Abstract
The aim of this study is to validate the factors affecting the smart marketing information system in Refah chain store. This study is applicable in terms of its purpose, and its implementation method is quantitative with a descriptive-survey approach. The statistical population of the study includes 384 managers and marketing and information technology experts of selected Refah store branches. The sampling in this study is simple random. A researcher-made questionnaire was utilized to collect data. Structural equation modeling with SmartPLS4 software was employed to fit the designed model. The research findings indicate that business value strategy, smart product management, customer behavior analysis and shopping psychology, smart customer communications, responsive logistics and supply chain, smart customer experience, data technologies and infrastructures, performance measurement and metrics, organizational adaptability, ethical framework, and data have a positive and significant effect on the design of smart marketing information system. As a result, designing and deploying such a system requires a smart integration of advanced analytical technology capabilities with business strategy, ethical considerations, and organizational context preparation. This study provides an operational framework for convenience store chain managers to transform data into actionable insights to not only increase operational efficiency and profitability, but also to play their social role in providing the desired basic goods to society in an efficient manner.
Introduction
In the digital age, marketing is no longer simply aligned with sales, but has become a comprehensive, customer-centric, and data-driven philosophy in which decisions are made based on evidence, not intuition. In this context, the marketing information system, as one of the fundamental pillars of marketing management, is a vital tool for collecting, organizing, and analyzing marketing-related data that enables managers to make informed decisions (Aggarwal et al., 2025). These systems not only record raw data, but also dissect it and store it for advanced analysis and more accurate decision-making in the future (Abu Anzeh et al., 2024). In today's competitive and dynamic environment, fast and efficient access to marketing information is a strategic source for gaining sustainable competitive advantage. Chain stores, especially in developing countries like Iran, are faced with a huge volume of data generated from daily interactions with millions of customers, thousands of suppliers, tens of thousands of products and hundreds of branches (Habibi Machiani, 2020). Smart management of this data is not only an opportunity to optimize operations, but also the key to a deeper understanding of customer behavior, demand forecasting and designing targeted campaigns. In this regard, intelligent marketing information systems, through advanced data mining techniques and machine learning algorithms, are able to discover patterns hidden in data and provide effective predictions based on customer behavior and market conditions (Liu et al., 2023). The necessity of this research is to design and validate a realistic, adaptable, and localized model that is not only technically feasible, but also aligned with the organizational structure, work culture, and social values ​​of Refah. This model should be able to analyze data related to customers, products, suppliers, and branches in an integrated framework and provide behavioral analysis and practical predictions to improve marketing decisions. Therefore, this article aims to validate the intelligent marketing information system model in Refah chain store. This research is a response to the gap in the literature: designing a model that, while taking advantage of global advances in the field of marketing intelligence, is also compatible with the organizational and social realities of Iran. The results of this study not only provide an operational framework for Rehf, but can also be a model for other retail organizations in the country that are seeking responsible and sustainable digital transformation. Therefore, the main question of the present study is: How to validate the factors affecting the intelligent marketing information system in the Rehf chain store?
Theoretical Framework
Marketing Information System
A marketing information system is a structured set of people, technologies, processes, and procedures designed to collect, analyze, store, and present market-related information in a timely manner to help marketing decision makers identify opportunities, respond to challenges, and design effective strategies. This system is a continuous and dynamic process that transforms raw data into actionable information (Aggarwal et al., 2025).
Agarwal et al. (2025) investigated an unsupervised visual data-based marketing information system for the management of the transportation industry. They showed that the integration of digital technologies in information systems can improve decision-making in operational departments and confirmed its generalizability to other industries (such as hospitals).
In a study in Hormozgan province by Dehghani (2025), a positive and significant relationship was shown between the use of a marketing information system and the improvement of productivity indicators, sales growth, and production capacity in industrial units, and the deployment of such systems was introduced as a key strategy for improving economic performance.
Research Methodology
This research is applicable in terms of its purpose, and its implementation method is quantitative with a descriptive-survey approach. The statistical population of the research includes 384 managers and marketing and information technology experts of selected branches of the convenience store. The sampling in this research is simple random. A researcher-made questionnaire was utilized to collect data.
Research findings
To fit the designed model, structural equation modeling with SmartPLS4 software was applied. The research findings indicate that business value strategy, intelligent product management, customer behavior analysis and shopping psychology, intelligent customer communications, responsive logistics and supply chain, intelligent customer experience, data technologies and infrastructures, performance measurement and metrics, organizational adaptability, ethical framework and data have a positive and significant effect on the design of an intelligent marketing information system. As a result, the design and implementation of such a system requires the intelligent integration of advanced analytical technology capabilities with business strategy, ethical considerations, and organizational platform preparation. This research provides an operational framework for managers of the Refah chain store to transform data into actionable insights, not only to increase operational efficiency and profitability, but also to effectively play their social role in providing the community with the desired basic goods.
Conclusion
The present study was conducted with the aim of validating the factors affecting the smart marketing information system in the Refah chain store. The results of this study are consistent with the results of Agarwal et al. (2025), Dehghani (2025), Torabi et al. (2024), Khojastehpour & Abedi (2024), Trianti et al. (2024), Shekhawat (2023), Liu et al. (2023) Chen & Chang (2023), Iravani et al. (2023), Tarahomi & Keshtgar (2022), Jin et al. (2022), Khojastehkhosro et al. (2022), and Tota & Negro (2021). Tota & Negro (2021) showed that focusing on value proposition and competitive differentiation is the basis for the success of marketing information systems in the competitive retail environment. The study of Jin et al. (2022) emphasized that the pricing strategy based on the perceived value of the customer has a direct impact on the performance of the smart marketing information system. These results indicate that focusing on high-quality basic goods and creating a sense of value for families is the basic foundation for designing the smart marketing information system in convenience stores.
Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that convenience chain stores set up a smart marketing command center that integrates all the influential factors identified in this study into an integrated platform. This center should enable the implementation of smart and personalized marketing campaigns in real time by creating a live connection between customer data from the loyalty system, supply chain inventory information, and behavior analysis system.