Multi-Channel Integration and Its Implications for Retail Web Sites

The demise of electronic-only retailers has led to the domination of electronic retailing by multichannel retailers. Many of the latter have recognized that multi-channel integration can improve their customer acquisition and retention capabilities. To realize these benefits, however, retailers need to provide a consistent and superior shopping experience across channels. This implies that the purpose of Web sites should no longer be solely to induce consumers to purchase products online. Instead, Web sites should facilitate and support consumers in their interaction with retailers throughout their purchase and consumption activities, regardless of in which channel the actual transaction takes place. Web sites thus become IT-based self-service instruments for consumers. Focusing on the retailing of tangible products, this paper elaborates on how multi-channel integration can lead to benefits for consumers and retailers. Specifically, the paper elucidates the new requirements and opportunities that arise for Web sites as integrated parts of retailers’ channel portfolios

How about integration: the impact of online activities on store satisfaction and loyalty

Although there has been widespread support for the concept of integrating the Internet with other channels, relatively little empirical research has been conducted in this area. This paper examines the effects of integrated online activities on customer perceptions, i.e., satisfaction and loyalty, as well as customer behavior, i.e., purchases. As this study focuses on a nontransaction site, the purchases only take place in the store. Through structural equation modeling, we test a model that determines the relationships between loyalty and satisfaction in two channels – the store and the web site –, as well as the antecedents of both store and site satisfaction. The results provide evidence for synergy effects between the store and the site. Site satisfaction and site loyalty are both positively and significantly related to their offline counterparts. Store loyalty and site loyalty are also positively and significantly related to each other, but the relationship between store satisfaction and site satisfaction is not significant. The online activities do not directly influence offline purchases, but there is an indirect effect via store loyalty. However, the magnitude of this effect is rather small.

Travel Agencies: From online channel conflict to multi-channel harmony

The adoption of Internet as a distribution channel and a privileged e-commerce tool has pressed Travel Agencies (TAs) to a latent channel conflict. Our main interest is to understand how the traditional independent travel agencies in Portugal deal with the online channel. We suggest that TAs have to develop an innovative business model based on the online and offline complementary channels, in order to achieve a multi-channel harmony

Orchestration of the Marketing Strategy under Competitive Dynamics

Constructing suitable marketing strategy and implementing it effectively is an art and science both like orchestration of a symphony. The discussion in this paper blends this analogy with the science of marketing demonstrating the levels of strategy development in a competitive marketplace. The paper presents the marketing-mix in contemporary context and argues that performance of a marketing firm can be maximized, when a firm develops a creative marketing strategy and achieves marketing strategy implementation effectiveness. The discussion in the paper reveals that marketing managers of different levels simultaneously operate within the firm and perceive the need for strategy development with varied preferences. A consequence of this is development of robust strategies and their effective implementation which, in turn, leads to increased market performance. Thus, it is important for researchers to investigate various strategy integration perspectives and this paper provides guidance by reviewing the existing literature.Marketing strategy, strategy integration, marketing-mix, customer value,strategy implementation, market competition, risk factors, brand building, customer centric strategy, routes to market

Multi-Channel Retail Supply Chain Management: Fulfillment systems in Multi-Channel Retailing - Customer Expectations and Economic Performance

Increasingly, store-based retailers are opening an additional online sales channel and becoming multi-channel retailers. The integration of these different channels raises the question how to redefine the strategic marketing elements and the operations, as the two channels have different constraints and require different competences. This multi-channel retailing has major impacts on the operations and the supply-chain management. Order fulfillment for the customers using the different sales channels is a key challenge, as customers are directly impacted from the performance of this process. In this paper, we will highlight the different strategic elements and operational challenges to be addressed by a multi-channel retailer. In order to evaluate the match between a fulfillment system and a multi-channel business model, we propose a framework analyzing the overall performance of different fulfillment systems regarding the two dimensions customer expectations and economic performance.Multi-Channel; Retail; Fulfillment; Distribution; E-commerce

Developing A Framework For Multi Channel Strategies . An Analysis Of Cases From The Grocery Retail Industry

Based on ongoing research in multi channel management, we are proposing a simple taxonomy of multi channel strategies. Cases from the grocery retail industry are not only used to illustrate four core strategies but also to study contingencies for the choice of the respective strategies. Furthermore, the cases are used to analyze the alignment of corporate marketing and online channel strategies. 1 1

Technology-Enabled Retail Services and Online Sales Performance

Drawing on the past literature on four retail service areas: content management, customer management, multi-channel management, and visitor traffic management, this research offers an empirical analysis of the relationships between these four service areas and the online sales performance of Web retailers. Using data from an independent source on the profiles as well as operational and sales performances of the top-ranked Web retailers, we map the retailers’ online features into a unified conceptual framework that incorporates the above four broad areas, and empirically study their direct implications on online sales performance. The results show that the retailers’ efforts in content, customer, and multi-channel management features have a significant positive impact on their online sales. However, while retailers expend considerable efforts on attracting visitors to their retail Web sites, our result is inconclusive regarding whether or not the visitor traffic management features have an impact on retailers’ sales performance

SERVICE-PROCESS CONFIGURATIONS IN ELECTRONIC RETAILING: A TAXONOMIC ANALYSIS OF ELECTRONIC FOOD RETAILERS

Service-processes of electronic retailers are founded on electronic technologies that provide flexibility to sense and respond online to the dynamic and complex needs of customers. In this paper, we develop a taxonomy of service-processes in electronic retailing and demonstrate their linkage to customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The taxonomy is grounded in a conceptual classification scheme that differentiates service-process stages on a continuum of flexibility. Using data on electronic service-processes collected from 255 electronic food retailers, we identified eight configurations for the taxonomy. We also collected and analyzed publicly reported customer satisfaction survey data that were available for 52 electronic food retailers in the study sample. The results of this analysis indicate positive and significant correlation of the ordering of the taxonomy configurations with (i) customer satisfaction with product information, product selection, web site aesthetics, web site navigation, customer support, and ease of return, and (ii) customer loyalty. Taken together, the results of our empirical analyses demonstrate that the taxonomy captures information and variety within and across the electronic service-process configurations in ways that can be related to customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.Marketing, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,