The digitalization of retailing: an exploratory framework

Abstract

Purpose – Digitalization denotes an on-going transformation of great importance for the retail sector. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the phenomenon of the digitalization of retailing by developing a conceptual framework that can be used to further delineate current transformations of the retailer-consumer interface. Design/methodology/approach – This paper develops a framework for digitalization in the retail-consumer interface that consists of four elements: exchanges, actors, offerings, and settings. Drawing on the previous literature, it describes and exemplifies how digitalization transforms each of these elements and identifies implications and proposals for future research. Findings – Digitalization transforms the following: retailing exchanges (in a number of ways and in various facets of exchange, including communications, transactions, and distribution); the nature of retail offerings (blurred distinctions between products and services, what constitutes the actual offering and how it is priced); retail settings (i.e. where and when retailing takes place); and the actors who participate in retailing (i.e. retailers and consumers, among other parties). Research limitations/implications – The framework developed can be used to further delineate current transformations of retailing due to digitalization. The current transformation has created challenges for research, as it demands sensitivity to development over time and insists that categories that have been taken for granted are becoming increasingly blurred due to greater hybridity. Originality/value – This paper addresses a significant and on-going transformation in retailing and develops a framework that can both guide future research and aid retail practitioners in analysing retailing’s current transformation due to digitalization.

A new approach to retailing for successful competition in the new smart scenario

“…24 The implications of this paper are several. First, it extends the growing body of research on innovation in retailing (Demirkan and Spohrer, 2014;Pantano, 2014;Hagberg et al, 2016;, and smart retailing (Kim et al, 2017;Pantano and Timmermans, 2014;Priporas et al, 2017;Roy et al, 2017;Vrontis et al, 2017), by offering a clear framework that describes the extent to which retailing can be improved through the systematically use of smart technologies, employed to support several aspects of the process.…”

“…Summarizing, these tools allow consumers to easily and directly search and compare products, (virtually) taste items, access customised information, receive shopping assistance, and pay with benefits (Demirkan and Spohrer, 2014;Hagberg et al, 2016;Korouthanassis et al, 2007;Pantano and Priporas 2016;Pantano and Viassone, 2015;Papagiannidis et al, 2014). In fact, the introduction of these new technologies at physical points of sale may solve several emerging problems in traditional retailing such as a crowded retail environment, limited opening hours, temporary non-availability of a sales assistant, and the slow speed of reply and monetary transactions (payments).…”

“…Traditional innovation management approaches in retailing have mainly focused on different ways of introducing technology-based innovations to increase consumer acceptance and business profitability (Dabholkar, 1996;Hagberg et al, 2016;Pantano, 2014;Demirkan and Spohrer, 2014;Papagiannidis et al, 2014), while only a limited number of works considered the idea of smart technology for enhancing retailing (Leitner and Grechenig, 2009;Pantano and Viassone, 2015;Priporas et al, 2017). Since the idea of smartness goes beyond the idea of intelligent application of new technologies by including more essential dimensions such as the organisational processes and selling activities (Pantano and Timmermans, 2014), the smart usage of technology can be easily extended to the retail process for the purpose of making it "smarter".…”

To what extent luxury retailing can be smart?

“…More specifically, concerning the organizational process, smart technologies affect the methods of collecting data from consumers, managing information, transferring knowledge from firms to consumers and vice versa (Leitner and Grechenig, 2009; partnership with clients, who become active actors working in cooperation with retailers towards the common goal of producing a more satisfying service, while pushing retailers to develop new capabilities for actively responding to changeable markets and successfully managing innovation (Hagberg et al, 2015;Kindstrom et al, 2013). Concerning selling activities, smart technologies are able to change the way in which consumers access and consume services and products, as well as the building and maintenance of relationships with sellers.…”

Digital and urban spaces: Oxymoron or binomial? Urban transformations in the digital era

“…In fact, as Hagberg, Egels‐Zandén, and Sundström () argues, mobile phones, and in particular smartphones, are changing the way that consumers shop and relate to the retail landscape. Although earlier studies have often shown that mobile phones were only marginally involved in shopping, new surveys and studies suggest that they are now being integrated into everyday shopping practices and the use of smartphones is also increasing globally.…”