Channel Choice in the 21st Century: The Hidden Role of Distribution Services

Betancourt, Roger R.; Chocarro, Raquel; Cortiñas, Mónica; Elorz, Margarita; Múgica, José Miguel

doi:10.1016/j.intmar.2015.09.002

Cited by 26 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…This is in contrast, for example, to Amazon. The latter started as an exclusively online distribution channel for books with firms in a brick and mortar distribution channel as direct competitors in many geographical markets, e.g., Barnes & Noble, Borders. This paper uses PSC to illustrate two features of online channels identified and emphasized in a recent paper (Betancourt et al 2016: Propositions 1 and 3).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Private Sales Clubs: A 21st Century Distribution Channel

Betancourt

Chocarro

Cortiñas

et al. 2017

Journal of Interactive Marketing

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Private sales clubs are a novel service institution arising out of the Internet's ability to allow an exclusively online channel to distribute out of season or out of fashion inventories to a large set of customers. They have become a thriving industry in the 21 st century. In this paper we enhance understanding of this technology mediated institution as a distribution channel. Furthermore, we show how to measure the impact of the distribution services it provides through the Internet on customer satisfaction and of the latter on economic performance. We rely on the technique of quantile regressions in this endeavor. The latter allows for asymmetries in the response function that have been noted as a major issue to be addressed in the analysis of both customer satisfaction and economic performance variables. Our most important empirical finding is that the distortions introduced by ignoring asymmetries in the response function with respect to customer satisfaction are extremely misleading for managers of private sales clubs.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Private Sales Clubs: A 21st Century Distribution Channel

Betancourt

Chocarro

Cortiñas

et al. 2017

Journal of Interactive Marketing

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“…However, this literature has neglected the fact that customers may use a combination of all the available distribution services in a single purchase process, even though the serviceseparability feature of online distribution services makes it possible for customers to use a combination of different channels during the shopping journey (Betancourt et al, 2016).…”

Section: Distribution Services As Segmentation Criteriamentioning

confidence: 99%

Omni-channel users and omni-channel customers: a segmentation analysis using distribution services

Cortiñas

Chocarro

Elorz

2019

SJME

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Purpose Consumers are increasingly combining distribution channels, thus displaying so-called omni-channel behavior, both to complete a given purchase and between purchases. The authors make a distinction between omni-channel customers, who make use of distribution services in both channels and omni-channel users, who make partial use of the distribution services of one channel to support purchases in another. This paper aims to identify the omni-channel behavior among the customers of a global fast fashion retailer dealing in a wide range of apparel and clothing accessories. Design/methodology/approach Using a multinomial logit model, the authors perform a customer segmentation based on observed omni-channel behavior, considering the explanatory roles of demographics, distribution service features and customer service policies across the different retail channels. Findings The authors observe that the key retail channel features for explaining omni-channel customer behavior are product accessibility, both in store and online; the assurance that goods purchased online will satisfy the customer’s needs and expectations; and the option to return goods found unsatisfactory. Practical implications The results clearly show that the nature of the visits and purchases made by customers is determined by various components of the companýs customer service policy, which can, therefore, be used to guide the retailer’s segmentation strategy. Originality/value Future lines of research should explore the economic implications of this customer segmentation. The price perception data emerging from our findings suggest a greater sensitivity to prices in the mono-channel segment, which might be worth exploring in future research. Future research Future lines of research should explore the economic implications of this customer segmentation. The price perception data emerging from our findings suggest a greater sensitivity to prices in the mono-channel segment which might be worth exploring in future research.

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“…In our research context, they are perceived costs basically related to the time and the efforts made by the consumer in the purchase process. The Internet allows the consumers to use the distribution services at any time and place when searching and purchasing a particular product (Betancourt et al 2016). Hann and Terwiesch (2003) discussed greater cognitive effort and time opportunity when making online purchase decisions, and suggested that the non-monetary costs could turn out to be much more important in co-production activities.…”

Section: The Role Of Perceived Costsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Customer Loyalty and Brand Management

Guillén¹

2019

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Channel Choice in the 21st Century: The Hidden Role of Distribution Services

Cited by 26 publications

References 49 publications

Private Sales Clubs: A 21st Century Distribution Channel

Private Sales Clubs: A 21st Century Distribution Channel

Omni-channel users and omni-channel customers: a segmentation analysis using distribution services

Customer Loyalty and Brand Management

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