A new era of technology-infused retailing

Abstract

To understand the progression of retailing research, this article presents a topic modeling study of retailing-related research published in Journal of Business Research (JBR) over the past 50 years. We trace both where retailing has come from and where it is going. Building on 13 retailing-related research themes published in JBR, the authors identify five emerging themes growing in importance: Omnichannel retailing, Retail technologies (including point-of-sale (POS) systems, digital displays, robots and artificial intelligence (AI)), Experiential retailing, Online shopping behavior, and Social commerce. Seven themes, which remained stable in their importance over the last decades, are considered as core retailing topics: Retail atmospherics, Retail strategy & performance, Consumer perceptions, Sensory marketing, Retail store/brand image, Retail relationships & loyalty, and Organizational orientations. One theme, Shopping motives & patronage, is shown to have declined in JBR publications. Deeper dives into the five emerging topics showcase technology-infused retailing and help reveal avenues for continued research.