Multichannel Retailing: The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Multi-Channel Retailing

INTRODUCTION

Multi channel retailing

The world is at the dawn of a new era where technology enables a better communication among millions of people bringing new ways of getting information. The Internet offers consumers not only access to a vast amount of data but it is also an alternative way of making purchases at home (Forsythe and Shi 2003). This influences our culture and is shaping how we relate with each other and the way we consume. The internet rose new needs on consumers making them more demanding. Many of the technology that in the last decade seemed futuristic and fanciful is now available at reasonable prices and it will be more and more omnipresent. This is only the beginning and it is already creating loads of new opportunities

Multichannel retailing is not a new trend, it emerged a long time ago and many studies have been made about this concept. Recently, it has registered a massive growth - customers are becoming increasingly familiar with the benefits of using more than one channel when taking the decision of buying a product or a service. in the few last years online shopping has gained enormous growth with a customers’ desire of gaining benefits and have cost advantages made multichannel retailing a key source of competitive advantage (Grau 2009; Chatterjee

It is of utmost importance to take advantage of potential synergies of a well-integrated system where the different channels are not autonomous and independent from one another enabling a seamless shopping experience to customers (Van Baaland Dach, 2005; Chatterjee, 2010; Schramm-Klein et al. 2011; McGoldrick and Collins 2007). Loyalty – consequences of a multichannel approach the competition among the grocery industry became higher in the last years; customers increased their expectations about the services provided by retailers both online and in person (Grewal, Krishnan, Lindsey-Mullikin, 2008). This led to an increase in advertising expenses, the launch of loyalty cards and the offering of discounts to customers more frequently. All of the situations just stated are among others strategies that companies are using to increase the loyalty of their customers. Previous academic research pointed repurchase, recommendation and supplementary purchases as dimensions of customer loyalty (Schramm-Klein, Wagner, Steinmann and Morschett, 2011). When retailers provide to their