Digital Communicatio n, Unstructured Data, and Customer Outcomes
When we shop o r go online, we leave behind a huge number of digital traces. These i nclude which ads we walk past, what we write in online reviews and wh ich livestreams we watch. Most of this data is ‘messy’: text, vid eo and activity logs rather than neat spreadsheets. As a result, comp anies rarely use it to make better decisions.
My dissertation a sks how this data can answer three concrete questions: first, is adve rtising on digital screens appearing in supermarket aisles actually m ake people buy the advertised products? Second, why do some shopping malls thrive while similar malls close, and can online reviews tell u s why? Third, how can beginning gamers who livestream on Twitch build an audience when thousands of others play exactly the same games?
The motivation is that retailers, mall managers and creators make costly decisions that are often based on gut feeling or slow, expens ive surveys.
Seeing an ad on a super
market screen makes shoppers about 8% more likely to buy that product
. The screens work best for hedonic products, new products and cheape
r items. They also work better on weekends, later in the day, in sunn
y weather, in busy stores, and with emotional rather than information
al ads. Shoppers don't stockpile because of them. Instead, they also
buy more from the same brand and product category. This offers very i
mportant insights into how effective this tool is, for what products,
when and with what content.
For shopping malls, what matters
most to visitors is what the mall itself controls: its atmosphere and
its mix of tenants. Prices and the offer inside individual stores ma
tter less. Malls with less satisfied visitors are in the end also mor
e likely to close. This offers an important insight in how shopping m
alls could be saved and made future proof.
For streamers, stic
king to similar types of game portfolio attracts the most viewers, an
d chasing the most popular games doesn't help creators to grow agains
t popular belief. However, some tactics that boost viewers quickly al
so make streamers more likely to quit later.
More information a bout the dissertation
DESCRIPTION: Digital Communication, Unstructured Data, and Customer Ou tcomes When we shop or go online, we leave behind a huge number of di gital traces. These include which ads we walk past, what we write in online reviews and which livestreams we watch. Most of this data is � ��messy’: text, video and activity logs rather than neat spreadshee ts. As a result, companies rarely use it to make better decisions.My dissertation asks how this data can answer three concrete questions: first, is advertising on digital screens appearing in supermarket ais les actually make people buy the advertised products? Second, why do some shopping malls thrive while similar malls close, and can online reviews tell us why? Third, how can beginning gamers who livestream o n Twitch build an audience when thousands of others play exactly the same games?The motivation is that retailers, mall managers and creato rs make costly decisions that are often based on gut feeling or slow, expensive surveys.