Search Results (93)

This study examines the logistical challenges arising in omni-channel retailing, where the interaction between traditional stores and online channels requires flexible and efficient transportation planning. In particular, the growth of Buy-Online-and-Pick-up-in-Store (BOPS) services has intensified the need to manage both forward deliveries and customer returns, the latter being a costly component of reverse logistics. To address these challenges, this study introduces the Shared Capacity Vehicle Routing Problem with Simultaneous Pickup and Delivery (SCVRP-SPD), which minimizes total operational cost by considering both transportation costs and the additional transfer costs incurred when reallocating store visits to more efficient delivery paths. In the SCVRP-SPD, stores are designed to serve a dual role as both pickup and return points, and a shared-capacity mechanism is incorporated to utilize leftover capacity in pre-planned trips, improving efficiency while reducing overall logistics cost. A mixed-integer programming model is developed for the problem, and solutions are obtained using GUROBI (version 11.0) and a newly designed Modified Differential Evolution (MDE) algorithm. Numerical experiments are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed MDE algorithm and to generate managerial insights, showing that the SCVRP-SPD is a promising strategy for omni-channel retailers seeking to reduce transportation costs, streamline reverse logistics, and better utilize resources. Full article

The digitalization of business activities is already a reality in most developed countries. India, driven by strong information technology, is rapidly digitalizing across business industries. In the retail industry, this shift is visible in the adoption of omnichannel strategies to enhance value for customers, loyalty and trust, retailer’s image, overall shopping experience, and operational productivity. The present study assesses the extent of omnichannel transformation in the five leading Indian retail sectors viz. Consumer Electronics, Fashion and Apparel, Furniture and Home Decor, Grocery and Supermarkets, and Personal Care and Hygiene. The research design uses mystery shopping approach to collect data from 166 nationally present retailers to analyze their level of omnichannel implementation and digital adoption. The authors performed all statistical analyses and visualizations in R using the ggstatsplot package. The results highlight a less-than-ideal picture of channel integration, suggesting that while top retailers in each sector dominate channel integration, most others have made limited progress. Among the sectors, the Furniture and Home Decor sector leads in channel integration. Other contributions of this study include the enhancement of the existing measuring tool by introducing new indicators. The study reveals gaps in omnichannel implementation to help managers plan strategic improvements. Full article

Based on the self-determination theory and social presence theory, this study examined how high-tech and high-touch orientations in logistics service quality (LSQ) influence consumer satisfaction in omni-channel retailing. LSQ was modelled as two second-order constructs: high-tech orientation (timeliness, physical facilities, and ease of return) and high-touch orientation (employees’ knowledge, flexibility, and responsiveness to delivery discrepancies). Survey data from 455 consumers were analyzed using structural equation modelling. Both orientations significantly improved satisfaction, with high-tech orientation showing a slightly stronger effect, reflecting the digital literacy of the predominantly young sample. The findings extended self-determination theory and social presence theory by offering a dual-orientation perspective and practical guidance for balancing high-tech and high-touch in omni-channel logistics service design. Full article

Omni-channel retailers arise to address the deficiencies in consumers’ online shopping experiences; the resulting competition between such retailers and traditional online platforms presents substantial challenges for green product manufacturers. A three-level game model is established to examine a manufacturer’s green contract design (product pricing and greenness determination) and mode selection under the competition between an online platform and a new retailer providing omni-channel services to end customers. The manufacturer can select between two modes: supplying a green product to the online platform and new retailer (mode RR) or selling it directly through the online platform and reselling it to the new retailer (mode PR). Our findings indicate that, first, even if the relationship between the manufacturer and new retailer has changed from cooperation under mode RR to competition and cooperation under mode PR, the manufacturer still favors two-channel sales over single-channel sales and affects consumer channel choices to adjust market shares through mode selection. Second, regarding the impacts of the key parameters on the manufacturer, downstream e-commerce platform retailers and environment are intricate and nuanced. While raising the omni-channel service level enhances profitability in the new retailer across both modes, its environmental impacts differ significantly between them. Additionally, it can harm the online platform in some cases. Nevertheless, when the parameters fall within suitable ranges, the manufacturer and both downstream retailers have a consistent preference for improved omni-channel services under both modes. Finally, there is a significant divergence in mode preferences among the manufacturer and both downstream platform retailers. Due to the first-mover advantage, the manufacturer opts for mode RR over mode PR in most cases. Notably, within a specific range of parameters, they consistently prefer mode RR, which also proves beneficial for the environment, resulting in a Pareto optimal outcome. This proposes a concrete cooperation mechanism among the manufacturer, retailers, and consumers from quantitative insights, which can promote green products to achieve the objective of low-carbon environmental protection. Full article

The rapid expansion of fashion e-commerce has raised concerns over the environmental cost of last-mile deliveries, especially in pure-player models. This preliminary study examines the estimated carbon footprint of TENDAM’s omnichannel model—based on in-store pickup and returns—compared to pure-player home delivery, using a customer-level approach across 11 Spanish cities of varying sizes. A total of 3106 face-to-face surveys were conducted in TENDAM stores, capturing data on mobility behavior, transport modes, trip chaining, and service types. Emission factors were applied using a Python-based analytical model, and results were contrasted with Monte Carlo simulations from existing literature on pure players. Our findings indicate that the average per-service footprint of the omnichannel model is around 400 g ${\mathrm{C}\mathrm{O}}_2-\mathrm{e}\mathrm{q}$, significantly lower than the 1500–3000 g ${\mathrm{C}\mathrm{O}}_2-\mathrm{e}\mathrm{q}$ range for pure players. Emissions were especially low in large cities and in street-level stores, largely due to the high rate of walking and multipurpose trips among customers. The study also includes geospatial analysis through interactive influence maps. These results suggest that dense store networks embedded in walkable urban areas can substantially reduce last-mile GHG emissions. While preliminary, the study highlights the potential for omnichannel retail to support urban decarbonization goals and sustainability when integrated with sustainable mobility patterns. Full article

This study develops a multi-agent evolutionary game model that incorporates both retailers and heterogeneous logistics providers, extending beyond prior dyadic models that typically isolate either channel choice or logistics competition. By comparing scenarios with and without the BOPS channel, the framework captures the dynamic interactions between retailers and logistics providers. The results show that introducing In-Store Pickup significantly increases market demand and retailer revenue by reducing consumer waiting time, but it also produces a revenue crowding effect for slow logistics providers. For fast providers, the impact depends on their ability to adjust service quality: lowering service levels helps retain market share, while efficiency improvement enhances profitability. Furthermore, consumer product valuation plays a critical role in driving retailers toward dual-provider or hybrid strategies. The methodological innovation lies in integrating heterogeneous logistics service differentiation with channel strategy selection into a unified evolutionary game framework. The study contributes by proposing a dynamic “efficiency threshold–channel selection” mechanism, offering both theoretical advancement in omnichannel retailing research and managerial insights for retailers and logistics providers seeking to optimize logistics capabilities and channel collaboration. Full article

Drawing on experience–satisfaction–loyalty, this study models how specific digital retail interface attributes translate into behavioural outcomes. Survey data from Portuguese online shoppers were analysed with PLS-SEM to test a formative–reflective framework linking Interactivity and Technologies, Trust–Security–Privacy, Fulfilment and Service Quality, Usability and Web Design, Personalisation and Customisation and Omnichannel Integration to customer experience (CX), customer satisfaction (CS), customer loyalty (CL) and electronic word of mouth (eWOM). The model explains 62.6% of CX, 70.1% of CS and 66.7% of CL. CX is strongly associated with CS and CS, in turn, with CL; associations with eWOM are non-significant, revealing a theoretical blind spot around advocacy. Interactivity and Technologies, Trust–Security–Privacy and Fulfilment and Service Quality emerge as the most significant antecedents of CX, whereas Omnichannel Integration is inert. The findings advance digital commerce theory by decoupling advocacy from evaluative satisfaction and by reconceptualising integration as multidimensional. Practically, they prioritise investment in interactive, secure and fulfilment capabilities while signalling that loyalty is not associated with advocacy. This study concludes by outlining measurement refinements and longitudinal avenues to capture social–motivational drivers of eWOM. Full article

E-commerce growth has reshaped consumer behavior and retail services, driving parcel demand and challenging last-mile logistics. Existing research predominantly relies on survey data and global regression models that overlook intra-urban spatial heterogeneity in shopping behaviors. This study bridges this gap by analyzing e-commerce demand’s spatial distribution from a retail service perspective, identifying key drivers, and evaluating implications for omnichannel strategies and logistics. Utilizing waybill big data, spatial analysis, and multiscale geographically weighted regression, we reveal: (1) High-density e-commerce demand areas are predominantly located in central districts, whereas peripheral regions exhibit statistically lower volumes. The spatial distribution pattern of e-commerce demand aligns with the urban development spatial structure. (2) Factors such as population density and education levels significantly influence e-commerce demand. (3) Convenience stores play a dual role as retail service providers and parcel collection points, reinforcing their importance in shaping consumer accessibility and service efficiency, particularly in underserved urban areas. (4) Supermarkets exert a substitution effect on online shopping by offering immediate product availability, highlighting their role in shaping consumer purchasing preferences and retail service strategies. These findings contribute to retail and consumer services research by demonstrating how spatial e-commerce demand patterns reflect consumer shopping preferences, the role of omnichannel retail strategies, and the competitive dynamics between e-commerce and physical retail formats. Full article

Although product environmental information serves as an effective tool for promoting green consumption which is a critical lever for advancing broader sustainability goals, its varied impacts across product categories (durable goods vs. fast-moving consumer goods) and the underlying mechanisms remain unexplored. Grounded in the theory of consumption values (TCV), this study investigated the heterogeneous effects and mediating pathways of such information through a comparative analysis of representative products: organic milk (fast-moving consumer goods, FMCGs) and energy-efficient air conditioners (durable goods). The results show the following: (1) epistemic value, which exhibits the strongest association with product environmental information, demonstrates significantly different influence patterns between purchases of green durable goods and green FMCGs across both online and offline channels; (2) in the e-commerce context, green FMCG consumption is mainly driven by product environmental information through the mediating effect of conditional value. For green durable goods, product environmental information influences green consumption through multiple pathways including functional value, conditional value, and epistemic value. This study extends the classic theory of consumption values, and the results suggest that differentiated information strategies of emphasizing conditional value for FMCGs and integrating multi-dimensional values for durables can optimize green consumption promotion. Such strategies hold substantial potential to strengthen the green development of the omnichannel retailing sector, reinforcing its contribution to reaching sustainability objectives. Full article

We live in an era where digitalization and omnichannel strategies significantly transform retail landscapes, and accurate spatial analytics from Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can deliver substantial competitive benefits. Nonetheless, despite evident practical advantages for specific targeting strategies and operational efficiency, the degree of GIS integration into academic marketing literature remains ambiguous. Clarifying this uncertainty is beneficial for advancing theoretical understanding and ensuring retail strategies fully leverage robust, data-driven spatial intelligence. To examine the intellectual development of the field, co-occurrence analysis, topic mapping, and citation structure visualization were performed on 4952 peer-reviewed articles using the Bibliometrix R package (version 4.3.3) within R software (version 4.4.1). The results demonstrate that although GIS-based methods have been effectively incorporated into fields like site selection and spatial segmentation, traditional marketing research has not yet entirely adopted them. One of the study’s key findings is the distinction between “author keywords” and “keywords plus,” where researchers concentrate on novel topics like omnichannel retail, artificial intelligence, and logistics. However, “Keywords plus” still refers to more traditional terms such as pricing, customer satisfaction, and consumer behavior. This discrepancy presents a misalignment between current research trends and indexed classification practices. Although the mainstream retail research lacks terminology connected to geomarketing, a theme evolution analysis reveals a growing focus on technology-driven and sustainability-related concepts associated with the Retail 4.0 and 5.0 paradigms. These findings underscore a conceptual and structural deficiency in the literature and indicate the necessity for enhanced integration of GIS and spatial decision support systems (SDSS) in retail marketing. Full article

This paper explores the optimization of the bullwhip effect (BWE) and inventory costs considering price information symmetry in an omnichannel environment, offering novel insights into managing supply chain dynamics. We examine the pick-up lead time in the “buy online and pick up in store” (BOPS) channel as a critical operational factor, analyzing how the interaction with the ordering lead time affects omnichannel supply chain performance. The research highlights the impacts of the BOPS strategy on demand and inventory information, developing a comparative examination of the BWE and inventory expenses within various supply chain contexts. We discover that the interplay between ordering lead time and pick-up lead time significantly affects both inventory costs and the BWE of omnichannel retailers, with these impacts presenting an inverse relationship. While numerous studies have validated that product returns can restrain the information distortion in supply chains, our findings reveal that this relationship holds true in omnichannel retail only within specific supply chain contexts. This comprehensive approach offers valuable insights for omnichannel supply chain managers seeking to optimize the BOPS strategy and improve overall operational efficiency. Full article

As consumer behavior increasingly shifts toward hyperlocal, digitally mediated retail journeys, community unmanned stores have emerged as a transformative model that integrates smart technologies with community proximity services. These fully automated stores offer convenient, contactless shopping and hybrid digital–physical interactions, playing an increasingly important role within broader omnichannel digital retail ecosystems. However, there remains a lack of validated instruments to assess customer experience in such autonomous and locally embedded retail formats. This study develops and validates an ECUS-scale (an experience in community unmanned store scale), a multidimensional measurement tool grounded in qualitative research and refined through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The scale identifies nine key dimensions—convenient service, smooth transaction, preferential price, good quality, safe environment, secure payment, comfortable space, comfortable interaction, and friendly image—across 36 items. These dimensions reflect the technological, spatial, and emotional–social aspects of customer experience in unmanned retail settings. The findings demonstrate that the ECUS-scale offers a robust framework for evaluating consumer experience in low-staffed, tech-enabled community stores, with strong relevance to omnichannel digital retail strategies. Theoretically, it advances the literature on smart retail experience by capturing underexplored dimensions such as emotional engagement with technology and perceptions of safety in staff-free environments. Practically, it serves as a diagnostic tool for businesses to enhance experience design and optimize customer engagement across digital and physical touchpoints. Full article

With the rise of omnichannel (OC) retailing in food e-retail, understanding how OC retailing and product quality attributes influence consumer purchasing behaviour and value perceptions is crucial for developing e-retail strategies and enhancing consumer services. This study examined their impacts on Chinese consumers’ purchases of Australian beef (brisket) through a discrete choice experiment in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen and analysed 872 valid responses using multinomial logit, random parameter logit, and latent class models. Our findings reveal that Chinese consumers prefer buying Australian brisket via OC apps and offline stores, paying approx. 44% and 134% more per 500 g, respectively, compared to self-operated e-commerce stores. Brand, manufacturer and origin traceability are key quality attributes, with additional paid for brisket manufactured and packaged in Australia (under Australian brands) and featuring the MLA “True Aussie Beef” label over QR codes. This study also identified four distinct consumer clusters: (i) premium shoppers, (ii) channel and traceability-oriented shoppers, (iii) omnichannel and price-oriented shoppers and (iv) tech-savvy and discerning shoppers, highlighting varying sensitivities to e-retail channels and product attributes. These findings offer strategic and actionable insights for Australian beef exporters and OC retailers seeking to optimise consumer engagement and value creation in China’s evolving e-retail landscape. Full article

This study investigates how a consistent brand identity across multiple channels influences customer experiences and relationship development in South Korean retailers’ omnichannel strategies. To address the fundamental challenge of balancing brand consistency with channel-specific customization, we developed a comprehensive omnichannel identity framework through rigorous measurement development and factor analysis. This framework comprises three empirically validated dimensions: trendiness, reliability, and usability. Data collected from 994 customers of two leading South Korean retailers were analyzed using structural equation modeling, revealing that these omnichannel identity dimensions exert differential influences on cognitive and affective brand experiences, which subsequently mediate the development of customer–brand relationships. Notably, the results demonstrated significant variance in the impact of identity components between retailers—trendiness and reliability emerged as primary drivers of brand experiences for Retailer A, while usability constituted the dominant factor for Retailer B. This study contributes to sustainable retail theory by empirically validating the multidimensional conceptualization of omnichannel identity and its selective influence on customer perceptions within an environmental responsibility context. The findings provide strategic guidance for retailers seeking to develop distinctive brand identities across channels in the highly digitalized South Korean consumer market, ultimately enhancing brand equity and sustainability performance through stronger customer–brand relationships that promote environmentally conscious consumption behaviors. Full article

Ensuring the profitability of retailers utilizing in-store inventory for online fulfillment is a pivotal issue in omnichannel retailing. This study examines the inventory allocation challenges faced by retailers when managing interactions between online and offline channels to identify strategies that maximize revenue. The findings enable retailers to address key operational conflicts while implementing omnichannel strategies. We develop an omnichannel newsvendor model, deriving an optimal strategy for retailer inventory level and online acceptance thresholds, demonstrating the economic superiority of this approach over traditional policy. Furthermore, this paper further explores how carry-over inventory influences strategic decisions, particularly in quantifying the trade-off between the cancellation cost and the inventory holding cost. The results reveal that cancellation costs incentivize retailers to increase safety stock and reduce online acceptance thresholds, with strategy sensitivity intensifying as offline demand dispersion grows. Compared to the traditional policy, our policy demonstrates superior performance when the cancellation cost remains below a critical value, though its effectiveness decreases under high offline demand dispersion. Moreover, dynamic strategy adjustments must balance the cancellation cost against the holding cost in the carry-over scenario. The proposed framework systematically integrates inventory allocation with demand admission control, addressing a critical gap in existing literature that has failed to comprehensively link these two operational levers. This dual-focused perspective significantly advances omnichannel inventory management theory. Full article