The study presents a new approach to understand the mind of the persons in order to drive desired action in crisis situation, specifically the COVID-19 pandemic. Understand the mind of the shopper in a pandemic situation, with massive uncertainty, should provide direction for governments and the retail trade to adopt practices and communications which will reassure their customers. This study investigates the nature of what people will do to reassure themselves in the pandemic, and has been executed during the period of the pandemic, making the study relevant to the actual events taking place. The focus of the study is on the likelihood of buying ordinary food, given certain descriptions. The study revealed three mind-sets, clusters of individuals who respond to the pandemic in one of three ways. These are: Mind-Set 1: Focus on sanitation - supply; Mind-Set 2: Focus on budget for lifestyle; Mind-Set 3: Focus on shopping, personal needs, consumption. These mind-sets are distributed through the population, and are not limited to specific age or gender. The paper closes with the PVI, personal viewpoint identifier, to assign a new person to one of the three mind-sets.

The study presents a new approach to understand the mind of the persons in order to drive desired action in crisis situation, specifically the COVID-19 pandemic. Understand the mind of the shopper in a pandemic situation, with massive uncertainty, should provide direction for governments and the retail trade to adopt practices and communications which will reassure their customers. This study investigates the nature of what people will do to reassure themselves in the pandemic, and has been executed during the period of the pandemic, making the study relevant to the actual events taking place. The focus of the study is on the likelihood of buying ordinary food, given certain descriptions. The study revealed three mind-sets, clusters of individuals who respond to the pandemic in one of three ways. These are: Mind-Set 1: Focus on sanitation & supply; Mind-Set 2: Focus on budget for lifestyle; Mind-Set 3: Focus on shopping, personal needs, consumption. These mind-sets are distributed through the population, and are not limited to specific age or gender. The paper closes with the PVI, personal viewpoint identifier, to assign a new person to one of the three mind-sets.

Infomediaries, such as movie critics, play a crucial role in evaluating product quality and providing valuable information to potential consumers. Their use of discrete grades, such as thumbs-up and thumbs-down, helps consumers make informed purchasing decisions. In this study, we aim to investigate how the grading process can be improved, addressing research questions such as determining quality cutoffs for each grade, identifying the optimal number of grades to use, exploring grading strategies for goals beyond informativeness (e.g., maximizing reviewer's traffic), and designing grading systems that encourage producers to enhance product quality. Through the use of an analytical model, we demonstrate that the optimal grade cutoffs are contingent upon the distributions of product quality and consumer taste. Additionally, we find that the resulting grading scale may exhibit unequal intervals. Surprisingly, our findings indicate that as few as five grades can approach optimality in terms of consumer welfare. Furthermore, we reveal that grading should be made more challenging when producers have the ability to invest in quality improvement. These insights shed light on the design of grading scales for reporting quality, offering practical guidance to infomediaries and industry stakeholders. By understanding the interplay between product quality, consumer preferences, and grading strategies, we can enhance the effectiveness and relevance of grading systems, ultimately empowering consumers to make more informed decisions.   Received: 12 January 2023 / Accepted: 16 March 2023 / Published: 20 March 2023

Background: In the consumer-centric global economy of the 21st century, customer retention is a vital concept in the hospitality industry for building and sustaining long-term relationships. Recognizing the challenges of acquiring new customers, the industry acknowledges the significance of retaining existing ones. To achieve their goals, hospitality businesses need a comprehensive strategy that extends beyond price targets, emphasizing the development of effective pricing strategies from the outset. Methods: Data collection took place between June 2022 and January 2023, involving a random sample of seven international hotels located in Tirana, Durres, and Vlora. Quantitative data was collected through surveys utilizing Likert-scale questions. Statistical analysis, including crosstab tests, was employed to explore the relationship between economy pricing strategies and customer retention. Results: The study encompassed 572 participants representing diverse demographic characteristics. Analysis revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between economy pricing strategies and customer retention in international hotels in Albania. These findings underscore the importance of implementing effective pricing strategies to enhance customer loyalty and guide the development of improved strategies within the hotel industry. Conclusions: This study provides empirical evidence of a significant positive relationship between economy pricing strategies and customer retention in international hotels in Albania. Effective pricing strategies play a crucial role in fostering customer loyalty. However, the study's limitations, primarily its focus on specific hotels in Albania, call for further research to validate the generalizability of these findings. The insights gained from this study inform policymakers and industry stakeholders in formulating strategies to enhance customer retention within the hospitality sector.

Albania is a rich country with a lot of nature and cultural tourism resources situated in the in the Balkans