. Creating a system that authorises users to buy from
Facebook or Twitter can immediately bring positive emotions to
customers.
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REFERENCES
Davis, R., Buchanan- Oliver, M., & Brodie, R. (2000). Retail Service Branding in
Electronic- Commerce Environments. Journal Of Service Research, 3.
EDMUNDS, S. (2017). Hallenstein Brothers, Glassons report double-digit online
growth. Stuff. Retrieved 20 August 2017, from
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/91035313/hallenstein-brothers-glassons-report-
doubledigit-online-growth
Jin, B., & Park, J. (2006). The Moderating Effect of Online Purchase Experience
on the Evaluation of Online Store Attributes and the Subsequent Impact on
Market Response Outcomes. Advances In Consumer Research, 33.
Kramp, J. (2011). What is a Customer Experience Map? - Touchpoint
Dashboard. Touchpoint Dashboard. Retrieved 20 August 2017, from
http://touchpointdashboard.com/2011/08/what-is-a-customer-touchpoint-or-
journey-map/
Magazine, V. (2015). What's the Biggest Challenge Facing NZ Fashion Right
Now? - Viva. Viva.co.nz. Retrieved 20 August 2017, from
http://www.viva.co.nz/article/fashion/whats-the-biggest-challenge-facing-nz-
fashion-right-now/
Rose, S., Hair, N., & Clark, M. (2011). Online Customer Experience: A Review of
the Business-to-Consumer Online Purchase Context. International Journal Of
Management Reviews, 13.
Sathe, A. (2017). Adding value through customer touch points. LinkedIn.com.
Retrieved 20 August 2017, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/adding-value-
through-customer-touch-points-anil-sathe
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Tearfund | Ethical Fashion Guide Aotearoa New Zealand.
(2017). Tearfund.org.nz. Retrieved 20 August 2017, from
https://www.tearfund.org.nz/ethicalfashionguide
Venuto, D. (2016). Hallenstein Brothers continues to go global, not
local. Theregister.co.nz. Retrieved 20 August 2017, from
http://theregister.co.nz/news/2016/02/hallenstein-brothers-continues-go-global-
not-local
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APPENDIX
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