Purpose: Given the lack of understanding surrounding search regret, this study aims to draw on the regret regulatory theory to investigate the outcomes of search regret and effective strategies to reduce its adverse effects.Design/methodology/approach: Using time-lagged data from 331 salespeople-customers dyads, this study investigates the connection between search regret, store image, interaction quality, and store revisit intentions.Findings: Customers develop negative perceptions of the store, subsequently reducing their intentions to revisit. Salespeople’s interaction quality can reduce the negative impact of search regret on store image and revisit intentions. Furthermore, store image serves as a mediator between search regret and revisit intentions.Originality/value: This study marks the first attempt to investigate the store image and revisit intentions as outcomes of search regret and examines the moderating role of salespeople’s interaction quality in reducing the negative consequences of search regret.

The landscape of UK higher education has undergone great transformation over the past two decades. The introduction of full tuition fees, diversification of the student body, the heightening compet...

Functional foods are gaining increasing prominence in emerging markets as consumers respond to growing health concerns, urbanization, and evolving dietary patterns. However, little is known about how consumers in developing economies interpret safety-focused communication, nutritional claims, and packaging innovation when evaluating functional foods. Pakistan represents an important context due to its rapidly growing functional food sector, weak regulatory environment, and heightened consumer concerns about product safety. This study examines how safety-focused communication, nutritional claims, and innovative packaging influence consumer trust, perceived product safety, and purchase intention within Pakistan’s developing functional food sector. Data were collected from 418 consumers across five major Pakistani cities and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The results show that safety communication, nutritional claims, and packaging innovation significantly enhance perceived product safety and trust, with trust emerging as the strongest predictor of purchase intention. Moreover, communication highlighting technological advancements in packaging strengthens trust and improves perceptions of product quality. Consumer trust mediates the relationship between marketing communication and purchase intention, while health consciousness moderates these effects. The results underscore the vital role of transparent and credible marketing communication in building consumer trust and encouraging the adoption of functional foods in emerging markets. Managerially, integrating explicit safety and packaging cues into marketing strategies can enhance consumer acceptance, while policymakers should ensure regulatory oversight of nutritional and packaging-related claims.