Patricia Huddleston
Professor and Director of Information and Media PhD program | Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI, UNITED STATES
Expert in Consumer decision making at Point of Purchase, Retail Strategy
Media
Publications:
Documents:
Photos:
Videos:
Audio/Podcasts:
Biography
Patricia Huddleston is a Professor of Retailing in the Department of Advertising + Public Relations. She teaches undergraduate courses in Consumer Behavior and Retail Strategy and Consumer Behavior, International Consumer Behavior and Strategic Brand Communication at the graduate level. From 1991 to 2007 her research analyzed the retail systems in the transition economies of Russia and Poland. She was present at a pivotal moment in Russian history, witnessing the failed coup of August 1991. She and Linda K. Good published work on Russian and Polish worker morale, Price-Quality product perceptions of Russian and Polish consumers and Ethnocentric tendencies in Russian and Polish consumers. In 1996, Huddleston spent a sabbatical in St. Petersburg, Russia, teaching the first marketing course at Leningrad Oblast University. From 1998-2007, she pioneered a study abroad program to Russia and Poland which focuses on Retail Distribution. This intensive, short-term program provided the opportunity for students to gain knowledge of retailing in post-transition economies. Huddleston’s research interests include customer loyalty, with a focus on food stores. Her newest research project uses eye tracking technology to identify what consumers focus on when they view retail displays and how eye movement relates to purchase behavior. She is collaborating with Bridget Behe and Thomas Fernandez from the Department of Horticulture (MSU) and Stella Minahan from Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia.
Industry Expertise (6)
Education/Learning
Market Research
Advertising/Marketing
Business Services
Research
Public Relations and Communications
Areas of Expertise (4)
Point of Purchase Marketing
Consomer Loyalty
Retail Strategy
Eye-Tracking
Accomplishments (1)
Best Paper (professional)
2013-07-05
European Association for Education and Research in Commercial Distribution
Education (3)
University of Tennessee: Ph.D., Retailing/Consumer Behavior 1987
Michigan State University: M.S., Retailing 1982
University of Dayton: B.S., Home Economics 1977
Links (1)
News (4)
Ask The Experts: Black Friday 2018 Edition – Michigan State University & The University of Arizona
BestBlackFriday.com online
2018-10-11
While we take pride in our Black Friday and holiday shopping knowledge, we always welcome different perspectives. For that reason, we have brought back our annual ‘Ask The Experts’ series of exclusive BestBlackFriday.com interviews for the 2018 holiday shopping season. Today’s featured experts come from the following Universities: Michigan State University and The University of Arizona.
Alternative to Candy and Tabloids
Citypulse
2017-02-15
Patricia Huddleston, a professor of retailing in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at Michigan State University, seconds that opinion. “If you think of a store like Meijer and the proportion of their total consumable merchandise, food and beverages that are represented at the checkout is a really, really small percentage,” Huddleston said. “I don’t think that a decision to change up some of the merchandise at the point of point of purchase is going to have a big impact on their bottom line.”...
Prius Voted No.1 Commercial by MSU Faculty
MSU Today
2016-02-07
“A good ad reinforces the brand,” said Patricia Huddleston, an advertising and public relations professor who attended the event. “It has a clear message that people can take away and has something memorable about it.”...
Traditional Holiday Shopping Days, Gifts May Be Changing
MSU Today online
2015-11-16
Michigan State University’s Patricia Huddleston said online sales are predicted to increase by about 16 percent this year and could comprise nearly 12 percent of total holiday sales. “About 44 percent of shoppers will browse and buy online,” said Huddleston, a professor of advertising and public relations. “As a result, predicted foot traffic to brick and mortar stores will decline by about 8 percent.”...
Journal Articles (7)
Department vs discount retail store patronage: effects of self-image congruence
Journal of Consumer MarketingEunyoung (Christine) Sung, Patricia Huddleston
2018 This paper explores the antecedents and consequences of consumers’ need for self-image congruence on their retail patronage of department (high-end) and discount (low-end) stores to purchase name-brand products in two product categories, apparel and home décor. It also compared online to offline shopping and considered two mediator variables, frugality and materialism.
An eye tracking study of minimally branded products: hedonism and branding as predictors of purchase intentions
Journal of Product & Brand ManagementJuan Mundel, Patricia Huddleston, Bridget Behe, Lynnell Sage, Caroline Latona
2018 This study aims to test the relationship between consumers’ perceptions of product type (utilitarian vs hedonic) and the attentional processes that underlie decision-making among minimally branded products.
An exploratory study of consumers’ perceptions: What are affordable luxuries?
Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services2017 Specialty media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Business Insider have increasingly featured articles that stress the growth of the affordable luxuries market. However, “affordable” and “luxury” are two terms that do not conform to luxury goods literature. While the concept of luxury has been traditionally associated with expensive, difficult to find, and exclusive products, the aforementioned business periodicals seem to suggest that a number of products such as specialty coffee, chocolate, and other commodities can be considered affordable luxuries. We conducted an exploratory investigation to determine whether millennial consumers differentiate between the terms “luxury” and “affordable luxury,” which products they perceive to be affordable luxuries, and the price range they are willing to pay for affordable luxuries. Our exploratory study (1) shows that consumers hold similar quality expectations for luxury and affordable luxury products, (2) reveals differentiating descriptors for luxury and affordable luxury products, (3) suggests that consumers see these products as a way to enhance one's image, and (4) offers pricing guidelines for such products.
Tracking position premiums in discrete choice experiments
Applied Economics Letters2016 Eye-tracking was used to identify potential location 'premiums' in discrete choice experiments for certain positions in the computer screen in terms of increasing the visibility, general interest and attention of respondents. The search dynamics to choose the optimal alternative closely resembled the natural process of reading in a 'Z'motion going from left to right and top to bottom. An empirical application of water conservation showed that conservation practices in the production process were not statistically different than zero. ...
Age cohort influences brand recognition, awareness, and likelihood to buy vegetable and herb transplants
HortScience2016 Marketers invest nearly 8% of their advertising budget on in-store marketing because> 70% of all buying decisions are made at the point of purchase. Older consumers, especially Baby Boomers (typically classified as persons born from 1950 to 1965) have long been considered a core target market for horticultural products. However, some industry concerns have arisen with regard to the lack of purchasing among younger age cohorts, especially Gen X (born 1966–77) and Gen Y (born 1978–90). Brands help to create the ...
Customer satisfaction in food retailing: comparing specialty and conventional grocery stores
International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management2009 The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast customer perceptions related to satisfaction with conventional grocery stores as compared to specialty grocery stores. The study examines store attributes of product assortment, price, quality, and service in order to determine which attributes have the greatest impact on store satisfaction for each store format...
Ethnocentrism of Polish and Russian consumers: are feelings and intentions related
International Marketing Review1995 Investigates ethnocentric tendencies of Polish and Russian consumers and whether tendencies vary by country, demographic characteristics and store type (formerly state owned or private). Examines whether ethnocentrism affects product selection decisions. Poles are significantly more ethnocentric than Russians. Ethnocentric Poles are older, more likely to be female, less educated, and have lower incomes than less ethnocentric consumers. For Russians, the more ethnocentric consumers are less educated. Degree of ethnocentrism is not related to purchase intention for Poles but is related for Russians. Consumers who shop at formerly state‐owned stores are significantly more ethnocentric than private store shoppers for both countries.
