INFLUENCE OF MULTICHANNEL SUPPLY CHAINS NETWORKS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF SELECTED RETAIL FASHION OUTLETS IN NAIROBI

Purpose: The general objective of this study was to investigate the influence of multichannel retailing networks on the performance of selected fashion outlets in Nairobi.Methodology: The researcher used a descriptive research design, and the population and area of study was drawn from sampled outlets within Nairobi. The studies adopted stratified random sampling technique from the target population, as well as carried out a pilot study to pretest and validate the questionnaire. Multiple regression models were used to find out the importance of each of the four variables with reverence to the influence of multichannel retailing networks on the performance of selected fashion outlets in Nairobi.Results: Data analysis revealed that shopping experience was important in explaining performance. This is supported by a p value of 0.01 which means that shopping experience is a statistically significant predictor of performance. Findings also revealed that distribution channel is important in determining performance as demonstrated by a p value of 0.00 and a beta coefficient of 0.468.this implied that distribution channel was a statistically significant predictor of performance. Findings also indicated that organization structure was important in determining performance as demonstrated by a p value of 0.000 and a beta coefficient of 0.352. Findings reveal that capital was important in explaining performance. This was supported by a p value of 0.03 and a beta coefficient of 0.107 which means that capital was a statistically significant predictor of performance.Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommends that the management of retail fashion outlets in Nairobi to conduct a market survey in order to establish the optimal shopping experience levels in order to reach out to more customers’ and hence achieve high performance.

Marketing Mix Modeling Using PLS-SEM, Bootstrapping the Model Coefficients

Partial least squares structural equations modeling (PLS-SEM) uses sampling bootstrapping to calculate the significance of the model parameter estimates (e.g., path coefficients and outer loadings). However, when data are time series, as in marketing mix modeling, sampling bootstrapping shows inconsistencies that arise because the series has an autocorrelation structure and contains seasonal events, such as Christmas or Black Friday, especially in multichannel retailing, making the significance analysis of the PLS-SEM model unreliable. The alternative proposed in this research uses maximum entropy bootstrapping (meboot), a technique specifically designed for time series, which maintains the autocorrelation structure and preserves the occurrence over time of seasonal events or structural changes that occurred in the original series in the bootstrapped series. The results showed that meboot had superior performance than sampling bootstrapping in terms of the coherence of the bootstrapped data and the quality of the significance analysis.

Complaint behaviour in multichannel retailing: a cross-stage approach

PurposeThis paper analyses how the purchase channel and customer complaint goals affect the sequential choice of post–purchase complaint channels when customers experience a service failure followed by a service recovery failure (double deviation).Design/methodology/approachAn online survey involving a scenario manipulation was conducted with 577 apparel shoppers. The study employs multi-group latent class analysis to estimate latent customer segments within both online and offline groups of shoppers and compare latent classes between the two groups.FindingsThe results show that the purchase channel has a lock-in effect on the complaint channel, which is stronger for offline buyers. Moreover, there is evidence of channel synergy effects in the case of having to complain twice: shoppers who complain in store in the first attempt turn to online channels in the second complaint attempt, and vice versa. Complaint goals shape the choice of complaint channels and define different shopper segments.Originality/valueThe present study is the first to adopt a cross-stage approach that analyses the dependencies between the purchase channel and the complaint channel used on two subsequent occasions: the first complaint after a service failure and the second following a service recovery failure.

Can offline–online congruence explain online loyalty in electronic commerce?

PurposeOne key issue to be addressed in multichannel retailing strategies has to do with ensuring the consistency of the retailer offerings between the brick-and-mortar and the online stores to offer their customers a seamless experience. This study assesses whether perceived congruence may be relevant to identify segments of heterogeneous based on their online loyalty levels as well as other constructs and variables related to the customer relationship with the retailer for two different product categories.Design/methodology/approachFrom the responses of apparel and electronics multichannel shoppers to an online survey, a CHAID algorithm was performed to identify the most relevant congruence attribute(s) perceived by customers for predicting their loyalty levels toward the online store.FindingsThe results have allowed the identification of five segments of online shoppers, both for apparel and for electronics retailing, so that customers showing the highest scores in all congruence attributes also showed a higher loyalty toward the online store.Research limitations/implicationsThis study presents a first insight into the link between perceived congruence and online loyalty in retailing using a CHAID segmentation-based approach by differentiating various dimensions of perceived congruence for two product categories.Practical implicationsThe results obtained allow for inferring a series of strategies and actions that retailers can adopt for improving perceived congruence between physical and online stores along with a series of dimensions, and ultimately, increase online loyalty.Originality/valueAs the interest of the literature on perceived congruence between offline and online stores is relatively recent, this exploratory research contributes to shedding light on the implications of specific congruence dimensions between the offline and the online store in terms of consumer online loyalty in all multicategory setting.

Insights for luxury retailers to reach customers globally

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate whether customer intention to purchase luxury products from the online stores of fashion luxury retailers varies depending on their degree of corporate image and showrooming strategy, when the retailers do not have a wider store network in the region where customers live.Design/methodology/approachTwo scenario-based, between-subject experimental studies were conducted to test the hypotheses.FindingsFindings showed that both building corporate image and showrooms are effective in enhancing customer intention to purchase from online stores, without widely increasing the number of stores; however, building corporate image is more useful to high corporate-image retailers and showrooms are more appealing to low corporate-image retailers.Practical implicationsThe findings are useful to fashion luxury retailers, particularly those based in Western countries who seek to target customers in other regions, particularly those in developing countries.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature on online fashion luxury consumption and multichannel retailing.

Omnichannel fulfillment strategies: defining the concept and building an agenda for future inquiry

Purpose Since the emergence of e-commerce uprooted traditional brick-and-mortar retail in the early 2000s, many retailers have reacted by first independently servicing both the online and in-store channels (multichannel retailing) and subsequently integrating both channels to provide a seamless front-end customer interface (omnichannel retailing). Accordingly, firms had to adjust their logistics and supply chain management (SCM) processes from fulfilling orders for each channel separately to integrating channels on the back-end (omnichannel fulfillment). This development is mirrored by an emerging stream of academic publications. The purpose of this paper is to provide a snapshot of the current state of omnichannel fulfillment research via a systematic literature review (SLR) in order to identify omnichannel fulfillment strategies and to establish an agenda for future inquiry. Design/methodology/approach This SLR is based on 104 papers published in peer-reviewed journals through December 2018. It employs a six-step process, from research question to the presentation of the insights. Findings All selected manuscripts are categorized based on demographics such as publication date, outlet, methodology, etc. Analysis of the manuscripts suggests that the integration of fulfillment channel inventory and resources is becoming an important objective of fulfillment management. Appropriate omnichannel strategies based on retailer attributes are not well understood. Industry specific research has been conducted necessitating generalized extension for retailers. These findings provide a clear opportunity for the academic community to take more of the lead in terms of knowledge creation by proposing paths for industry pursuit of channel integration to successfully implement omnichannel fulfillment. Opportunities for future inquiry are highlighted. Originality/value This manuscript proposes a definition of omnichannel fulfillment strategies and identifies fulfillment links that are used interchangeably across channels as the key delimiter between omnichannel fulfillment strategies and related concepts. Six omnichannel fulfillment strategies from the extant literature are identified and conceptualized. Future research opportunities around omnichannel fulfillment, potential interdependencies between the established strategies and their impact on related SCM issues such as distribution and reverse logistics are detailed.