Short Description: Peer-Reviewed, Open-Access, Google Scholar indexed, Cabells WHITE-LISTED journal, publishing scholarly articles in finance, marketing, human resource, Information Technology, along with manuscripts documenting Economics research data and analysis.
E-ISSN: 2469-4339
P-ISSN:
Publisher: HATASO - SynergyGlobal
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Address: Plot No. 15, Ground Floor, 3rd Cross, Balaji Nagar, Oulgaret
City: Puducherry
State: Puducherry
Country: India
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10.18639/MERJ.2025.9900112
Original Research Article
Jul 31, 2025
India’s handloom sector, employing over 4.3 million rural artisans, faces challenges from mechanization, globalization, and limited market access. E-commerce platforms offer transformative potential by enabling direct-to-consumer sales, enhancing income levels, and promoting sustainability. This study investigates how e-commerce influences handloom weavers’ livelihoods, focusing on market access, economic outcomes, and barriers to digital adoption in rural areas. Using secondary data from government reports, industry analyses, and case studies of online cooperatives—Banarasi Weavers Cooperative and Tamil Nadu’s Co-optex—the research highlights improved market reach and income for digitally engaged weavers. However, infrastructural, educational, and socio-economic barriers limit adoption. Policy recommendations include subsidies for digital infrastructure, training programs, and partnerships with e-commerce platforms to ensure equitable benefits.
10.18639/MERJ.2025.9900111
Original Research Article
Jul 25, 2025
This investigation examines the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enhanced strategies to enhance the resilience of supply chains and logistics in South Africa’s challenging environment. The global disruptions, particularly those emphasised by the COVID-19 pandemic, have rendered the establishment of resilient and sustainable logistics systems an urgent priority. This study examines the impact of AI on improving efficiency, sustainability, and resilience in the logistics sector of South Africa’s supply chain practices. This study uses a systematic review approach that is based on the PRISMA framework. A thorough literature review was performed, concentrating on the convergence of artificial intelligence, sustainable logistics, and South Africa’s environmental issues. Thematic analysis was conducted using Atlas-ti software to identify and organize key themes related to AI applications in logistics and supply chain management. Studies were selected based on predefined criteria. The results highlight the critical role of AI technologies, including machine learning, predictive analytics, and big data analytics, in the advancement of sustainable logistics. AI applications improve transportation efficiency, optimize inventory management, diminish carbon emissions, and augment supply chain transparency. The emergence of AI-driven solutions and GSCM frameworks, which are in alignment with sustainable practices and improve operational resilience, is a noteworthy trend. The synthesis indicates an increasing dependence on AI and big data analytics to improve supply chain capabilities and augment adaptability to environmental disruptions. The study concludes that AI-improved strategies provide significant advantages in the promotion of sustainable logistics and the improvement of resilience in supply chain operations. The implementation of AI solutions improves operational efficiency and aligns logistics practices with environmental sustainability objectives. The findings of this investigation offer valuable advice to academics, policymakers, and industry professionals who are striving to leverage AI for sustainable supply chain management in South Africa.
10.18639/MERJ.2025.9900110
Original Research Article
Apr 17, 2025
The paper discusses how social media, including Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, play a key role in forming consumers’ attitudes towards offline shopping and their purchasing behavior in physical stores. Influencer endorsements, user-generated content, and targeted ads have become social media marketing strategies that brands have been using to raise visibility and get more foot traffic to their brick-and-mortar locations. The study explores the psychological triggers that lead consumers to engage with social media (FOMO, social proof, online reviews) to act on time-sensitive offers and visit physical stores. Social commerce and AR technologies are also highlighted as a transformative trend that improves the consumer's in-store shopping experience and facilitates virtual preview and integrated buying options. Beyond enhancing online engagement, these innovations help close the digital and offline purchase gap by leading consumers to make purchases in offline channels. The paper concludes that effective social media marketing and innovative technologies are important for offline retailers to survive in the changing retail landscape. For retailers, the integration of AR and social commerce enables future trends that create custom, interactive experiences that drive both online and offline sales.
