International Strategic Marketing MSc
Retail Marketing MGT5328
- Academic Session: 2026-27
- School: Adam Smith Business School
- Credits: 10
- Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
- Typically Offered: Semester 2
- Available to Visiting Students: No
- Collaborative Online International Learning: No
- Curriculum For Life: No
Short Description
This course examines the contemporary retail marketing environment and the strategic and operational challenges facing retailers in a dynamic, digital, and globally connected marketplace. It explores key drivers of change, including technological innovation, shifting consumer behaviour, sustainability pressures, and global competition.
Core topics include the retail environment, omnichannel retailing and operations, consumer behaviour, segmentation, targeting, and positioning. Students apply theory to practice through case studies and a major assessment in which they analyse a real retailer and produce a board-level report with strategic recommendations.
The course develops key academic and professional skills such as critical thinking, applied research, teamwork, and communication, aligned with University of Glasgow graduate attributes. Learning is active and experiential, featuring case discussions, group activities, industry examples, guest speakers, and exposure to emerging trends such as smart retailing, AI-enabled tools, and robotics. International perspectives and current research are embedded throughout, supporting students' development as reflective, digitally capable, and industry-ready marketing graduates.
Timetable
5 x 3 hour lectures and workshops
The lectures will be the first two hours to employ a variety of formats including the theoretical aspects and frameworks, while the final hour of each lecture will be a workshop assigned to case-based small teams discussions, group games, videos of latest trends in retail marketing with discussions afterwards to enable applying theory to practice.
Excluded Courses
None
Co-requisites
None
Assessment
1. Report; Individual; 1700 words; 100%; ILOs 1-3.
Course Aims
This course aims to:
■ Provide students with an understanding and appreciation of the knowledge and skills required for effective retail marketing, and their application within the retail sector.
Intended Learning Outcomes of Course
By the end of this course students will be able to:
1. Analyse retail management decisions and strategic activities using retail marketing frameworks and consumer behaviour theory.
2. Apply evidence-based analysis to make informed retail marketing decisions and communicate their rationale and outcomes effectively in writing to relevant stakeholders.
3. Develop evidence-informed strategic retail marketing recommendations by applying relevant theory to contemporary retail contexts.