Patricia Huddleston

Professor and Director of Information and Media PhD program Michigan State University

  • East Lansing MI

Expert in Consumer decision making at Point of Purchase, Retail Strategy

Contact

Michigan State University

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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

Education/Learning
Market Research
Advertising/Marketing
Business Services
Research
Public Relations and Communications

Areas of Expertise

Point of Purchase Marketing
Consomer Loyalty
Retail Strategy
Eye-Tracking

Accomplishments

Best Paper

2013-07-05

European Association for Education and Research in Commercial Distribution

Education

University of Tennessee

Ph.D.

Retailing/Consumer Behavior

1987

Michigan State University

M.S.

Retailing

1982

University of Dayton

B.S.

Home Economics

1977

News

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.

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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.”...

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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.”...

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Journal Articles

Department vs discount retail store patronage: effects of self-image congruence

Journal of Consumer Marketing

Eunyoung (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.

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An eye tracking study of minimally branded products: hedonism and branding as predictors of purchase intentions

Journal of Product & Brand Management

Juan 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.

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An exploratory study of consumers’ perceptions: What are affordable luxuries?

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services

2017

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.

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