Abstract
Since the early 2000s, distribution channels have undergone a deep transformation in developed countries, but also in developing countries. While physical sales structures (stores, branches) have been, for a very long time, the preferred means for consumers to access products or services, the explosion of the Internet channel has radically changed the foundation of consumer experience. The multiplication of physical and virtual touchpoints is a new economic reality that leads consumers to live a total consumption experience, including migrating from one distribution channel to another with great ease. The background of the investigation is thus based on a major transformation: the great volatility of the consumer, quickly moving from one touchpoint to another. This volatility destabilizes manufacturing and retailing firms, whose customers used only one type of channel in the past and forces them to deeply rethink their marketing policy. Companies must learn to implement an efficient multichannel strategy, at the risk of losing market share in an extremely competitive environment. This paper uses literature on multichannel strategy to highlight three essential dimensions: the identification of multichannel strategy accelerators, the paradigm shift implied by a multichannel strategy and the original consumer migration paths that a multichannel strategy must take into account. Keywords : consumer experience, distribution channels, Internet, migration, multichannel, retailing, touchpoints. DOI : 10.7176/JMCR/59-03 Publication date : August 31 st 2019
Highlights
The distribution of products and services across multiple channels has become a managerial standard considered by many companies as a priority strategy in creating a sustainable competitive advantage (Wilson et al, 2017)
If companies do not adapt to the new trend of combining physical and Internet channels, they explicitly take the risk of being attacked by multichannel competitors who will offer consumers total access to a multitude of touchpoints
While the consumer was not excluded from the analysis, the focus remained on recurrent interactions between manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, by exploring issues of dependency, power, conflict and cooperation, and logistical monitoring and procurement characteristics (Paché, 2008; Chepkwony and Lagat, 2016)
Summary
The distribution of products and services across multiple channels has become a managerial standard considered by many companies as a priority strategy in creating a sustainable competitive advantage (Wilson et al, 2017). It should not be forgotten that the technological revolution and the development of the Internet www.iiste.org channel are making competition in the market increasingly fierce by creating almost total transparency regarding products and services, in terms of their price (Granados et al, 2008).
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