What is it about?
Professor Ruby Roy Dholakia had access to a large transactional database of a company that sold consumer products via website, via phone call center, mail order, and in physical store locations. This is a pioneering case study where Internet and other channels were directly comparable, and data on each channel was substantial. Ruby Roy Dholakia and her coauthors were really pleased that multichannel retailing could be studied, at least in this particular case, in considerable depth.
Featured Image
Why is it important?
Multichannel retailing has continued to grow in importance since the publication of this study and many important studies have ensued. The significance of this case study lies in its pioneering use of actual transactional data from the Internet, telephone and mail-order sales via mailed catalog, and brick-and-mortar store sales. This is one reason why this study is cited frequently as one of the earliest comprehensive multichannel retailing studies in the e-commerce era.
Perspectives
While a lot of practical experience as well as conceptual work on multichannel retailing has occurred since this paper was published... yet, this paper remains one of the first studies that covered so many different retail channels for one single enterprise, using conceptual as well as empirical methods. There is continuing need to explore how multichannel retailing will be shaped by new devices and media; especially in developing and emerging economies.
Dr Nikhilesh Dholakia
University of Rhode Island
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Multichannel retailing: A case study of early experiences, Journal of Interactive Marketing, May 2005, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1002/dir.20035.
You can read the full text:
Resources
Pioneering case study led by Dr. Ruby Roy Dholakia
Ruby Roy Dholakia, individually and with research colleagues, has played a pioneering role in studies of e-tailing, e-commerce and retailing in general; including this really early multichannel retailing case study.
McKinsey 2011 report on multichannel retailing
Report from consulting firm McKinsey & Co. on multichannel retailing. Key finding: "...price is just one of a range of factors consumers take into account when buying products: they also consider the degree of trust they have in a retailer, its product assortment, and their previous buying experiences..."
Deloitte 2014 study on multichannel retailing
Reporter Larry Dignan writes about this Deloitte study: "The retail industry is in flux with malls under fire, Amazon building brick-and-mortar outlets and every retailer aligning digital and physical commerce." The Deloitte 2014 study reveals, however, a complex mix of shopping behaviors spanning physical and electronic channels... something that our 2004-2005 study already alluded to.
Black Friday, Cyber Monday - 2014
Demographic findings in this study from Bankrate.com: "Most Americans won’t shop on either Black Friday or Cyber Monday this year, according to a new Bankrate.com report. Millennials are the most likely to shop on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.Contrary to their tech-savvy reputation, 18-29 year-olds are more likely to shop in stores on Black Friday than online. Millennials are 13 percentage points more likely to set foot in a store on Black Friday than other adults."
Omnichannel: New Kid on the Cyber Shopping Block
Blogger writes about the new "omnichannel" behaviors ... using many channels together, rather than alternatives.
Sy Banerjee, protege of Ruby Roy Dholakia, on m-, e-, and offline shopping
The strong tradition of online and offline shopping research, initiated by Ruby Roy Dholakia at the University of Rhode Island (URI), is being very ably carried on by Syagnik "Sy" Banerjee URI doctoral alumnus and now a faculty at University of Michigan - Flint. Sy is indeed emerging as a foremost global expert on mobile commerce issues.
Retailing in a very different setting...Dholakia and Sinha: An early qualitative study of retailing in India
A very different approach to study retailing.... in a very different setting than the JIM article...
McKinsey report/article: How can brick-and-mortar remain relevant in a multichannel e-world?
Quote from the article: "To position themselves for success in a multichannel world, retailers would do well to take a disciplined approach that begins with a reassessment of the role of the physical store. We recommend a five-step approach..."
Brick vs. Click: The ongoing (slow) attempts of transformation of "Brick"
Physical retailers face continuing, and accelerating, challenges from e-commerce and m-commerce. Malls are trying to transform. Understandably, the pace of transformation is glacial compared to the electronic world.
Google Scholar Page: Ruby Roy Dholakia
Many more retail articles available via this portal into the works of Ruby Roy Dholakia.
Curated Travel, Curated Shopping: A New E-Biz+Physical-Biz model
Reviewing, recommending and sharing are popular online activities that shape platforms, social sites, and merchant sites. This venture illustrates a new twist that combines e-biz and physical travel and tourism. It uses the approach of curated selection and presentation of sights, activities, places, happenings, merchants and products.
Options UK: Fresh new insights into multichannel behaviors
This UK-based research-consulting firm provides fresh new data on multichannel retailing behaviors, some of it displayed in the form of interesting infographics.
Ruby Roy Dholakia on E-tailing - 1
Another pioneering and widely cited study on electronic retail channels.
Ruby Roy Dholakia on E-tailing - 2
What makes the electronic channel a preferred one? Read on...
Ruby Roy Dholakia on E-tailing - 3
More on understanding e-shoppers.
Ruby Roy Dholakia on E-tailing - 4
Gender differences in the use of e-channels.
Ruby Roy Dholakia on E-tailing - 5
A view from the perspective of online stores.
Amazon and adaptive e-commerce in India
"... innovative delivery services were helping Amazon extend its reach in India, even at the cost of giving up some control over logistics—a lesson it could export."
Black Friday 2015: Clicks beat our Bricks
Since this article, e-retail has been advancing steadily... 2015 perhaps is the tipping point.
E-retail, E-Consumer-Behavior leader: Ruby Roy Dholakia
The lead author of this paper is a global leader in exploring the nexus of technologies and household consumers.
E-retail, E-Consumer-Behavior leader: Ruby Roy Dholakia
The lead author is the undisputed global leader in the study of online shopping.
E-retail, E-Consumer-Behavior leader: Ruby Roy Dholakia
While her specific expertise is on e-tailing, the lead author Ruby Roy Dholakia is also one of the most published and quoted authors on retailing in general.
Online Shopping Global Leader: Ruby Roy Dholakia
The series of research studies by this author puts her at the top of the global list of those studying online shopping patterns, strategies, and behaviors.
Online Shopping Global Leader: Ruby Roy Dholakia
Pioneering and widely influential paper on the range of factors that drive online shopping behaviors.
Online Shopping Global Leader: Ruby Roy Dholakia
An influential pioneering study, under the leadership of this author, of consumer intentions in online shopping situations.
Online Shopping Global Leader: Ruby Roy Dholakia
Another early and influential study on the factors and forces that impel consumers toward online shopping.
ImpactStory Page: Nikhilesh Dholakia
Research portal that tracks scholarly impact in multiple ways.
ImpactStory Page: This paper
The (social) media icons provide a good example of how this research portal tracks the impacts of this paper.
Online Shopping: Growing Frequency, Loyalty
June, 2016: It is still a multichannel world, but online is racing ahead...
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
