Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Omni-Channel Retailing: Knowledge, Challenges, and Opportunities for Future Research

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Marketing at the Confluence between Entertainment and Analytics

Abstract

Recently, increasing attentions have been put on the omni-channel management, an emerging research subject due to the springing up of cloud computing, big data analysis, and mobile computing, which reshape consumers’ behavior pattern and accordingly the retailers’ distribution channels. Based on a comprehensive review of the existing researches on channel management as well as the emerging technologies potentially essential to online and brick-and-mortar retailers, we find that whereas coordination across different channels are still important, retailers must maximize the advantages of each specific channel, so as to provide a seamless shopping experience to customers. Meanwhile, the variability of consumer intents as they visit the same retailer (or brand) from different channels suggest that the recognition of consumer navigation patterns, the classification and interpretation of consumers’ intentions, and the subsequent marketing strategy are crucial to maintain consumer loyalty and minimize the free riding of the retailers’ channels.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 259.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 329.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 329.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Accenture. (2013). The new omni-channel approach to serving customers—Strategy implications for communications service providers. Available at: https://goo.gl/aLBVKl

  • Adomavicius, G., & Tuzhilin, A. (2001). Using data mining methods to build customer profiles. Computer, 34(2), 74–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amit, R., & Zott, C. (2012). Creating value through business model innovation. MIT Sloan Management Review, 53(3), 41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bakos, Y. (2001). The emerging landscape for retail e-commerce. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 15(1), 69–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bell, D. R., Gallino, S., & Moreno, A. (2013). Inventory showrooms and customer migration in omni-channel retail: The effect of product information. Available at: https://goo.gl/esBdlN

  • Boe, B. J., Hamrick, J. M., & Aarant, M. L. (2001). System and method for profiling customers for targeted marketing. U.S. Patent No. 6,236, 975.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brynjolfsson, E., Hu, Y., & Rahman, M. S. (2009). Battle of the retail channels: How product selection and geography drive cross-channel competition. Management Science, 55(11), 1755–1765.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brynjolfsson, E., Hu, Y. J., & Rahman, M. S. (2013). Competing in the age of omnichannel retailing. MIT Sloan Management Review, 54(4), 23–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cachon, G., Gallino, S., & Olivares, M. (2013). Does adding inventory increase sales? Evidence of a scarcity effect in us automobile dealerships. Evidence of a scarcity effect in US automobile dealerships (June 28, 2013). Columbia Business School Research Paper 13–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clemons, E. K. (2008). How information changes consumer behavior and how consumer behavior determines corporate strategy. Journal of Management Information Systems, 25(2), 13–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coelho, P. S., & Henseler, J. (2012). Creating customer loyalty through service customization. European Journal of Marketing, 46(3/4), 331–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deloitte. (2014). The omnichannel opportunity—Unlocking the power of the connected customer. Available at: https//goo.gl/XhGtFz

    Google Scholar 

  • Dinner, I. M., Van Heerde, H. J., & Neslin, S. A. (2014). Driving online and offline sales: The cross-channel effects of traditional, online display, and paid search advertising. Journal of Marketing Research, 51(5), 527–545.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dorman, A. J. (2013). Omni-channel retail and the new age consumer: An empirical analysis of direct-to-consumer channel interaction in the retail industry. Available at: https://goo.gl/LdChdA

  • Flint, D. J., Blocker, C. P., & Boutin, P. J. (2011). Customer value anticipation, customer satisfaction and loyalty: An empirical examination. Industrial Marketing Management, 40(2), 219–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forrester. (2014). Customer desires vs. retailer capabilities: Minding the omni-channel commerce gap. Available at: https://goo.gl/mEcXzr

  • Frambach, R. T., Roest, H. C. A., & Krishnan, T. V. (2007). The impact of consumer Internet experience on channel preference and usage intentions across the different stages of the buying process. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 21(2), 26–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gallino, S., & Moreno, A. (2014). Integration of online and offline channels in retail: The impact of sharing reliable inventory availability information. Management Science, 60(6), 1434–1451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldsmith, R. E. (2002). Explaining and predicting consumer intention to purchase over the internet: An exploratory study. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 10(2), 22–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herhausen, D., Binder, J., Schögel, M., & Herrmann, A. (2015). Integrating bricks with clicks: Retailer-level and channel-level outcomes of online–Offline channel integration. Journal of Retailing, 91(2), 309–325.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang, T. L., & Van Mieghem, J. L. (2014). Clickstream data and inventory management: Model and empirical analysis. Production and Operations Management, 23(3), 333–347.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Konuş, U., Neslin, S. A., & Verhoef, P. C. (2014). The effect of search channel elimination on purchase incidence, order size and channel choice. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 31(1), 49–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levy, M., Weitz, B., & Grewal, D. (2013). Retailing management (9th ed., p. 67). New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mehra, A., Kumar, S., & Raju, J. S. (2013). ‘Showrooming’ and the competition between store and online retailers. Available at SSRN 2200420.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noble, S. M., Griffith, D. A., & Weinberger, M. G. (2005). Consumer derived utilitarian value and channel utilization in a multi-channel retail context. Journal of Business Research, 58(12), 1643–1651.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olbrich, R., & Holsing, C. (2011). Modeling consumer purchasing behavior in social shopping communities with clickstream data. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 16(2), 15–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pantano, E. (2013). Ubiquitous retailing innovative scenario: From the fixed point of sale to the flexible ubiquitous store. Journal of Technology Management and Innovation, 8(2), 84–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rigby, D. (2011). The future of shopping. Harvard Business Review, 89(12), 65–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rigby, D., Serow, E., Tager, S., Cheris, A., & Spotlight on Technology. (2014). Bain & Company 2014 Retail Holiday Newsletter #2. Available at: https://goo.gl/oVjPrA

  • Senecal, S., Kalczynski, P. J., & Fredette, M. (2014). Dynamic identification of anonymous consumers’ visit goals using clickstream. International Journal of Electronic Business, 11(3), 220–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shankar, V., Smith, A. K., & Rangaswamy, A. (2003). Customer satisfaction and loyalty in online and offline environments. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 20(2), 153–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shen, B., Zheng, Q., Li, X., & Xu, L. (2015). A framework for mining actionable navigation patterns from in-store RFID datasets via indoor mapping. Sensors, 15(3), 5344–5375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thirumalai, S., & Sinha, K. K. (2011). Customization of the online purchase process in electronic retailing and customer satisfaction: An online field study. Journal of Operations Management, 29(5), 477–487.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Baal, S. (2014). Should retailers harmonize marketing variables across their distribution channels? An investigation of cross-channel effects in multi-channel retailing. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 21(6), 1038–1046.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vijayasarathy, L. R. (2004). Predicting consumer intentions to use on-line shopping: The case for an augmented technology acceptance model. Information and Management, 41(6), 747–762.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu, M., & Walton, J. (2005). Gaining customer knowledge through analytical CRM. Industrial Management and Data Systems, 105(7), 955–971.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The preparation of paper is financed by the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (Grant Number: 14DZ1101400 Personalized Recommendation Technology based Aeronautical Mobile Community Service Model Research and Application Demonstration).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. IAE Lyon, Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3, Lyon, France

    Fanjuan Shi

Authors
  1. Fanjuan Shi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fanjuan Shi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Marketing Department, IESEG School of Management (LEM-CNRS), Lille, France

    Patricia Rossi

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Academy of Marketing Science

About this paper

Cite this paper

Shi, F. (2017). Omni-Channel Retailing: Knowledge, Challenges, and Opportunities for Future Research. In: Rossi, P. (eds) Marketing at the Confluence between Entertainment and Analytics. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47331-4_18

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation