In-store music and aroma influences on shopper behavior and satisfaction

Retail markets are increasingly competitive and retailers continuously look to differentiate their retail offering. One way to differentiate is by providing a pleasant and exciting shopping ambience. This paper experimentally tests the effects of music (volume high or low) and aroma (vanilla scent present/absent) on young fashion shoppers in a real retail setting. Results show that volume of music and the presence of a vanilla aroma both have a significant impact on shoppers' emotions and satisfaction levels. Additional analysis reveals that the arousal induced by music and aroma results in increased pleasure levels, which in turn positively influences shopper behaviors, including time and money spend, approach behavior, and satisfaction with the shopping experience. Direct effects of arousal on behaviors as well as an interaction effect between music and aroma on pleasure and time spent in the store are also present. The paper contributes to the better understanding of shoppers' emotions and shopper behaviors in response to in-store atmospherics and offers retailers practical insights into how to create competitive advantage by customizing the atmosphere in their stores.

Sensory and consumer research update : Fancy a glass of sherry?

Researchers in Germany have identified the major aroma components of Amontillado sherry wine, which is aged through both a biological and an oxidative step. The researchers used Sensomics analysis, a molecular sensory approach in which key aroma compounds are differentiated from the bulk of odourless volatiles.

Wine prices and quality eatings: a meta-regression analysis

This article examines the empirical support for the hypothesized hedonic theoretical relation between the price of wine and its quality. The examination considers over 180 hedonic wine price models developed over 20 years, covering many countries. The research identifies that the relation between the price of wine and its sensory quality rating is a moderate partial correlation of +0.30. This correlation exists despite the lack of information held by consumers about a wine’s quality and the inconsistency of expert tasters when evaluating wines. The results identify a moderate price-quality correlation, which suggests the existence of strategic buying opportunities for better informed consumers. Strategic price setting possibilities may also exist for wine producers given the incomplete quality information held by consumers. The results from the meta-regression analysis point to the absence of any publication bias, and attribute the observed asymmetry in estimates to study heterogeneity. The analysis suggests the observed heterogeneity is explained by the importance of a wine’s reputation, the use of the 100-point quality rating scale, the analysis of a single wine variety/style, and the employed functional form. The most important implication from the analysis is the relative importance of a wine’s reputation over its sensory quality, inferring that producers need to sustain the sensory quality of a wine over time to extract appropriate returns. The reputation of the wine producer is found not to influence the strength of the price quality relationship. This finding does not contradict the importance of wine producer reputation in directly influencing prices.

"If you can have one glass of wine now and then, why are you denying that to a woman with no evidence": Knowledge and practices of health professionals concerning alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol consumption during pregnancy has the potential to cause significant harm to the foetus and the current Australian guidelines state that it is safest not to drink alcohol while pregnant. However, conflicting messages often appear in the media and it is unclear if the message to avoid alcohol is being effectively conveyed to pregnant women. AIMS: This research aims to explore the advice that health professionals provide to pregnant women about alcohol consumption; the knowledge of health professionals regarding the effects of alcohol consumption; and their consistency with following the Australian guidelines. METHODS: Ten semi-structured face to face interviews were conducted with health professionals who regularly provide antenatal care. These include midwives, obstetricians, and shared care general practitioners. A six-stage thematic analysis framework was used to analyse the interview data in a systematic way to ensure rigour and transparency. The analysis involved coding data extracts, followed by identifying the major themes. FINDINGS: Health professionals displayed adequate knowledge that alcohol can cause physical and mental difficulties that are lifelong; however, knowledge of the term FASD and the broad spectrum of difficulties associated with alcohol consumption during pregnancy was limited. Although health professionals were willing to discuss alcohol with pregnant women, many did not make this a routine part of practice, and several concerning judgements were noted. CONCLUSION: Communication between health professionals and pregnant women needs to be improved to ensure that accurate information about alcohol use in pregnancy is being provided. Further, it is important to ensure that the national guidelines are being supported by health professionals.

"My midwife said that having a glass of red wine was actually better for the baby": a focus group study of women and their partner's knowledge and experiences relating to alcohol consumption in pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: While it is well established that alcohol can cross the placenta to the foetus and can affect an infant's development, many women continue to drink during pregnancy. For this reason it is important to determine what information is being provided, what information may be missing, and the preferred sources of information on this issue. In order to improve prevention strategies, we sought to understand the knowledge and experiences of pregnant women and their partners regarding the effects of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. METHODS: The current study utilised a qualitative study design in order to gain insight into the views and experiences of pregnant women, newly delivered mothers and their partners. Focus groups examined the participant's knowledge about the effects of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, the sources of information on this issue, and the psycho-social influences on their drinking behaviour. Five focus groups were conducted involving a total of 21 participants (17 female). A six-stage thematic analysis framework was used to analyse all focus group discussions in a systematic way. RESULTS: Seven major themes were identified from the focus group data: 1) knowledge of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders; 2) message content and sources; 3) healthcare system; 4) society and culture; 5) partner role; 6) evaluation of risk; and 7) motivation. The findings indicated that although the majority of participants knew not to drink alcohol in pregnancy they had limited information on the specific harmful effects. In addition, routine enquiry and the provision of information by health care professionals were seen as lacking. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this research provide important insights in to the relationship between pregnant women, their partners, and their healthcare providers. Several recommendations can be made on the basis of these findings. Firstly, public health messages and educational materials need to provide clear and consistent information about the effects of alcohol consumption on the developing baby. Additionally, more thorough and consistent routine enquiry for alcohol consumption in pregnant women needs to occur. Finally, it is important to ensure ongoing education for health professionals on the issue of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

Recycled effluent irrigation in vineyards : an Australian case study. I. issues and monitoring

The viticultural industry is becoming an increasingly significant part of the Australian agricultural sector, with gross earnings of over $4 billion in 2002. Expansion of the industry in the last decade has been rapid, however its heavy reliance on irrigation has resulted in further expansion in many wine growing regions being limited by the availability of water. This problem is not confined to the viticultural industry, with ever increasing pressures on water resources worldwide. As demands for water continue to rise, new strategies to meet demands must be adopted. One of the strategies being increasingly employed is the recycling of waste waters for a number of applications such as irrigation and industrial uses. The use of recycled water for vineyard irrigation provides a number of benefits. Among them are the reduced demands on potable supplies, reduced waste discharges to surface waters, and the opportunity for expansion of production. Recycled waters however, contain constituents which have the potential to cause deleterious effects to both production and the environment. Therefore, the use of recycled water for irrigation requires targetted monitoring and management to ensure the long-term sustainability of both the vineyard and the surrounding environment. Traditional monitoring techniques including water quality monitoring and soil testing can be complimented by new technologies and techniques which provide large quantities of information with relatively less labour and time. Such techniques can be used to monitor the vineyard environment to identify impacts arising from management practices, allowing vineyard managers to adjust management for sustainable production

Analytical methodology for the determination of urea: current practice and future trends

The determination of urea is important in a wide range of fields, including clinical diagnostics, environmental monitoring and food science. Numerous analytical techniques have been developed for the determination of urea, with no single technique dominant in all areas because of the diversity of applications. An overview of the existing analytical methodologies for urea is presented, and some new approaches are discussed, particularly those based on chemiluminescence detection to improve the sensitivity and the selectivity for the determination of this important analyte.

How well do Australian women comply with dietary guidelines?

Objective: To investigate the proportion of middle-aged Australian women meeting national dietary recommendations and its variation according to selected sociodemographic and behavioural characteristics.

Design: This cross-sectional population-based study used a food-frequency questionnaire to investigate dietary patterns and compliance with 13 commonly promoted dietary guidelines among a cohort of middle-aged women participating in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health.

Setting: Nation-wide community-based survey.

Subjects: A total of 10 561 women aged 50–55 years at the time of the survey in 2001.

Results: Only about one-third of women complied with more than half of the guidelines, and only two women in the entire sample met all 13 guidelines examined. While guidelines for meat/fish/poultry/eggs/nuts/legumes and ‘extra’ foods (e.g. ice cream, chocolate, cakes, potatoes, pizza, hamburgers and wine) were met well, large percentages of women (68–88%) did not meet guidelines relating to the consumption of breads, cereal-based foods and dairy products, and intakes of total and saturated fat and iron. Women working in lower socio-economic status occupations, and women living alone or with people other than a partner and/or children, were at significantly increased risk of not meeting guidelines.

Conclusions: The present results indicate that a large proportion of middle-aged Australian women are not meeting dietary guidelines. Without substantial changes in their diets, and help in making these changes, current national guidelines appear unachievable for many women.

Monitoring a commercial fermentation with proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy with the aid of chemometrics

Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) has shown the potential for being a valuable tool in monitoring a commercial fermentation. In this preliminary study, a suite of organic analytes including ethanol, fructose, glucose, methanol, glycerol, malic acid, tartaric acid, succinic acid, acetic acid and lactic acid were simultaneously determined during the fermentation. Data collection and analysis using chemometric algorithms aided the understanding of key processes including the effects of seeding a wine with bacteria for malo-lactic fermentation.

Effects of dietary lipid source on fillet chemical composition, flavour volatile compounds and sensory characteristics in the freshwater fish tench (Tinca tinca L.)

In this study the effects of soybean and linseed oils on chemical and sensory characteristics of fillets were evaluated in the freshwater fish tench (Tinca tinca L.). Five experimental diets, differing only in the relative amount of soybean and linseed oil, were formulated and the experiment was conducted on 360 sub-adult tench for 12 weeks. The fatty acid composition of muscle reflected that of the diets and significant correlations were observed. Diets containing higher amounts of n − 6 fatty acids were responsible for an increased level of n − 6 fatty acids in the fish flesh. Consequently, an increase in the relative amount of n − 6-derived volatile aldehydes was also observed. These latter compounds are generally reported to contribute negatively to the general aroma of fish muscle and, consistently, the results of the sensory analysis showed a high value for the “off-flavour” attribute for fish fed the diet containing only n − 6-rich soybean oil.

Determination of urea using high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection after automated derivatisation with Xanthydrol

A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the determination of urea that incorporates automated derivatisation with xanthydrol (9H-xanthen-9-ol) is described. Unlike the classic xanthydrol approach for the determination of urea, which involves the precipitation of dixanthylurea (N,N′-di-9H-xanthen-9-ylurea), the derivatisation procedure employed in this method produces N-9H-xanthen-9-ylurea, which remains in solution and can be quantified using fluorescence detection (λ_ex = 213 nm; λ_em = 308 nm) after chromatographic separation from interferences. The limit of detection for urea was 5 × 10⁻⁸ M (0.003 mg L⁻¹). This method was applied to the determination of urea in human and animal urine and in wine.

Dietary manipulation of muscle long-chain omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and sensory properties of lamb meat

The effects of dietary manipulation of muscle long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (FA) on sensory properties of cooked meat in second cross ([Merino×Border Leicester]×Poll Dorset) wether lambs were evaluated. Lambs fed dietary supplements of fish meal (FM, Exp. 1) and fish oil (FO, Exp. 2) showed moderately (P<0.01) and markedly (P<0.001) increased muscle long-chain omega-3 FA content compared with those fed the basal diet of lucerne chaff and oat chaff. Protected canola seed (PCS, Exp. 1) significantly (P<0.001) increased omega-6 FA content of the longissimus muscle. In each of the 2 experiments (1 and 2), after being fed experimental diets for 6 weeks lambs were slaughtered at a commercial abattoir. At 24 h post-mortem (PM) the semitendinosus and biceps femoris muscles were removed from animals and stored at −20°C until evaluation of sensory properties using experienced panel members. The muscle samples were stored for 3 (Exp. 1) and 12 (Exp. 2) months then removed, thawed and cooked for sensory evaluation. The meat samples were cooked under standardized conditions in a convection microwave at 180°C (20–25 min) to an internal temperature of 75°C. Cooked samples were tested for flavour, aroma, juiciness and overall palatability. The significant increase in muscle long-chain omega-3 with FM (Exp. 1 and 2) and FO (Exp. 2) or omega-6 FA with PCS (Exp. 1) were not detrimental to sensory panel evaluations of flavour or aroma of cooked meat when compared with the basal diet. However, meat from FM (Exp. 1) had lower juiciness and FO (Exp. 2) had lower overall palatability. Protected sunflower meal protein with FO (Exp. 2) significantly lowered ratings for flavour, juiciness and overall palatability. Lamb meat with increased levels of long-chain omega-3 FA can be produced without altering the sensory quality (flavour or aroma) of the cooked meat.