VSE: University of Economics Prague, Czech Republic International Business – Central European Business Realities
GOING FROM CLICKS TO BRICKS: ONLINE RETAILERS TO BRICK AND MORTAR SHOPS
Author: Roberto Jose Robleto Andonie Thesis Instructor: Ing. Markéta Lhotáková, Ph.D.
Declaration:
I hereby declare that I am the sole author of the thesis entitled “Going from Clicks to Bricks:
Online Retailers to Brick and Mortar Shops”. I duly marked out all quotations. The used literature and sources are stated in the attached list of references.
In Prague on:_____25.06.2021_____ _____________________
Roberto Jose Robleto Andonie
Acknowledgement
I will like to express my special gratitude and appreciation to my thesis supervisor Ing.
Markéta Lhotáková, Ph.D, for her guidance throughout all the process of the research in place. As well I would like to thank all the people who encourage me to pursue my career and
in successfully acquiring my degree, specially my family, girlfriend and friends.
Abstract
The synergy between retailers and consumers has been an ever-changing process since the 18th century. Nowadays the consumer is influenced through globalization which has radically changed its purchasing behaviors and patterns. With the launch of the internet, came the birth of e-commerce which revolutionized the way consumers purchase their products from the comfort of their homes. It might seem that traditional brick-and-mortar stores are disappearing due to the impact online retailing and e-commerce marketplaces have on the market. Recently for the past five to ten years, pure-play online retailers have decided to expand their operations into new horizons. Multichannel and Omnichannel strategies are part of their expansions.
Starting with multichannel strategies where the retailers aim at utilizing different channels to reach their targeted customer. The problem with utilizing such a strategy is that the reach doesn’t feel seamless to the consumer, so it is necessary to give a further step and integrate it into an omnichannel strategy. The strategy integrates and harmonizes all channels, which gives a much more seamless customer experience. Results have shown that omnichannel successful strategies in combination with new trends in consumer purchasing behaviors, indeed have pushed retailers to expand their processes and experience further into the market by successfully striving in an omnichannel environment.
Key Words: Omnichannel Environment and Strategy, Online Retail, Consumer Behavior, Globalization.
Abstract
Synergie mezi maloobchodníky a spotřebiteli se od 18. století neustále mění. V dnešní době je spotřebitel ovlivňován globalizací, která radikálně změnila jeho nákupní chování a vzorce. Se spuštěním internetu přišel zrod elektronického obchodování, které přineslo revoluci ve způsobu, jakým si zákazníci kupují své výrobky z pohodlí domova. Mohlo by se zdát, že tradiční kamenné obchody mizí z důvodu dopadu on-line maloobchodu a elektronického obchodování na trh. V posledních pěti až deseti letech se maloobchodníci specializováni výhradně on-line rozhodli rozšířit své působení do nových odvětví. Multikanálové a omnikanálové strategie jsou součástí jejich rozšíření. Počínaje vícekanálovými strategiemi, kde se maloobchodníci snaží využít různé kanály k oslovení svých cílených zákazníků. Problém s používáním takové strategie spočívá v tom, že dosah se spotřebiteli nepůsobí přirozeně, takže je nutné učinit další krok a integrovat jej do omnikanálové strategie. Tato strategie integruje a harmonizuje všechny kanály, což poskytuje mnohem plynulejší zákaznickou zkušenost.
Výsledky ukázaly, že úspěšné omnikanálové strategie v kombinaci s novými trendy v chování spotřebitelů při nákupu skutečně přiměly maloobchodníky, aby rozšířili své procesy a zkušenosti dále na trh úspěšným úsilím v prostředí omnikanálu.
Klíčová slova: Omnikanálové Prostředí a Strategie, Online Maloobchod, Chování Spotřebitelů, Globalizace.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION _________________________________________________________________________ 1 PURPOSE & MAIN OBJECTIVE ___________________________________________________________ 3 PURPOSE _______________________________________________________________________________ 3 MAIN OBJECTIVE ________________________________________________________________________ 3 1 THEORETICAL REVIEW ____________________________________________________________ 3 1.1 GLOBALIZATION ON CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR _____________________________________________ 4 1.1.1 Retrospective on The Forces Behind Globalization ____________________________________ 4 1.1.2 Retrospective on the Immediate Impacts ____________________________________________ 6 1.1.3 Retrospective of Change in Consumer Behavior Characteristics _________________________ 8 1.2 CONSUMER BEHAVIOR IN THE 21STCENTURY __________________________________________ 11 1.2.1 Understanding Consumer Behavior: Basics ___________________________________________ 11 1.2.2 Consumer Behavior Types _________________________________________________________ 12 1.2.3 Consumer Decision Process _______________________________________________________ 14 1.2.4 Online Consumer Behavior ________________________________________________________ 16 1.3 E-COMMERCE AND ONLINE RETAILERS:IMPACT ________________________________________ 17 1.4 THE OMNICHANNEL ENVIRONMENT __________________________________________________ 18 1.4.1 The Omnichannel Environment: Information & Fulfillment Matrix Analysis _______________ 19 1.4.2 The Omnichannel Environment: Summary of Successful Strategies ______________________ 32 1.4.3 The Omnichannel Environment: Challenges of Implementation ___________________________ 36 2 METHODOLOGY __________________________________________________________________ 39 2.1 QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH _________________________________________________________ 39 2.1.1 Quantitative Research: Sampling Method _____________________________________________ 40 2.1.2 Quantitative Research: Parameters and Measurements __________________________________ 41 2.1.3 Quantitative Research: Data Collection and Analysis Process _____________________________ 45 2.2 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH __________________________________________________________ 46 2.2.1 Qualitative Research: Case Study Preparation _________________________________________ 46 2.2.2 Qualitative Research: Data Collection and Analysis ____________________________________ 47 3 RESULTS __________________________________________________________________________ 48 3.1 QUANTITATIVE RESULTS __________________________________________________________ 48 3.1.1 Quantitative Results: Male Category ______________________________________________ 49 3.1.2 Quantitative Results: Female Category ____________________________________________ 55 3.1.3 Quantitative Results: Category Comparison and Conclusion ___________________________ 59 3.2 QUALITATIVE RESULTS:CASE STUDY ________________________________________________ 60 3.2.1 Qualitative Results: Theory Question ______________________________________________ 60 3.2.2 Warby Parker: Case Study Background and Theory Question Analysis ___________________ 61 4. RECOMMENDATIONS AND LIMITATIONS _____________________________________________ 66 5. CONCLUSIONS _______________________________________________________________________ 67 APPENDIX _____________________________________________________________________________ 68 APPENDIX I:ONLINE SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE ________________________________________________ 68 BIBLIOGRAPHY ________________________________________________________________________ 72
List of Tables
Table 1: Advantages and Disadvantages of Centralized Distribution System; Source: (Klement, 2019) _____ 24 Table 2: Advantages and Disadvantages of Snowball Sampling Method; Source: (QuestionPro, 2021) _____ 40 Table 3: Advantages and Disadvantages of Secondary Research Method for Interviews; Source: (Alchemer, 2021) __________________________________________________________________________________ 47
List of Graphs
Graph 1: Likert Analysis: MALES AGES 0-25 WITH BOTH PURCHASING PREFERENCES (ONLINE &
OFFLINE) ______________________________________________________________________________ 50 Graphs 2 & 3: Describe the Sample’s Country of Origin and The Employment Status ___________________ 50 Graph 4: Likert Analysis: MALES AGES 26-35 WITH BOTH PURCHASING PREFERENCES (ONLINE &
OFFLINE) ______________________________________________________________________________ 52 Graphs 5 & 6: Describe the Sample’s Country of Origin and The Employment Status ___________________ 52 Graph 7: Likert Analysis: MALES AGES 36 & Older WITH BOTH PURCHASING PREFERENCES (ONLINE
& OFFLINE) ____________________________________________________________________________ 54 Graphs 8 & 9: Describe the Sample’s Country of Origin and The Employment Status ___________________ 54 Graph 10: Likert Analysis: FEMALES AGES 0-25 WITH BOTH PURCHASING PREFERENCES (ONLINE &
OFFLINE) ______________________________________________________________________________ 56 Graphs 11 & 12: Describe the Sample’s Country of Origin and The Employment Status _________________ 56 Graph 13: Likert Analysis: FEMALES AGES 26-45 WITH BOTH PURCHASING PREFERENCES (ONLINE &
OFFLINE) ______________________________________________________________________________ 58 Graphs 14 & 15: Describe the Sample’s Country of Origin and The Employment Status _________________ 58
List of Figures
Figure 1: The Flows of Globalization; Source: Chapter 1 (Samli, 2012) ______________________________ 4 Figure 2:Five biggest Impacts of Globalization; Source Chapter 1 (Samli, 2012) _______________________ 6 Figure 3:Seven Consumer Characteristics; Source (Samli, 2012) ____________________________________ 8 Figure 4:Types of Consumer Behavior; Source: (Brajesh, 2012) ___________________________________ 12 Figure 5: Model Consumer Behavior; Source (Sydorenko, 2019) ___________________________________ 14 Figure 6: How We Buy in 2018; Source: (BigCommerce, 2019) ____________________________________ 17 Figure 7: Single Channel vs Multi-Channel vs Omnichannel; Source: (Intelistyle, 2019) ________________ 19 Figure 8: The Information and Fulfillment Matrix; Source: (Bell & Gallino & Moreno, 2014) ____________ 19 Figure 9: BOPIS Strategy Implemented by BestBuy; Source: (Bakutyte, 2020) ________________________ 25 Figure 10: Bonobos Showroom Experience; Source: (Bonobos, 2021) _______________________________ 28 Figure 11: Brandless Pop-Up Store Los Angeles, USA area; Source: (Coleman, 2018) __________________ 29 Figure 12: Virtual Fitting Rooms; Source: Zeekit Main Website ____________________________________ 31 Figure 13: Successful Omnichannel Retailing Strategies; Source: (Competing in the Age of Omnichannel Retailing Vol.54, 2013) ____________________________________________________________________ 33 Figure 14: Warby Parker’s Showroom in NYC’s Soho; Source: (Hughes, 2017) _______________________ 65
Introduction
We can all agree that today’s global customer has become a very different individual than it was more than a quarter of a century ago. Mainly this can be attributed to the awareness today’s customer has over the market which is rooted from globalization itself. According to Coskum Samli’s approach on the effects of globalization on the global consumer in his book
“International consumer behavior in the 21st Century: Impact on Marketing Strategy Development.”, globalization in simple terms is the integration of all countries and people in the world (Samli, 2012). That being said globalization has opened the barriers for flow of goods, services, technologies, business relations etc., which until this day we are reaching more and more ways on how to facilitate the consumer market. Of course as Samli explains globalization has its disadvantages which will be explored later on in our research.
Over the past twenty years, in our digital timeline, we were witnesses of the rise of online retail stores and ecommerce multinational companies that have changed our perceptions of purchasing as result of what was talked about globalization. Online shopping sells on convenience for the consumer to skip on going to physical stores and by having all what they need a click or tap away (Saha, 2012). According to the US Department of Commerce Statistics online retailing alone from 2016 to 2017 sales rose up to 16% , however physical stores are only experiencing a 2%-3% growth yearly (Statistics, 2020). It is set that for the following years online retail sales will have an exponential growth of 11.9% per year according to Forrester Data (O'Grady, 2018). Of course in present times the world is experiencing an economic crisis due to COVID-19 pandemic. According to the latest updates in 2020 retail stores will drop to a 3.6% and online retail from 2019 to 2020 will experience a 18% growth on sales which is no mystery as result of restrictions on free movement, individuals are forced to pursue online shopping for their needs. (O'Grady, 2018).
We can say that the future will be a full-on a digital world where physical stores or brick and mortar shops will disappear for good. Despite of a huge exponential sales growth, online retailers are following a new trend in investing on opening what are physical stores.
Many stores such as “ThredUp”, “Athleta”, “Amazon”, “Bonobos”, “Warby Parker” and many others, which started as solely online retailers are now expanding to the physical world.
However they are not traditional brick and mortar shops, instead they managed to combine
trending innovations and online customer data for their benefit to give an even bigger experience to those individuals who lacked that try/touch experience. According to Joe Browns Company, an online clothing retailer, customers are drawn back to the physical experience, and quoting: “Customers have told us they love to step into a space where they feel fully immersed in Joe Browns’ uniquely captivating and colorful world” (Stevens, 2018). In addition many online retailers are adopting a similar but different approach to what are brick and mortar shops, for example the huge Czech online retail store Alza, with similar business ideas as Amazon, decided to invest in what are showrooms. According to analysts showrooms are places designed for the customer to test and try the products to help them make their online purchasing decision better. According to a consulting company A.T Kearney, two-thirds of customers who shop online have backed up their purchasing decision by first experiencing their product face to face (Peña, 2018).
Of course behind this new trends comes new strategies the companies adopt to keep and grow their customer base whilst transitioning into the new era of retailing. This strategy adopted by said companies is called the omnichannel strategy. Living in a digital era full of smartphones, applications, browsing and connectivity, it is no mystery this retailers want to take advantage of this channels. According to an article in “ShopifyPlus”, the strategy provides customers with a full shopping experience by mixing the customers experience form brick and mortar shops to mobile browsing and everything that comes in between (Orendorff, 2018). In other words the customer can browse, compare, review and finally purchase the product and pick it up in store by utilizing the stores app which personalizes the customer’s experience.
According to a study done by Harvard Business Review, 73% of costumers purchased goods from stores who thrived in a strong omnichannel strategy (Emma Sopadjieva, 2017).
Furthermore the aim of this research is to analyze the new trends in customer purchasing behavior, online and offline retailers, the context of the omnichannel strategy and its environment. Thus the analysis will help to understand why retailers should navigate and implement an omnichannel strategy to deliver a seamless customer experience.
Purpose & Main Objective
Purpose
The purpose of the following research is to explore what challenges and opportunities online retail named brands convey over investing and/or utilizing brick and mortar shops. At the same time analyze the context of the omnichannel strategy, challenges and its environment.
In addition the analysis will be backed up by utilizing qualitative and quantitative research to determine the reasons behind the phenomenon.
Main Objective
“Determine if due to new trends in customer purchasing behavior and omnichannel strategies, Online Retailers are driven to utilize Brick and Mortar shops.”
1 Theoretical Review
The following chapter is a take on the theoretical background surrounding the aim of the investigation that is going to take place. It is important to tackle the origin of the change in the new global consumer’s purchasing behavior of the 21st Century and its views on the market.
Once the analysis of the customer is accomplished, a brief analysis regarding ecommerce online retailer companies impacting the new market will be done. Once the analysis is accomplished, a further analysis of the context of the omnichannel strategy, its environment and the challenges of implementation will be pursued. The conclusion of the analysis will grasp the idea of where should retailers stand to maintain an effective harmonized omnichannel strategy to successfully deliver a new purchasing experience to the consumer. The theorical information reviewed will be a key context for the methodology applied in the case and survey study.
1.1 Globalization on Customer Behavior
1.1.1 Retrospective on The Forces Behind Globalization
As mentioned before, today’s customer market awareness is rooted from globalization itself. According to Samli’s approach on globalization, huge multinational corporations expand their reach to the richest markets as the global consumer demand for goods and services get more personalized and complex (Samli, 2012). That being said, Samli explains five different flows that are the accelerating force of globalization which multinational companies are dependent for their huge economic size and power.
Figure 1: The Flows of Globalization; Source: Chapter 1 (Samli, 2012)
The figure above describes the link between the five forces behind globalization itself, of course Samli analyzes 21st century approach towards this forces. Furthermore it is important to analyze each flow to understand how the customer is impacted by them. (Samli, 2012)
According to several analysis, the most traditional and stable type of capital flow is FDI or foreign direct investment, because of its positive externalities in the form of access to foreign technologies and markets and as well the beneficial employment prosperity it brings with it (Stallings, 2007). This particular type of capital flow is our aim with our research as many online retailers are driven by this force to enter foreign markets adapting their strategies towards the global costumer.
Secondly when we talk about the information flow as the name implies is the flow of information from point A to B to C…and subsequently. Now we live in a interconnected world where we have access to every information at the reach of our fingers (Ariely, 2010). For the costumer this means insights to different product information that influence and makes their purchasing decision much more convenient than before. Now the costumer can compare and research products in real time and in sore (Samli, 2012).
The flow of technology is one of the biggest forces companies thrive now a days, simply in regards to the every changing needs and innovations around the globe. According to several analysis the flow on technology plays several roles on the global consumer, most importantly is the accessibility of new technologies in the market in combination with the access to information flows. Costumers are experiencing developments much faster and accessible than before thanks to computerization (Samli, 2012). Thanks to new adaptive technologies, online retailers have taken advantage of applications to provide the consumer with product information with real time GPS tracking of their purchased product (Achit Agarwal, 2015), reforming online logistics itself. According to an approach on Globalization and Consumer behavior, the flow of technologies have reduce the efficiency of command and control management communication style between the corporate employees and consumer, meaning that due to risk of exposure employers are forced to take on resolving issues internally and by conversing which actually impulse corporate image, products and services (Rajagopal, 2018).
Fourthly it is important to discuss a huge force that has been expanding knowledge and innovations since before the era of digitalization, this force as many analysist suggest is the Know-How Flow or People flow. As the name implies is the flow of people form one place to another, in this case people who move to another country and brings its knowledge to this new country. With variety in skill sets and mind sets companies have a more efficient processes resulting in better approach for services and products for the consumer (Samli, 2012).
As new innovators emerge from different countries, multinational companies have invested in R&D departments for the development of new technologies that are adaptive to their foreign and local market (Johannes Eugster, 2015).
Tackling the four main flows that accelerate globalization, the final focus falls on the last and final flow which is built upon the above explained forces called the flow of goods and services. Which entitles the effect on the quality of life of the consumer (Samli, 2012). In other words as the Figure 1 explains, the forces of information, technology, people and capital influence the new age of consumer purchasing behavior, bringing awareness of the market.
Today’s consumers are able to access every aspect of what they need much faster than it was more than 20 years ago. Which at the same time multinational companies have evolved around the needs and focused on delivering the most convenient ways to connect with the global consumer.
1.1.2 Retrospective on the Immediate Impacts
The forces that play the major role on the accelerating progress of globalization and homogenization in return trigger different major impacts on multinational corporations and markets.
Figure 2:Five biggest Impacts of Globalization; Source Chapter 1 (Samli, 2012)
Retaking the description on technology flow, many emerging economies, NIC or newly industrialized countries, as well as corporations have been impacted positively. With more and more innovation barriers being broken it is easy to say that productivity has increased for all the above market players. Samli (2012), mentions a clear example with the Asian Four Tigers(
Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong) where the new flow of technology has impulse this countries into the production of new goods that were not able to be produced
effects on globalization on productivity growth the impulse globalization has directly increased the rate of FDI, enhancing the flow of technologies, “which grows labor productivity as a measure of competitiveness in the market” (Mallick, 2015).
In regards of labor growth productivity and improvement of life quality do to the role globalization plays in the market focusing on productivity, it is easy to say that productions for goods and services incorporating new foreign technologies for each market has exponentially improved the economic well-being. In many studies, analysts have conclude that do to better economic situations the consumer has more purchasing power to obtain better products and services insuring his wellbeing and openness to new innovations and foreign technologies that were not available before.
With new opportunities and enhanced productivity for specialized products for the new global consumer, globalization has caused the growth of small segments of the markets that focus on special need and preference for the consumer called niche markets (Sheehan, 2019).
For example the company “Leftys” is only retailer for products design only for left people, with its selling point being the first option for people searching a specific product for left handed people, the most searched item are pens and scissors (Turner, 2020). Of course the company focuses in thousands of everyday goods designed especially for left handed individuals.
Amazon an e-commerce multinational company is one of the biggest and wealthiest company in the world which took advantage of the changing global world with globalized logistics systems and revolutionized online purchasing globally. It is important to mention that the demand for new products and services has increased as fast as globalization has. In current times in 2020 as mentioned the world is going through a pandemic crises which has forced individuals to remain at home and avoid contact with others For many this is a catastrophe but for online retailers who thrive with an efficient delivery logistics are taking control of the market.
More interconnectivity between economies due to globalization creates the idea of the
“flattening of the earth” figurately, which means that market players who provide a much more quality of life are growing. Due to an easy access to different markets we can say that a global culture is created (Samli, 2012). This in return means that the consumer has a wider view of what to expect when they are looking for products, affecting its purchasing behavior and in a way forcing corporations to innovate and invest on purchasing experiences.
1.1.3 Retrospective of Change in Consumer Behavior Characteristics
As discussed in previous sections, globalization is a phenomenon that clearly has its biggest impacts for the global consumer. Talking about the forces that accelerate globalization primarily the flow of information and technology are key factors for the changes in the global consumer’s purchasing behavior. The following investigation is based upon Samli’s approach on the seven consumer characteristics that have been change due to the effects of the forces behind globalization.
Figure 3:Seven Consumer Characteristics; Source (Samli, 2012)
The easy access to global information due to the flow of information through telecommunications and electronic devices have been of great impact for the consumer awareness of its environment (Samli, 2012). With this easy access, consumers can now be aware of any product they can think of. This helps on their research for a product or service they desire, and directly influence their purchasing decision.
According to several studies there are three stages of conscious awareness that can be identified in a consumer, those being: “environmental features that trigger an automatic process, the automatic process itself and the outcome of the automatic process” (L.Chartrand, 2010).
With awareness comes brand knowledge information, consumers now a days can know everything about a brand or product with a simple tap on their phone. That is the reason why brand awareness strategies are crucial for today’s corporations. They know that their sales comes from their popularity and awareness. Named brands such as Coca-Cola, McDonalds, KFC, Pepsi are known for their investment in brand awareness (Samli, 2012). Twenty-five years ago in the mist of the internet boom, people had less information about companies and their products and got to know about their new products when they were already out. Now at days the consumer already knows in detail what he or she are going to buy and an idea of what to expect about the company’s future steps. According to the analyst and consulting company based in Finland, Kuudes, a well-informed consumer is the best consumer. This line came from a study they made in Finland where they identify 9 types of consumers with the aim for companies to focus on consumer behavior and preferences. (Kuluttaja, 2020).
Once the global consumer becomes more aware and informed about products and services in detail creates ,at the same time, a more quality-conscious individual (Samli, 2012). The more access we have to information of products or brands we get more specific about what we need and measure the effectiveness and efficiency by comparison. Of course the consumer is affected by different variables such as cultural and bias factors that influence their purchasing decisions for the future. Nevertheless product quality that provides a better well-being is a must factor during purchasing.
In connection with quality-conscious consumers, we find the global brands awareness. As mentioned in the past with easy access to product and brand information the consumer can be influenced by how strong the brand is. Companies have invested time and money for brand awareness to have a way to reach the farthest places to connect with their costumer (Samli, 2012). According to OBERLO, an online teaching platform, nine out of ten consumers or 89%
of worldwide customers read reviews before purchasing a product or service (Trustpilot, 2020).
This tells us that customers trust other customers and at the same time impacts the image and reputation of the brands and products.
Furthermore many customers feel less trust from companies that won’t allow reviews for their products, which backfires and causes the company to lose trusted clients and acquisition of new ones. This way the customer already knows which company they trust more to satisfy their needs (Samli, 2012).
Knowledge about a product or service is not only about their details, features and benefits.
As well one key factor that the global consumer observes while purchasing it’s the different currency price tag. In a homogeneous world with trade and accessibility, customers have an advantage to compare prices and even save some money doing so (Samli, 2012). For instance in their country a certain product can be more expensive than if they purchase it online from another country, this might save them money as it might be much cheaper in that specific country. In other words, customers take advantage of exchange rate discrepancies which can be seen as a loophole for saving some money.
Amazon is a clear example for offering global products to everyone, there might be some exceptions due to logistics issues or policies but in theory you can find anything on the ecommerce platform. Many companies such as Amazon give the consumer the opportunity to obtain foreign technology not found locally that benefits its well-being without jumping retail price too high. One of the many reasons why online retailers are on top of the game is because they provide accessibility and convenience to the customer to satisfy their needs at any given time. In addition as it was talked before about the flow of people regarding foreign skills entering local markets for new insights and innovations, this indirectly benefits the local customer to have access to new products that he could buy before. As well this pushes productivity growth for the companies and expand into newer markets.
If a company thrives on an efficient delivery structure it can control the market (Samli, 2012). Due to the forces of globalization, the new global consumer benefits from express deliveries for products they ordered internationally within days. Before the a customer that had ordered a product internationally had to wait an undetermined amount of time that can have lasted more than six months (Samli, 2012). With today’s new technologies, multinational companies and online companies have taken the advantage of real time delivery status which inform the client about when exactly they will receive their order or better when it is located in real time.
Companies such as Amazon and Alza are clear examples of swift delivery operators for their products. Other carriers such as DHL, FedEx, UPS, etc.… are couriers that don’t provide a product but a delivery service that thrive in a well-structured logistical system.
1.2 Consumer Behavior in the 21st Century
Globalization, as discussed in previous sections, is considered the biggest influence on how corporations and consumers behave towards the global market. Specifically the sections 1.1.1
& 1.1.3, tackling the forces behind the accelerated growth of globalization itself and their influence on the change of consumer behavior characteristics. The flow of information and technology are responsible for the accessibility the consumer has on products and services in detail., resulting in building brand awareness and quality consciousness. With that being said it is important to understand the context of what is consumer behavior and its role in influencing new trends in companies’ market strategies.
1.2.1 Understanding Consumer Behavior: Basics
Consumer behavior can be viewed in different perspective as well as its importance. In general terms consumer behavior is the study of how individuals perceive and select products and services influenced by motivations, emotions and psychological factors (Chien, 2007).
According several studies on consumer behavior, the phenomenon is studied by several facets:
o “How consumers think and feel about different alternatives (brands, products, services, and retailers)”
o “How consumers reason and select between different alternatives”
o “The behavior of consumers while researching and shopping”
o “How consumer behavior is influenced by their environment (peers, culture, media)”
o “How marketing campaigns can be adapted and improved to more effectively influence the consumer”
Source: Section 1; “What is Consumer Behavior ?” (Smith, 2016)
In addition, the above facets are influences by three factors such as cultural, psychological and social. The first factor tackles with personal interests which are influenced by profession, age, gender, and background in general terms. Psychologically influences on how the consumer responds to marketing strategy campaigns and how the consumer interprets the information given by this strategies, primarily if this influence their attitude and response to fulfill their needs. Social factors influence through peer groups, now through social media, family and friends influence and as well social class and status level (Smith, 2016).
1.2.2 Consumer Behavior Types
Furthermore it is important to understand that the consumer behavior can be subdivided into four types, this was made with the aim to measure the involvement of the consumer in their purchasing decision (Sydorenko, 2019).
Figure 4:Types of Consumer Behavior; Source: (Brajesh, 2012)
Complex or extensive consumer/buying behavior describes a consumer which has high involvement during his purchasing decision. According to (Sydorenko, 2019), is an individual who does extensive research before making a final decision. According to the table in Figure 4, this individual has a full knowledge about the brand he or she chose for satisfying his product needs. The reason behind the extensive research is because the future purchase is of high economic risk (Jones, 2014). A clear example of these type of purchasing decisions is in the scenario when the individual is becoming a homeowner for the first time or a car owner, this two examples have clearly a high economic risk.
Following the purchasing pattern, this behavior is classified as dissonance reduced buyers or limited decision makers. As shown in the table this type of consumer has a huge involvement on the product but for reasons such as budget or extensive variety of brand options and even indifference on the brands itself, the consumer doesn’t get do extensive research on the brand knowledge and goes for what falls in their budget or convenience (Sydorenko, 2019).
A very clear example are kitchen appliances, for many it doesn’t matter the brand, or the model or the year. If the product falls between their price range and fulfils their needs they will
Different from an dissonance consumer that has high involvement with his or hers product of choice, another percentage of behaviors are classified as variety purchase seekers.
This type of behavior is described as buyers who don’t have an involvement in the product they are choosing but instead focus on the brand variety itself for sake of curiosity (Sydorenko, 2019). Because of this this type of consumer behavior is called brand switching, which in general terms means purchasing different brands mainly due to the product itself is of low cost and there is not much of an economical change (Haire, 2018). Very clear examples of this is when you purchase bags of chips, soaps, beers, wines, etc.
Of course different from all of the previous purchasing behaviors, the most common behavior is called habitual buying behavior. As the name implies, is a type of purchasing that has no involvement on the product nor the brand at all. The consumer sees little difference between products of similar brands or the one he or she is used to and purchase the product for long periods of time (Sydorenko, 2019). A very clear example are toothpastes, for example the brands Colgate and Crest offer many variety of similar toothpaste product but at the end of the day the consumer just grabs depending on price tag, availability or routine purchase (Grayson, 2018).
In addition, it is important to clarify that all consumers are different and unique. The above analysis on purchasing behaviors is a approach to identify repeated patterns studied across years and years of qualitative and quantitative experiments. Of course each consumer can present all four behaviors at once. The reason being on pure influence of different factors that can alter the consumer behavior, a clear example is the current global pandemic situation.
As the economy takes a huge blow, it decreases purchasing power from the consumer changing their behavior constantly, as money can be scarce. Nevertheless some behaviors were not affected at all, for example the consumer which was already used to purchasing everything online through Amazon for example and didn’t rely on store options, store discounts and availability.
1.2.3 Consumer Decision Process
It is important to expose, after analyzing consumer behavior types, the steps that the consumer undergoes before they decide to purchase the good. This steps are influenced by external factors such as named Marketing stimuli & Environmental and Consumer characteristics. Natalie Sydorenko (2019) mentions that marketing stimuli is composed by the product, place, price and advertising style influences; environmental factors are composed are economic, political, cultural and demographic (Sydorenko, 2019).
Figure 5: Model Consumer Behavior; Source (Sydorenko, 2019)
According to Sydorenko (2019), the consumer’s purchasing decision is composed of five stages that lead to the final consumer product acquisition. As mentioned before this stages or steps are influenced by external factor and consumer or buyer characteristics as shown in Figure 5. Furthermore a brief analysis of each of the stages is as follows.
The first stage of this consumer decision process according to (Lumen, 2018) is the ability of the consumer to recognize the problem or need fulfillment, this means that the consumer must know if the product or service will be sufficient to meet their needs. As the first stage it is considered as the most important process because if there is no need recognition the consumer wouldn’t have the necessity to purchase a product and continue with the rest of the stages. This is supported by Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, where he debates the idea that describes only when an individual has achieved their needs in a stage process, can move to the
next steps and achieve self-actualization or the state of harmony and understanding (McLeod, 2019).
Once the consumer has successfully recognize his product needs, he or she can proceed to the next step which is to start searching for product and brand information. Lumen (2018) categorizes the search for information as internal or external research. Internal research regards information based on the consumer’s past experience purchasing the product and referring to an specific brand. This type of search can be triggered by frequent or daily purchase of goods.
The external research is required when the consumer is new to the product or brand he is trying to purchase from. Usually the consumer will refer to personal, public or marketer source, which include word to mouth recommendations and information, forums, sales persons and advertising (Lumen, 2018) . This type of external sources can be found in TV advertisings, in- store sales representant, commentary and review sections from the company or product etc.
The third part of the purchasing process stage talks the evaluation of alternatives which the consumer has after he or she gathered all of the product and brand information needed. The consumer can now evaluate his options by ranking what will be the best choice to fulfil his needs (Lumen, 2018). The evaluation process can be backed up by the extensive consumer behavior because it means that the consumer has high involvement in the product and brand, nevertheless as shown in Figure 5 this stage can be highly influenced by external factors and costumer characteristics that will affect his final decision (Sydorenko, 2019). With the acquired information the consumer has the benefit to compare brands, pricing, product quality, etc.
After correctly assessing his options and/or alternatives the consumer is able to make a final purchasing decision. According to Marketing Management by (Philip Kotler, 2017), the consumer’s purchasing decision can be affected by two factors. Firstly a negative feedback from close individuals can positively or negatively influence the final decision regardless the completion of the previous stages. The second factor can be described according to Sydorenko (2019) and Lumen (2018) as the disruption of a final purchasing decision due to an unanticipated event out of the consumer’s control such as losing their job. Lumen (2018) argues that the consumer must answer two major questions:
o “From whom they should buy, which is influenced by price point, terms of sale, and previous experience with or awareness of the seller and the return policy.”
o “When to buy, which can be influenced by the store atmosphere or environment, time pressures and constraints, the presence of a sale, and the shopping experience.”
Once the consumer has successfully purchased the product after correctly assessing all information gathered and finally meeting with his requirements. It is time for the consumer to evaluate his purchasing decision. In this final stage the consumer assesses if he feels satisfied or unsatisfied with his decision, this outcome will be responsible for the consumer to be influenced in his next purchase and as well to others (Lumen, 2018). Many argue that at this stage the consumers go through a phenomenon called “cognitive dissonance” which Lumen (2018) and Sydorenko (2019) call it as “buyer remorse”. As the name says it describes when the consumer suffers from negative feelings such as tension or anxiety post-purchase, because the consumer starts to feel doubt on his choice and thinking that on the “what if” or “should I have” questions. Lumen (2018) argues that this might be triggered by an external factors like mention before, for example TV advertisement for a different brand than the one the consumer choice which features other features or a different model. To eradicate this feelings, many companies engage the matter by communicating with the consumer post purchasing offering him a better option for his next purchase, guarantee of refund, VIP invitations etc.
1.2.4 Online Consumer Behavior
As mentioned before in section 1.1 on the effects of globalization on the new global consumer, the flow of information and technology creates new purchasing behaviors. As it is known the consumer can be identified in different types which marketers use to create a purchasing profile experience for their clients and study new brand awareness strategies. In the previous section a brief explanation regarding the stages the consumer goes through before finally purchasing a product. That being said, in the 21st century and with the expansion of online retailing has change the perception of casual shopping experience. According to a study done by KPMG in 2017, 61% of global customers prefer to research about their product and brand before finally deciding on their final purchase. Currently with customers having easy access to countless amount of information online, the consumer has become its own salesperson and more quality conscious (Samli, 2012). As mentioned before, the new global consumer search and trust online reviews which can ultimately influence their final decision (Trustpilot, 2020). According to Scale Fast (2020), 90% of costumers prefer online retailers focusing on giving a more personalize and convenient experience to the consumer by utilizing what will be later explained as the omnichannel strategy.
1.3 E-commerce and Online Retailers: Impact
For the past decade online retailers have change the idea of purchasing. Physical shops are still a big thing but are slowly transitioning into the digital world, according to an 2018 Omnichannel Buying Report by BigCommerce, 87% of consumers in the US alone still focus on offline shopping. Nevertheless, as described before on the effect of globalization on the global consumer, those customers who still prefer offline shopping prefer to research online about the brand, and their future purchase. According to the study 39% of the consumers researched the brand online, 36% of them searched for online costumer reviews for backup and 32% of them focused on product and brand comparison against other products in Amazon (BigCommerce, 2019).
Figure 6: How We Buy in 2018; Source: (BigCommerce, 2019)
The above figure describes a further research done to global consumers, which results show that due to full access to product and brand information online, the current consumer has become its own salesman (SacleFast, 2020). As the figure describes, 78% of global consumers prefer shopping through Amazon, followed by a 65% still focusing in offline shopping but still under the influence of online brand research (BigCommerce, 2019). As well online stores have been adopting different marketing strategies from a single online channel, to multichannel and finally the omnichannel strategy.
1.4 The Omnichannel Environment
Online retailing is the new trend in consumer purchasing, as discussed in the past section the new global consumer is now more aware, quality conscious, and well informed when it comes to his or hers final purchasing decision. The expansion of online retailers and booming digitalization force retailers to evolve their business strategies and their behavior, by adapting to new trending channels to their current channel mix (Orendorff, 2018). According to Anna Savisaari on her report on “Supply chain effects in creation of omnichannel customer experience in grocery retail” the first idea of an Omnichannel strategy came into action in the early 2000’s by the fashion furniture company John Lewis and Partners, with their combination of traditional retailing with information system technologies.
According to Intelistyle (2019), the omnichannel strategy focuses on integrating different channels such as social media, consumer data, brand information, product detail into a same mix with the purpose of giving a seamless experience to the consumer (Intelistyle, 2019). A clear example can be ads on social media, for example an average consumer browsing through Facebook can spot an ad for t-shirts and clicks on the ad. The ad then takes the consumer to the online store and he starts to inform him or herself about the brand and their products. Once they choose their product they create a fast sign in with their social media accounts and decide whether to pick up their goods in store or to be delivered. This gives the company a client data base and with analytic engines can determine purchasing patterns and preferences so that next time this consumer gets a more interactive experience.
According to a survey done by Accenture showed that 75% of consumer will relate and keep their loyalty to companies who thrive in a well-structured omnichannel strategy (Muras, 2019). Before, it was mentioned that consumer behavior is affected by many external factors sometimes those factors were store locations, distances etc., now with adaptation a new channels of distribution and variety of devices, this factors become more and more irrelevant to the consumer. As long as the company incorporated well-structured delivery channels with low costs such like Amazon does.
Figure 7: Single Channel vs Multi-Channel vs Omnichannel; Source: (Intelistyle, 2019)
1.4.1 The Omnichannel Environment: Information & Fulfillment Matrix Analysis
A much better way to represent the transitioning of the consumer to an omnichannel retail environment is through David R. Bell, Santiago Gallino and Antonio Moreno (2014) approach on what they call a customer focused framework or “The information and Fulfillment Matrix” as shown in Figure 7.
Figure 8: The Information and Fulfillment Matrix; Source: (Bell & Gallino & Moreno, 2014)
The authors divided the matrix into four quadrants and two plains. Each plain is divided into two categories such as ,in Y plain (Information Delivered), online and offline; then on the X plain (Fulfilment), it is divided into pickup and delivery (Bell & Gallino & Moreno, 2014).
The aim of the matrix is to represent the consumer purchasing behavior post purchase and their fulfillment. Below a brief explanation of each respective quadrant, which later will explained more thoroughly.
o Q1: represents the traditional retailer environment which is described as offline brick and mortar shops that don’t do online deliveries instead push for the consumer to be emersed into a face to face experience with sales agents instore. In this quadrant the consumer is being informed in-store and directly purchases his goods and goes home (Bell & Gallino & Moreno, 2014).
o Q2: represent the companies who offer a catalog of products online where the consumer can in detail research the product and brand, order and then have the option to pick the product personally. Many companies prefer a pick up method to avoid extra delivery costs (Bell & Gallino & Moreno, 2014).
o Q3: represents the new trend for retailers and online retailers called showrooms, which combine the experience of online and physical purchasing experience. In showrooms the dynamic follows were the consumer visits the space and gets to know the product face to face and then goes online and they purchase it (Peña, 2018). Another example as mentioned before is the retail store Alza which expanded their market with showrooms where the consumer can visit their 24/7 space to experience the products and get a better grasp on what they are looking for and finally making a purchase decision.
o Q4: represent ecommerce and solely online retail stores who offer a full online catalog of different brands and products with full detail information on them (Bell & Gallino
& Moreno, 2014). They offer the option of purchasing and delivering the product to your home.
The above framework explains the basis of where retailers can navigate through and as the authors explain, how they can win in an omnichannel world. David R. Bell, Santiago Gallino and Antonio Moreno (2014) explain that the Customer-Focused framework is based in two fundamental questions being:
• How will customers get the information they need to facilitate their purchase decisions?
• How will transactions be fulfilled?
As explained before, the customer’s fulfillment relies on how they obtain their final product, in this cases the customer can either go to the shop to either purchase (Q1) or to pick- up (Q2) the product and/or as the authors say: the store comes to them in a form of delivery (Q3 & Q4). Many customers now a days as explained before in earlier sections, can rely on their own investigations over products they which to purchase, mainly through the usage of the internet, recommendations, reviews, store visits and catalogs. It is interesting to notice a sort of exception when it comes to the third quadrants speaking about showrooms, in example the Czech company Alza, which navigates in multiple quadrants, offers showroom strategy channels where the customer visits the space and can enrich their knowledge on the product their looking for which afterwards they purchase online and have the opportunity to get this product delivered or it can be picked up in their different points of business around the country.
This offers every sort of convenience to the customer.
According to the authors, before the customer adapted to the new trends of internet purchasing behavior, there where only two types of retailers. The first one as explained earlier, were traditional retailers (Q1) based solely offline. Usually the costumers obtain information about the products instore through sales agents and got their product fulfillment in that process (Bell & Gallino & Moreno, 2014). The second type of retailers where those who worked with product catalogs, in the past many costumers received information of new products through newspapers, directly to their homes through magazine subscriptions etc. The authors explains that this where the bases of the development of what we now know of pure-play online retailers (Q4). (Bell & Gallino & Moreno, 2014)
To this day many successful retailers only focus on the first quadrant, for example the high fashion street Irish clothing store: Primark. Interesting enough this company, is a highly
worldwide recognized clothing retail store in many countries, even though having an online presence they don’t sell products through their website, instead they offer store locations and product catalogues. According to Professors Lisa Jack (University of Portsmouth) and Regina Frei (University of Southampton), the main reason why Primark directors have no intention on investing in an online service is due to their aim of maintaining the lowest prices as possible on their clothing, because of how complex and non-profitable it will be to run an “buy online, return service” (Frey & Jack, 2021) . Further on, the authors suggest that sometimes having an online shopping service is not always the best way. They backup this by analyzing the retail markets impacts on having such services, for example a report from IMRG, UK’s Online Retail Association, in 2019 reported that about 33% of online retailers had to increase their prices to cover losses and cost of retuned items. (Frey & Jack, 2021)
Further on discussing the Information and Fulfillment Matrix, it is important to understand the two parameters in which the quadrants are found and what do they mean. As seen in figure 8 in what was describes the first parameter in the Y axis as: “Information Delivered”, there are two subdivisions Online and Offline.
In the first subdivision quadrants 2 & 4 can be found, this quadrants focus on delivering information to the customer indirectly or as the authors explain it as a remote source of information. Usually this retailers take use of this source of information delivery because the products they offer are characterized as having few “non-digital attributes”. This attributes can be explain as those features of the product involving the senses such as the touch of textures, the smell and taste of the products, etc. As the authors explain, this is a very difficult obstacle when it comes to customers who are first comers to the online buying experience with no past knowledge of the products (Bell & Gallino & Moreno, 2014).
The second subdivision where quadrants 1 & 3 are found, can be described as the retailers which deliver information directly to the customer usually working Offline. In contrast to the online subdivision, the retailers grant direct access of product information to the customers.
Usually the products found in this quadrant are described as having more “non-digital attributes”. In the other hand traditional retailers who are focused in the first quadrants are impacted by retailers who “showroom” (Q3) as they take the advantage of giving the consumer the physical experience and the convenience of later purchasing the product online at a lower price level. (Bell & Gallino & Moreno, 2014)
Moreover, it is important to analyze the second parameter which is regarding the product fulfillment region. As the authors explain, the fulfillment area can be viewed and described in two points of views: The Customer and The Retail store.
The aim of retailers who are willing to invest in their omnichannel strategy is to harmonize the flow of different channels to give the customer the best purchasing experience. From the customer’s point of view there can be certain advantages and disadvantages depending on what method of fulfillment they use either pick-up (Q1 & Q2) or delivery (Q3 & Q4) of their product.
For example the costumer which prefers to go to a traditional brick and mortar store (Q1) to purchase his goods, avoids paying delivery fees, can handpick their product, avoid waiting times, and can have a personalized face to face service with store agents. The downside of the matter is that costumers incur in spending on their trip to the store. Now for delivery is as well a similar story it can be very advantageous for the consumer that lacks the time to personally go to the stores and prefers to purchase everything online based on his personal research and that his fulfilments ends with his goods delivered at his convenience. Many advantages of this include the opportunity of finding much better deals in an instant, avoid stock problems, and of course the efficiency of time consumption. As well it comes with some disadvantages, many is the waiting times for delivery, the risk of good damages and high fees for shipping. (Bell &
Gallino & Moreno, 2014)
When examining the retail stores point of view on order fulfilment it is evident that keeping a traditional brick and mortar store and hybrid stores requires detailed amount of work involving inventory management, store design and hours of demand and supply forecast.
According to a study done in 2018 on how physical stores must have a near perfect inventory management, retail stores that lack in stock intelligence on specific level products will never fulfil their customers and much less survive in an competitive omnichannel marketplace dropping their accuracy inventory levels to 65% (Wilson, 2018) (Finill, 2017). Now a days many retail stores focus on this issue by investing in logistical tools and inventory management tools such as Radio-Frequency Identification technology and Artificial Intelligence technology to map out 100% of existing stock and future stock accurately. According to Nick Finill, a Senior Analyst for ABI Research, a retail store can achieve over 44% on Return on Investments (ROI) on its first year and in its third year it can make five times its investment by utilizing the mentioned tools. (Finill, 2017)
In contrast, the point of view from retail stores which focus on delivery of the product to its costumer have a less complex obstacles to take care when it comes to the organization of their stores (Bell & Gallino & Moreno, 2014). Huge online retail stores like Amazon use centralized distribution center system in less expensive areas with some of its products shipping from other stores. Some of the advantages and disadvantages of having this systems include (Klement, 2019):
Advantages Disadvantages
• Low personnel cost
• High availability of goods
• Space for automatization
• Higher Standardization
• High Transportation Costs
• Long Transportation Routes
• Reduced Supply Flexibility
Table 1: Advantages and Disadvantages of Centralized Distribution System; Source: (Klement, 2019)
In addition to the analysis, it is crucial to understand in more detail why and how retailers must navigate through the mentioned quadrants, focused more in complex hybrid quadrants as Q2 & Q3, to succeed in an omnichannel market.
1.4.1.A Quadrant 2: Information Online and Fulfilment Offline
As learned in previous pages, retailers who transitioned to this quadrant basically offer an online experience to the customer, where they can go through product information catalogues with the option of purchasing or reserving them and then pick-up the product at the store.
Usually this are called Hybrid strategies like BOPIS or “buy online and pick-up in store”, BOPAC or curbside pick-up, BORIS or buy online and return in-store and ROPIS or reserve online and pickup in store. (Bell & Gallino & Moreno, 2014)
As the names suggest customers are giving the convenience and experience of both worlds (online and offline), saving them from, high shipping fees, risk of mistaken orders and long waiting times for fulfilment. The how it works is very straight forward, usually retailers will design the experience so that the customer can easily identify, in every step of the purchasing process, where they can easily pick-up their product at their nearest location, as it can be seen
Figure 9: BOPIS Strategy Implemented by BestBuy; Source: (Bakutyte, 2020)
Moreover, speaking about the convenience of this tool, it is important to review in more detail the benefits behind the implementation of the hybrid strategy like BOPIS. According to Ed Romain from Conveyco Consultations and an expert in fulfillment distribution strategies, this are main benefits of adopting a BOPIS strategy.
Firstly from the retailers point of view means a decrease of their shipping costs mainly because they are utilizing their establishments as pickup points for their customers, thus eliminating the “last-mile shipping” cost and only paying for freight costs for stock replenishment (Romaine, 2018). In addition it is important for the retailers to invest time and effort to impulse efficiency, timeliness and flexibility for their operational and organizational system. As mentioned before a well-structured smart inventory management system must be adopted to maintain a harmonize order fulfilment process.
One of the most important benefits revolves around the decrease in shipping time. As mentioned before in section 1.2 & 1.3, it is obvious that in recent years the 21st Century global consumer has grown to be more and more costumed, as the author implies, to “speedy”
deliveries. As reviewed in the mentioned sections, huge ecommerce companies such as Amazon pursue in investing same day or next day shipping without any fee, which is no surprise that 78% of global consumer prefer to buy through there. As the author implies, this is a great opportunity for the customer but at the same time becomes highly expensive for the retailer. (Romaine, 2018) Then the benefit of a BOPIS for speedy delivery is simply offering
the customer the speed they want as seen in figure 9, that way the retailer encourages the speedy fulfilment appeal by adding the “Want it today?” phrase and simply the customer goes to his nearest store to get his product.
The downside of online retailers now a days is the lost opportunity on impulse consumer buy behavior. The author implies that traditional retailers have the upper hand in this case as the customer has to go to the store personally to pick their products and in the process they fall for unnecessary impulse purchases usually in the POS or point of sale (Romaine, 2018). Now, online shoppers are not that affected by impulse purchases so much as the majority can filter out what they really need and place their order. Of course this incurs in much more process costs of inventory volume of orders with low profit overall. But in recent years, many online retailers have found many ways of how to increase this lost opportunity, while displaying huge deals on their main page, which stimulates the consumer to look at the discounted products and make them buy the product. Thus the benefit of adopting a BOPIS strategy is mainly the advantage of taking the customer to their physical shops exposing them to a mix between impulse purchases offline (traditionally as mentioned) and online.
In earlier discussion in this section reviewing Primark’s case, an analysis was made on how expensive the “buy online and return” process is and how much it impacts the overall revenue and costs. According to the author in some cases the retailers decide to rather discard the returned product instead of spending time and money on repacking the good. According to an article from Bloomberg, almost 33% of online purchases are returned back versus 9% of purchased goods offline. This means that the cost of shipping back the returned good and repacking process costs between 20% to 65% of the value of the product. (Ellis, 2017) Whereas the adoption of a hybrid strategy, benefits the reduction of online purchases as the customer can easily inspect their product and in the process if they are not satisfied they can change or return the product instore, saving shipping and repackaging costs to the retailer. (Romaine, 2018)
Another downside of narrow order fulfilment strategies is of course the reach for variety of consumers. Mainly because as it was described in earlier sections, 1.2, the consumer has different choices and preferences deciding how they will purchase their goods. Earlier before in this section, the analysis on the two basic form of retailing that existed being traditional physical stores and those who provided catalogues and transition into pure-play retailers. This
