Purpose – There has been limited research into financial services customers’ perceptions of how fairly they are treated by financial services providers. Fairness as a concept has its theoretical roots in the theory of justice and equity and has been conceptualised as being made up of two...

Concerns the practice of “outplacement” as seen from the perspective of the individual who is a client and not from the point of view of the agency offering the outplacement counselling. The views expressed and the information contained in the article will be of interest to those who wish to...

One important arena for the study of the impact of larger retailers is, in the UK, the market town. This paper shows how locational policies of larger retailers – akin to WalMart openings in the US Midwest – are affecting these traditional towns in rural areas. The paper takes a case study...

Store incentivisation and reward schemes are an increasingly common aspect of UK grocery retailing with most large‐scale operators investing in such schemes. Despite their popularity many researchers have questioned whether or not store loyalty schemes do, indeed, deliver in terms of...

Only a small proportion of consumer borrowing is provided by bank and retailer credit cards. Discusses how recent changes in credit card terms and societal attitudes may further reduce that borrowing. Suggests debit cards will become increasingly important as a means of payment in the UK –...

Japan has a large number of credit cards on issue and many of these are issued by Japanese retailers. Two such retailers, Saison and Daiei, illustrate why and by what means Japanese retailers have entered the credit card market. This provides the backdrop to an explanation of how those major...

The cashless society, where clumsy and expensive‐to‐handle coins and notes are replaced by efficient electronic payments initiated by various types of plastic cards is a tantalizing prospect for the twenty‐first century. Some of the interested parties stand to gain more than others if the...

Explains that the smart card is increasingly being held and used by consumers in the UK, particularly in its electronic purse or loyalty card capacity. The smart card is a plastic card that carries an embedded computer chip with memory and interactive capabilities. Describes the current major...

The context for this paper is the growth of the out‐of‐town superstore and the subsequent decline of the town centre. It examines the development of a town centre loyalty card programme in the town of Leominster and reports on both quantitative and qualitative research carried out to assess...

Over the last five years, a great deal of attention has been paid to the genesis of what have come to be termed local loyalty cards. Researches the development of the pioneering card – based in Leominster, Herefordshire. This programme of research has led to contacts with a large number of...