Online Retailers Opening Brick and Mortar Stores and the Impact on the Customer Base: the Case of Netonnet
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Online Retailers Opening Brick and Mortar Stores and the Impact on the Customer Base: The case of NetOnNet. Master’s Thesis 15 credits Department of Business Studies Uppsala University Spring Semester of 2018 Date of Submission: 2018-06-01 Marcus Jönsson Richard Patrini Nicolò Sammartini 1 Supervisor: James Sallis Abstract During recent years, technology has played a crucial role in shaping the retail industry. Digitalisation and e-commerce are seen as the future of retailing. However, big online retailers have shown increasing interest in offline shopping by heavily investing in brick and mortar stores. The strategy of a retailer making use of both offline and online channels is called omni- channel strategy. This study investigates why online retailers are investing in physical stores and what is the impact of this decision on their customer base. The study uses a two-step research. First, a case study on the Swedish retailer NetOnNet is conducted to confirm the theoretical framework and build the research model. Then, a quantitative research with questionnaire is used to investigate the impact of an omni-channel strategy on the consumers’ attitudes towards the retailer. The results show that awareness and control are the factors most affected by an omni-channel strategy. Instead, having both an online and offline presence does not have a relevant impact on the factors trust, perceived risk and personalisation. Key words: omni-channel, retail industry, online shopping, offline shopping, firm input variables, firm output variables, customer mediating variables. Table of contents 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Research Purpose ......................................................................................................................... 2 1.2. Research Question........................................................................................................................ 3 1.3. Contribution ................................................................................................................................. 3 2. Contextual Background .................................................................................................................... 4 3. Theoretical Framework .................................................................................................................... 6 3.1. Omni-channel Strategy ................................................................................................................ 6 3.2. Challenges of Implementing an Omni-channel Strategy ............................................................. 7 3.3. Firm Input Variables: Integration Elements of an Omni-channel Strategy............................... 10 3.4. Firm Output Variables: Customer Acquisition, Extension and Retention ................................. 12 3.5. Customer Mediating Variables .................................................................................................. 13 3.6. Theoretical Framework of the Case Study ................................................................................. 14 3.7. Research Model and Propositions .............................................................................................. 15 4. Methodology .................................................................................................................................... 17 4.1. Overview of Research Design .................................................................................................... 17 4.2. Qualitative Research: A Case Study .......................................................................................... 17 4.2.1. Preparation to the Case Study ............................................................................................. 18 4.2.2. Interview and Data Collection ............................................................................................ 18 4.2.3. Data Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 19 4.3. Quantitative Research ................................................................................................................ 20 4.3.1. Sampling ............................................................................................................................. 20 4.3.2. Measurements ..................................................................................................................... 21 4.3.3. Data Collection and Process ............................................................................................... 24 4.3.4. Choice of Data Analysis ..................................................................................................... 24 5. Results and Analysis ........................................................................................................................ 25 5.1. Results of Qualitative Research ................................................................................................. 25 5.1.1. Firm Input Variables ........................................................................................................... 25 5.1.2. Customer Mediating Variables ........................................................................................... 29 5.1.3. Firm Outcome Variables..................................................................................................... 32 5.2. Results and Analysis of Quantitative Research ......................................................................... 33 5.2.1. Sample Profile .................................................................................................................... 34 5.2.2. Normality Analysis ............................................................................................................. 35 5.2.3. Factor Analysis ................................................................................................................... 36 5.2.4. Reliability ........................................................................................................................... 37 5.2.5. Descriptive Analysis ........................................................................................................... 39 6. Discussion ......................................................................................................................................... 48 6.1. Firm’s Perspective...................................................................................................................... 48 6.2. Customer’s Perspective .............................................................................................................. 49 7. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 56 7.1. Managerial Implications ............................................................................................................ 56 7.2. Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research ..................................................................... 57 References ............................................................................................................................................ 58 Appendix 1: Interview Guide ............................................................................................................. 65 Appendix 2: Questionnaire ................................................................................................................. 66 1. Introduction There is no doubt that in recent years technological trends have changed customers’ shopping behaviour and digitalisation is shaping the future of the retail market. Online sales grew more than 10% in 2016 while in the same period the total retail sales growth was just above 1% (Hodson, Perrigo, & Hardman, 2017). According to Fung Global Retail and Technology, almost 7,000 brick and mortar store closure announcements have been made in the United States alone during 2017, which is 200% of the previous year (Thomas, 2017). The internet revolution has led many researchers to study the potential impact of e-commerce on retailing (Steve Burt, 2003; Alba, Lynch, Weitz, Janiszewski, Lutz, Sawyer & Wood, 1997; Petterson, Balasubramanian, & Bronnenberg, 1997), as well as the business opportunities and challenges related to the use of internet (Quelch & Klein, 1996). Others have analysed the digitalization impact on offerings, actors, settings and exchange between retailers and consumers (Hagberg, Sundstrom, & Egles-Zandén, 2016). Despite the fact that it is a time when the majority of retailers are moving towards digitalization, a new trend has emerged. This shows that big online retailers are opening brick and mortar stores. For example, Amazon, the e-commerce giant, began experimenting with offline stores in 2015 with the opening of its first bookstore in New York City (Perry, 2017) and recently it acquired Whole Foods (Turner, Wang, & Soper, 2017). The list of online retailers opening brick and mortar stores is long, and includes Blue Nile, JustFab, Bonobos, Athleta, Warby Parker, ModCloth and Casper (Popomaronis, 2017). Studies have been conducted on this trend, highlighting that, even though online retailing is growing faster and faster, offline shopping is still relevant. The most common perspective of this research is based