From the store to omnichannel retail: looking back over three decades of research

ABSTRACT

The retail sector has gone through major changes over the past three decades. These changes have been made possible by advances in information and communications technology that have enabled new business models, communication tools, technologies, and supply-chain practices to emerge and shape the behavior of actors across the retail value chain. For example, from its initial incarnation as only a separate, albeit small, channel in the retail and marketing mix, e-commerce is now a critical part of a firm’s multi- and omnichannel strategy. In this paper, we synthesize current knowledge drawn from academic retail literature and discuss potential directions for future research. This study contributes to research by developing five research propositions, based on our literature review, to guide researchers to better grasp the technological and digital developments across the retail sector over the next decade or so.

KEYWORDS:

• Digitalization
• marketing
• retail
• research
• review

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Acknowledgments

This research received no specific grant or funding.

Notes

1. Note that the large growth in the number of publications is largely due to the growing indexing of journals and recent surge in academic publishing.

2. Note that the tables are slightly abridged in order to help comparability within and between each era. For example, a ‘multichannel’ research context refers to a study focusing on any integration of the physical store and online retail, regardless of whether the authors have actually applied the terms ‘multi-’ or ‘omnichannel’ in the paper.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mikko Hänninen

Mikko Hänninen is an Assistant Professor in Retail Operations Management at Nottingham University Business School. His research focuses on understanding the digital transformation of retailing. His work has been published in journals, such as, the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, and the International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research.

Stephen K. Kwan

Stephen Kwan is Professor Emeritus at San Jose State University. His research focuses on the domains of service science and information systems. His work has been published in journals, such as, the European Journal of Management, and the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services.

Lasse Mitronen

Lasse Mitronen is Professor of Practice at the Aalto University School of Business. His research focuses on retail business models and the strategic management of retailing. His work has been published in journals, such as, Industrial Marketing Management, and the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services.