• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.318-326
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• 2010

The advantages of the multi-channel retailing have been widely discussed but empirical research on fashion multi-channel retailing has been limited. In this study, multi-channel concept was discussed and then, channel choosing condition of apparel shopper and channel choosing criteria for information search and buying were investigated as a empirical study. Drawing on a sample of 298 customers of apparel products in Korea, the result demonstrated that some differences in the perception of experience goods and search goods among apparel products. And, according to buying channel, consumers were different from each other in information search time and clothing expenses. Some suggestion for the future research of multi-channel retailing was given.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.134-148
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• 2016

In this study, we determined the characteristics and importance of market maven to today's fashion retailers. Market maven is defined as an individual who is highly involved in the marketplace and takes a role as an information diffuser. In order to identify market maven, a total of 415 data were collected from 30-40 consumers who purchased fashion items from the various types of retailers. The data were divided into three groups based on the average score of summated market maven's scale, and the high group was referred to as "market mavens." Results suggested that the market mavens existed in the fashion retailing market and presented the differences from the other two groups. The market maven group spent more and purchased more fashion items than the other groups. With respect to shopping behavior, the market maven group was more likely to browse and bargain hunt when shopping, and showed higher mean scores on impulse buying and overall satisfaction. In addition, market maven tended to purchase fashion items from different types of retailers including online channel. Accordingly, market mavens seemed to present common characteristics with heavy browser, recreational shopper, and/or multi-channel shopper. Market mavens showed shopping enjoyment characteristics when searching for market-related information from various retailers, hence this segment should be the essential target market in the multi-channel retailing environment.

• Knowledge Management Research
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.45-64
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• 2016

As the digital retail environement becomes prevalent, consumers are given greater opportunities to make purchases across physical and digital boundaries. Prior research emphasizes that the attractiveness of the digital or online channel is relatively determined by spatial specifics of physical locations. The overall market trend combined with prior research suggests that understanding spatial specifics becomes a key to managing both offline and online sales performance together. In this study, we focus on geographic variation in sales performance through offline and online channels and aim to investigate the channel-level sales difference between central and subsidiary areas. To this end, we obtain sales data of skincare and makeup products from a leading cosmetic company. Next, we examine spatial autocorrelations in data and then employ the spatial error models to study the effects of spatial specifics. The empirical findings are as follows. First, there are significant differences in category-specific and channel-level sales between central and subsidiary areas. Second, Moran's I statistics demonstrate the spatial autocorrelations of each variable. Third, spatial error models outperform simple regression models with lower AIC values. Finally, spatial specifics play a greater role in understanding online sales in subsidiary areas whereas they exert greater influence on offline sales in central areas. We believe our study advances the related theory and knowledge of multi-channel retailing and also contributes practically to location-dependent multi-channel strategies and sales data analytics.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.919-931
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• 2015

Recently, with the rapid development of the Internet, the importance of the multi-channel retailing strategy including online channel has been emphasized in fashion business. The purpose of this research is to give some practical ideas of multichannel strategy for fashion retailers through comparison for multichannel choice behaviors between Korean and US consumers. The online survey was conducted on the 400 fashion customers aged between 20s and 50s living in Korea and America. The survey consisted of measurement items about channel choice behaviors for purchase or information search, risk perception on channel, repurchase intention at same channel, perception on experience or search goods among apparel items. The data were analyzed by frequency, regression, t-test using SPSS 18.0 program. The ratio of utilization multichannel was higher in fashion goods area in Korea fashion business. Also, most of Top-ranked fashion or accessory retailers in America were taking advantage of multichannel strategy. There were some differences between Korea and US consumers in channel choice behaviors for purchase or information search, risk perception for retail channel, repurchase intention at same channel, perception on experience or search goods among apparel items, etc. Some suggestion for the future research for multichannel strategy in fashion retailing was given.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.25-37
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• 2011

Website design (due to increased online retailing) has received more attention as a way to influence consumer responses (Eroglu et al., 2001, 2003; Kim et al., 2009; Kim & Lennon, 2008; Yoo et al., 2010); however, the website design of multichannel retailers has not been examined from the perspective of the consistency of online store image with the brand image. This study examines the effect of brand image consistency (especially through the website) on consumer attitude and patronage intentions. The findings of this research will add to the growing body of literature on multichannel retailing and provide practical information for online retailers in the development of a website for their online business.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.730-744
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• 2014

With advances in QR code, mobile is becoming one of important channels in the fashion retail industries. This study attempts to understand the importance of QR code utilization in creating multi-channel business model. Study objectives are to classify types of multi-channel retailing by QR code utilization and to explore the role of QR code technology in strategic marketing elements for types of multichannel retailer. As an exploratory approach, a total of 78 news articles regarding QR code issues were reviewed and analyzed by focusing on 48retailers seleted in this study. The results found seven dimensions of QR code marketing strategies: abundant product information, additional information contents, transaction accessibility, connectedness to channels, location based service, loyalty program and multimedia advertising. Based a combination of channels and level of mobile apps' activation, multichannel retailers utilizing QR code technology were classified into four types; bricks-click-active mobile model, bricks-click-inactive mobile model, bricks-click model, and click-active mobile model. There were differences of using QR code marketing strategies among multichannel models. According to results, for bricks-and-mortar retailers, QR code was critical to integrate shopping experience with merchandise or sales promotions across channels. In addition, for non-store retailers, the QR code utilization was successful in expanding mobile channels, which can promote retail sales by a two-way interaction with customers via the mobile apps.

• Journal of Distribution Research
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.33-57
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• 2005

After 1990's, many multi-level marketing companies lave been introduced in Korea. These MLM companies operate their stores as same way as general retailing stores. The major characteristics of these MLM companys' store is that their main customers are distributors who sell the purchased merchandise to another customers. Many studies about merchandise display in general retailing stores were reported. But, there was less research about merchandise display in these special type stores such as MLM companys' stores. This paper investigates the effects of merchandise display on distributor's merchandise selection in channel flow of multi-level marketing company. For this purpose, we formulated four hypotheses about display variance in quantity, height, location, and related merchandise to analyze the effect of merchandise display methods in MLM companys' stores. The experiment had been proceeded in three stores in a MLM company for 6 weeks and the sales data were collected by POS. The methods to analyze the data were used ANOVA and T-test. Findings of this study are as follows; First, there was no effect to store sale by the interaction effect between merchandise display method and scale of store. Second, scale of store affected considerably the volume of sales of each store according to main effect analysis. Third, display variance in quantity, height, and location did not affect store sale. In the related merchandise display, however, sale in all store was increased. Fourth, in additional analysis considering merchandise display only, display variance in both height and location affected their sale in large scale store. Based on the above results, we may predict merchandise display can affect sale in MLM companys' store as well as general retailing stores. Therefore if MLM company has large scale store, it should consider merchandise display methods in its stores.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.31 no.12
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• pp.1721-1732
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• 2007

This study identified types of information source, and explored a path model for consumer information search by shopping attributes in the context of online decision making. Participants completed self-administered questionnaires during regularly scheduled classes. A total of 219 usable questionnaires were obtained from respondents who enroll at universities in the southwestern region of the United States. For data analysis, factor analysis and path model estimation were used. Consumer information source was classified into three types for online clothing purchases: Online source, Offline retail source, and Mass media. Consumers were more likely to rely on offline retail source for online clothing purchases, than other sources. In consumer information search by shopping attributes, online sources were more likely to be related to transaction-related attributes(e.g., incentive service), whereas offline retail source(e.g., displays in stores, manufacturer's catalogs and pamphlets) were more likely to be related to product and market related attributes(e.g., aesthetics, price) when purchasing clothing online. Also, the path model emphasizes the effect of shopping attributes on traditional retailer search behavior, leading to online purchase intention for clothing. This study supports consumer information search by attributes, and discusses a managerial implication of multi-channel retailing for apparel.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.1-25
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• 2008

Ⅰ. Introduction Retailers in the 21st century are being told that future retailers are those who can execute seamless multi-channel access. The reason is that retailers should be where shoppers want them, when they want them anytime, anywhere and in multiple formats. Multi-channel access is considered one of the top 10 trends of all business in the next decade (Patricia T. Warrington, et al., 2007) And most firms use both direct and indirect channels in their markets. Given this trend, we need to evaluate a channel equity more systematically than before as this issue is expected to get more attention to consumers as well as to brand managers. Consumers are becoming very much confused concerning the choice of place where they shop for durable goods as there are at least 6-7 retail options. On the other hand, manufacturers have to deal with category killers, their dealers network, Internet shopping malls, and other avenue of distribution channels and they hope their retail channel behave like extensions of their own companies. They would like their products to be foremost in the retailer's mind-the first to be proposed and effectively communicated to potential customers. To enable this hope to come reality, they should know each channel's advantages and disadvantages from consumer perspectives. In addition, customer satisfaction is the key determinant of retail customer loyalty. However, there are only a few researches regarding the effects of shopping satisfaction and perceptions on consumers' channel choices and channels. The purpose of this study was to assess Korean consumers' channel choice and satisfaction towards channels they prefer to use in the case of electronic goods shopping. Korean electronic goods retail market is one of good example of multi-channel shopping environments. As the Korea retail market has been undergoing significant structural changes since it had opened to global retailers in 1996, new formats such as hypermarkets, Internet shopping malls and category killers have arrived for the last decade. Korean electronic goods shoppers have seven major channels : (1)category killers (2) hypermarket (3) manufacturer dealer shop (4) Internet shopping malls (5) department store (6) TV home-shopping (7) speciality shopping arcade. Korean retail sector has been modernized with amazing speed for the last decade. Overall summary of major retail channels is as follows: Hypermarket has been number 1 retailer type in sales volume from 2003 ; non-store retailing has been number 2 from 2007 ; department store is now number 3 ; small scale category killers are growing rapidly in the area of electronics and office products in particular. We try to evaluate each channel's equity using a consumer survey. The survey was done by telephone interview with 1000 housewife who lives nationwide. Sampling was done according to 2005 national census and average interview time was 10 to 15 minutes. Ⅱ. Research Summary We have found that seven major retail channels compete with each other within Korean consumers' minds in terms of price and service. Each channel seem to have its unique selling points. Department stores were perceived as the best electronic goods shopping destinations due to after service. Internet shopping malls were perceived as the convenient channel owing to price checking. Category killers and hypermarkets were more attractive in both price merits and location conveniences. On the other hand, manufacturers dealer networks were pulling customers mainly by location and after service. Category killers and hypermarkets were most beloved retail channel for Korean consumers. However category killers compete mainly with department stores and shopping arcades while hypermarkets tend to compete with Internet and TV home shopping channels. Regarding channel satisfaction, the top 3 channels were service-driven retailers: department stores (4.27); dealer shop (4.21); and Internet shopping malls (4.21). Speciality shopping arcade(3.98) were the least satisfied channels among Korean consumers. Ⅲ. Implications We try to identify the whole picture of multi-channel retail shopping environments and its implications in the context of Korean electronic goods. From manufacturers' perspectives, multi-channel may cause channel conflicts. Furthermore, inter-channel competition draws much more attention as hypermarkets and category killers have grown rapidly in recent years. At the same time, from consumers' perspectives, 'buy where' is becoming an important buying decision as it would decide the level of shopping satisfaction. We need to develop the concept of 'channel equity' to manage multi-channel distribution effectively. Firms should measure and monitor their prime channel equity in regular basis to maximize their channel potentials. Prototype channel equity positioning map has been developed as follows. We expect more studies to develop the concept of 'channel equity' in the future.