The Shift from Financial to Non-financial Measures During Transition into Digital Retail – A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Researchers in the retail domain today propose that, in particular, complex and non-financial goals such as ‘customer experience’ represent the new imperative and leading management objective in the age of Digital Retail, questioning the role of conventional financial measures such as revenue. However, there is no evidence in research showing the corresponding and necessary shift from financial measures to non-financial measures as subject of interest in recent years. This article aims to reveal the development of financial versus non-financial metrics used in retail research in the last ten years and thus highlight the transition from conventional retail into Digital Retail from a metrics perspective. A systematic literature review, conducted on the basis of 80 high quality journals, serves as the research method of choice and sheds light on the various range of metrics used in the last ten years of retail research. More importantly, the results still show a major focus on financial measures despite indicating a rising awareness of non-financial, more complex and intangible measures such as ‘customer experience’ or ‘customer satisfaction’. While this finding supports proposed shift towards non-financial measures in current retail research in one side, it also shows a lack of research focusing on non-financial objectives in retail, in comparison to financial measures.