Although cross-channel retailing has become a game changer for retailers, few previous studies have looked at the problems from the inherently holistic perspective of a business model approach. Using a single case study but multiple data collection methods, including interviews, observations, and document analysis, on the biggest Chinese retailer in consumer electronic appliances, the present study examines how different aspects of the business model changed after the retailer launched its cross-channel strategy. The results identify the major changes on three fronts: redefinition of target clients, a new proposition for shopping value, and redesign of the value chain. Findings suggest that a retailer shifting toward the cross-channel strategy will follow the stage-of-adoption model, which may be in five stages, and that the physical store as a hub linking different channels will become the source of value creation. To facilitate the strategic shift, retailers should optimize rather than merge their activities across channels, reinforce the strengths of the physical store, develop co-creation value with stakeholders, and revamp their organization.

• Content Type Journal Article
• Pages 69-96
• DOI 10.2753/JEC1086-4415180403
• Authors
  • Lanlan Cao, NEOMA Business School, France

• Journal International Journal of Electronic Commerce
• Print ISSN 1086-4415
• Journal Volume Volume 18
• Journal Issue Volume 18, Number 4 / Summer 2014

The difficulty of translating the in-store experience to the online environment is one of the main reasons why the fashion industry has been slower than other sectors to adopt e-commerce. Recently, however, new information technologies (ITs) have enabled consumers to evaluate fashion online, creating an interactive and exciting shopping experience. As a result, clothing has become the fastest-growing online category of goods bought in the United Kingdom. This trend could have serious consequences for brick-and-mortar stores. The aim of this quantitative research is to gain a better understanding of multichannel fashion-shopping experiences, focusing on the role of IT and the crossover effects between channels. In particular, I explore the influence of the level of online experience on the perceptions and motivations of fashion consumers when they buy across multiple channels. The theoretical framework of hedonic and utilitarian shopping values is applied to measure consumers' shopping experiences and shopping motivations to buy in different channels. The results from a quantitative survey of 439 consumers in the United Kingdom suggest the need to redefine the in-store shopping experience, promoting the use of technology as a way to create an engaging and integrated experience among channels. Retailers must think in all channels holistically, boosting interactive and new technologies for the Internet and taking advantage of all touchpoints with the consumer, including mobile devices and social networks.

• Content Type Journal Article
• Pages 97-116
• DOI 10.2753/JEC1086-4415180404
• Authors
  • Marta Blázquez, University of Manchester

• Journal International Journal of Electronic Commerce
• Print ISSN 1086-4415
• Journal Volume Volume 18
• Journal Issue Volume 18, Number 4 / Summer 2014

Visual simulation is currently the primary technique used to optimize virtual presence in e-tailing, but it entails high costs. For e-tail companies with limited financial resources, customer-company communications, instead of using visual simulation, are based mostly on text (e.g., product attributes, company information). This study explores the influence of text-based e-tail content on virtual presence and the mechanism underlying this influence by testing (1) the effect of cue multiplicity on telepresence and social presence and (2) the dynamics of how presence perceptions affect decision affirmation. A total of 407 participants in the main experiment were exposed to a fictitious e-tail Web site, and the cue multiplicity of the text-based e-tail content was manipulated. The results supported all the hypotheses but one. First, a greater number of cues led to greater perception of telepresence and social presence, providing support for the hypothesized effect of cue multiplicity in text-based e-tail content on virtual presence. Second, telepresence increased Web site trust, ultimately contributing to shoppers' decision affirmation; however, the effect of telepresence on e-shopping enjoyment was not confirmed. Finally, social presence significantly improved Web site trust, e-shopping enjoyment, and social affirmation, all of which improved decision affirmation. The findings illuminate the role of cue multiplicity in e-tail text as a crucial antecedent to virtual presence and decision affirmation. A strategic manipulation of e-tail text should be further considered by managers of various virtual marketplaces as a cost-efficient and effective way of helping the shopper's decision process.

• Content Type Journal Article
• Pages 117-146
• DOI 10.2753/JEC1086-4415180405
• Authors
  • Eun-Jung Lee, Kookmin University in Korea
  • Jihye Park, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Korea

• Journal International Journal of Electronic Commerce
• Print ISSN 1086-4415
• Journal Volume Volume 18
• Journal Issue Volume 18, Number 4 / Summer 2014

Index to Volume 18

• Content Type Journal Article
• Pages 147-149

• Journal International Journal of Electronic Commerce
• Print ISSN 1086-4415
• Journal Volume Volume 18
• Journal Issue Volume 18, Number 4 / Summer 2014