• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.83-95
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• 2007

We are motivated by how offline and online firms compete. The Internet made many conventional offline firms build a dynamic online business as another sales channel using their advantages such as brand equity, an existing customer base with comprehensive purchasing data, integrated marketing, economies of scale, and longtime experience with the logistics of order fulfillment and customer service. Even though the hybrid selling using both offline and online channel seems to have advantages over a pure online retailer, all the conventional offline firms are not seen to create an online business. Many conventional offline firms began to launch online business since the Internet era, however, just being online business is not likely to guarantee success. According to Bizate.com's report whether the hybrid channel strategy is successful is still under investigation. For example, consider the classic case of Barnes and Noble versus Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble was already the largest chain of bookstores in the U,S., when Amazon.com was established in 1995, BarnesandNoble.com followed suit in 1997, After suffering losses in its initial years, Amazon finally turned profitable in 2003. In 2004, Amazon's net income was $588 million on revenues of $6.92 billion, while Barnes and Noble earned $143 million on revenues of $4.87 billion, which included BarnesandNoble.com's loss of $21 million on revenues of $420 million. While these examples serve to motivate our thinking, it does not explain when offline firms should venture online. It also does not provide an analytical framework that can generalized to other competitive online-offline situations. We attempt to do this in this paper and analyze a hybrid channel model where a conventional offline firm competes against online firms using its own direct online channels. We are particularly interested in an optimal channel strategy when a conventional offline firm sells its products through its own direct online channel to compete with other rival online firms. We consider two situations where its direct online channel and other online firms are symmetric and asymmetric in the brand effect. The analysis of this paper presents several findings. In the symmetric model where a hybrid firm's online channel is not differentiated from a pure online firm, (i) a conventional offline firm will not launch its online business. In the asymmetric model where a hybrid firm's online channel is differentiated from a pure online firm, (ii) a conventional offline firm can launch its online business if its brand effect is greater than a certain threshold. (iii) there is a positive relationship between its brand effect and online customer costs showing that a conventional offline firm needs more brand effect in order to launch online business as online customer costs decrease. (iv) there is a negative relationship between its brand effect and the number of customers with access to the Internet showing that a conventional offline firm tends to launch its online business when customers with access to the Internet increases.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.601-611
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• 2011

This research evaluates the availability of consumers moving to integrated multi channels by a target analysis on the integrated online channel and verifies the possibility of a synergy effect created by the expansion of an integrated online channel. The objectives are to define the scope of benefits desired in fast fashion and online shopping, compare the desired benefits of fast fashion consumers, online shopping consumers and fast fashion, and online shopping consumers, investigate the acceptance intention of the integrated online channel of consumers, and verity its relationship with the desired benefits. As a result, all consumers indicate the desire to pursue social recognition, pleasure, individuality, economic and convenience orientation, and fashion-innovativeness through shopping activities. In addition, there were differences in the mean of social recognition benefit individuality benefit, economical and convenience orientation benefit, and fashion-innovativeness benefit. Lastly, the acceptance intention of the integrated online channel was significant in all groups and the desired benefits that affect the acceptance intention of the integrated online channel were social recognition for fast fashion consumers along with pleasure and individuality for fast fashion and online shopping consumers.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.467-481
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• 2013

The study examined the main effect of the reward channel and reward time of customer loyalty programs for on-offline shopping channels; in addition, it investigated the interaction effect of the reward channels and merchandise as well as the interaction effect of the reward time and merchandise. An online apparel shopping web experiment was conducted with a 2 (reward channel: online channel reward vs. offline channel reward) ${\times}2$ (reward time: immediate vs. delayed) ${\times}2$ (merchandise: online channel product vs. offline channel products) between-subject factorial design. An online shopping channel was considered the core-shopping channel and a department store was considered the cross-shopping channel. Loyalty program value, core-channel loyalty and cross-channel loyalty were measured as dependent variables. A total of 845 shoppers (who had experiences in shopping in both channels) participated in the experiment. The results of the study revealed (1) the main effect of the reward channel on loyalty program value, core-channel loyalty and cross-channel loyalty [online>offline channel rewards], (2) the main effect of reward time on loyalty program value, core-channel loyalty and cross-channel loyalty [immediate>delayed reward], and (3) the interaction effect of the reward channel and merchandise on loyalty program value, core-channel loyalty, and cross-channel loyalty. (4) Finally the study found that loyalty program value affected cross-channel loyalty indirectly through core-channel loyalty. This study suggested diverse theoretical and managerial implications for multi-channel retailers.

• Knowledge Management Research
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.109-132
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• 2015

We examine offline and online channel sales of experience goods, and compare and contrast the sales patterns of existing products and new products between channels. To this end, we obtain the channel-specific time-series sales data from the leading company selling beauty products, both offline and online. By applying the Vector Autoregressive Model, we empirically find out how the relationship between existing products and new products changes between the shopping channels. Our empirical findings are as follows. First, the sales effects from existing products to new products are significantly positive at both offline and online channels, and this positive effect is greater in the offline channel than in the online channel. Second, the influence of new products on existing products is more positive in the offline channel than in the online channel. Third, the impact of existing products sales on new products sales is greater than that of new products on existing products. Lastly, the inertia effect, the effect within the same shopping channel and the same selling product, is significantly positive in the offline channel but not in the online channel, and this asymmetric inertia effect emerges as we focus on experience goods. Moreover, the impulse response function analysis provides the three important implications. First, companies should pay attention to the same channel but different types of products. Second, the offline channel is more vulnerable to market shock than the online channel. Third, new products sales vary by existing products sales to the greater extent, compared to the opposite relationship. We believe our study contributes theoretically and practically to the fields of marketing and knowledge management.

• Korean Management Science Review
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.77-89
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• 2016

Due to recent proliferation of the mobile shopping channels, customers increasingly tend to purchase using online channel while experiencing physical products in offline shops. This phenomenon requires traditional offline retailers to consider integrating online channels. In this study, we propose strategic options for the traditional offline retailers regarding the online channel integration, and provide corresponding decision models to maximize the expected profits. We also investigate how the strategic options vary with the product characteristics, by categorizing the products based on inventory cost, demand uncertainty, and fitness to the online channels. By analyzing numerical examples we illustrate how the best online channel integration strategy should be differentiated depending on the product categories.

• 한국경영정보학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2007.06a
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• pp.382-387
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• 2007

Since the emergence of Internet service, the revenue from e-commerce has been exponentially growing. Especially, the consumption by men in online retailers is distinctively different from that in traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers. Facing these interesting phenomena, researchers as well as businesses have begun to pay attention to e-commerce and online consumers. However, research on consumer behaviors in the online channel has not made a careful investigation into gender behavioral differences in the online channel. Therefore, we provide a profound understanding of gender differences in online shopping behavior compared to those in offline shopping behaviors. Through our findings from this research, we draw researchers' attention to consumer behavior in the online channel, gender differences in online shopping. Also, we suggest practical implications to online marketers using data collected from one of the major online retailers.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.909-923
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• 2018

Online retailers' offline channel expansion is rapidly growing as an important consumer incentive strategy, despite the enormous initial costs of establishing a store. This study focuses on the offline channel operation of online shopping malls, and examines the effects and influencing factors of the channel expansion strategy from a consumer perspective. In-depth interviews were conducted with ten customers in their 20s and 30s who had visited online retailers' stores or purchased products. Major issues were extracted based on the framework of a channel effect mechanism proposed by Cao and Li (2015). Subsequently, it was found that existing online retailers could enhance brand image and perception by expanding their channels to offline stores. It was also emphasized that the consumer trust on the quality of the product in offline stores is a key variable, and it has a significant influence on consumer's continuous purchase and revisit intention. This study showed that borderless channel integration was the most important task when expanding channels of online retailers. So it will be necessary to strive for an omni-channel strategy so that channel integration can be strategically executed and consumers can interact regardless of channels.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.19-41
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• 2016

Recently, the proliferation of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet personal computers and the development of information communication technologies (ICT) have led to a big trend of a shift from single-channel shopping to multi-channel shopping. With the emergence of a "smart" group of consumers who want to shop in more reasonable and convenient ways, the boundaries apparently dividing online and offline shopping have collapsed and blurred more than ever before. Thus, there is now fierce competition between online and offline channels. Ever since the emergence of online shopping, a major type of multi-channel shopping has been "showrooming," where consumers visit offline stores to examine products before buying them online. However, because of the growing use of smart devices and the counterattack of offline retailers represented by omni-channel marketing strategies, one of the latest huge trends of shopping is "webrooming," where consumers visit online stores to examine products before buying them offline. This has become a threat to online retailers. In this situation, although it is very important to examine the influencing factors for switching from online shopping to webrooming, most prior studies have mainly focused on a single- or multi-channel shopping pattern. Therefore, this study thoroughly investigated the influencing factors on customers switching from online shopping to webrooming in terms of both the "search" and "purchase" processes through the application of a push-pull-mooring (PPM) framework. In order to test the research model, 280 individual samples were gathered from undergraduate and graduate students who had actual experience with webrooming. The results of the structural equation model (SEM) test revealed that the "pull" effect is strongest on the webrooming intention rather than the "push" or "mooring" effects. This proves a significant relationship between "attractiveness of webrooming" and "webrooming intention." In addition, the results showed that both the "perceived risk of online search" and "perceived risk of online purchase" significantly affect "distrust of online shopping." Similarly, both "perceived benefit of multi-channel search" and "perceived benefit of offline purchase" were found to have significant effects on "attractiveness of webrooming" were also found. Furthermore, the results indicated that "online purchase habit" is the only influencing factor that leads to "online shopping lock-in." The theoretical implications of the study are as follows. First, by examining the multi-channel shopping phenomenon from the perspective of "shopping switching" from online shopping to webrooming, this study complements the limits of the "channel switching" perspective, represented by multi-channel freeriding studies that merely focused on customers' channel switching behaviors from one to another. While extant studies with a channel switching perspective have focused on only one type of multi-channel shopping, where consumers just move from one particular channel to different channels, a study with a shopping switching perspective has the advantage of comprehensively investigating how consumers choose and navigate among diverse types of single- or multi-channel shopping alternatives. In this study, only limited shopping switching behavior from online shopping to webrooming was examined; however, the results should explain various phenomena in a more comprehensive manner from the perspective of shopping switching. Second, this study extends the scope of application of the push-pull-mooring framework, which is quite commonly used in marketing research to explain consumers' product switching behaviors. Through the application of this framework, it is hoped that more diverse shopping switching behaviors can be examined in future research. This study can serve a stepping stone for future studies. One of the most important practical implications of the study is that it may help single- and multi-channel retailers develop more specific customer strategies by revealing the influencing factors of webrooming intention from online shopping. For example, online single-channel retailers can ease the distrust of online shopping to prevent consumers from churning by reducing the perceived risk in terms of online search and purchase. On the other hand, offline retailers can develop specific strategies to increase the attractiveness of webrooming by letting customers perceive the benefits of multi-channel search or offline purchase. Although this study focused only on customers switching from online shopping to webrooming, the results can be expanded to various types of shopping switching behaviors embedded in single- and multi-channel shopping environments, such as showrooming and mobile shopping.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.31-36
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• 2011

I conducted empirical analyses of what happens when an offline channel expands to an online channel and whether the pre-existing offline channel's competitive assets (e.g. brand reputation and level of service satisfaction) can be linked to online channel preference. I found that an offline channel's brand reputation and level of service satisfaction can have a direct influence on offline channel preference and a second-hand influence on online channel preference. Thus, if the competitiveness of the online channel is strong enough and its customers have a higher preference for the offline channel, they will be committed and loyal to the company. The resultant enhanced competitiveness of the offline channel will present opportunities for both present and future success. The main results are the following. First, the management of the distribution channel service quality is more important than that of the brand reputation. Customers' experiences of service and subjective evaluations are not important only as the leading factors in the long-term brand reputation management but also as influential factors in channel preference. SoThus, given that the service quality of the pre-existing channel is not the customers' main concern, a strategy of improving the level of service satisfaction aimed at present customers is more valuable than a wide brand positioning strategy aimed at general and new customers. Second, when an offline channel company establishes an internet shopping mall on an online channel, it is highly likely that the preference and subjective evaluation of the present customers will influence the online channel. This applies not only to the special case of an expansion from an offline intermediary channel to an online one, but also to an online channel acting as an expansion of the business model of a conventional manufacturing or service company: both cases are vertical integrations of marketing channels in an expansion of the distribution channel. My theory applies to a wide range of contexts. Third and finally, any business strategy can grasp the meaning of 'channel expansion. Fundamentally, it is an expansion of the sales activity channel and marketing activity. However, it is also a way of enhancing marketing and sales competitiveness through an expansion to an online or offline channel. The expansion of an offline company to an online channel could be seen not as improvement but as an innovation of the business process by which two goals are achieved with one technique. The former is expected to increase the sales of the offline company, and the latter is also expected to increase sales while also contributing to cost reduction.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.743-753
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• 2019

This study investigates differences in demographic characteristics, shopping orientation, perceived risk, and satisfaction after purchase among consumer types. This study classifies consumer types according to their channel transition behaviors between the online and offline channels with a focus on the steps of information research and buying decision in buying decision-making process. The four consumer groups are as follows: off-off type (offline research-offline purchase), on-on type (online research-online purchase), on-off type (online research-offline purchase) and on/off-off type (online and offline research-offline purchase), off-on type (offline research-online purchase) and on/off-on type (online and offline research-online purchase). Data were collected from adults over 20 years old who had bought clothes within one year. The questionnaire was carried out from July, 2019 using a professional internet research panel; in addition, 500 sets of useful data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, factor analysis, reliability analysis, chi-squared test, ANOVA and Duncan-test using SPSS 21.0. The findings showed significant differences among the classified consumer groups for consumer demographics, shopping orientation, perceived risk, and purchase after satisfaction. The results imply that consumers show a variety of channel transition behaviors based on demographic variables, shopping orientation, and perceived risk. Understanding and adapting to consumer purchase behaviors will allow company distribution channels to be effectively managed and eventually increase consumer satisfaction as well as company sales volume.