Omni-channel retail, defined as the blending and integration of online and offline retail, has been retailers' latest effort to improve consumers' shopping experience and increase operational performance (Murfield et al. 2017; Taylor et al. 2019). Omni-channel operations encompass managing product flows with a logic of physical proximity, providing goods in a timely fashion at the place customers require by integrating online and offline distribution channels. Omni-channel retail provides consumers with greater product information availability, as well as the freedom to select and switch between the convenience of online shopping versus shopping in physical stores. As a result, omni-channel retail enhances consumers' expectations to purchase at their convenience (Daugherty, Bolumole, and Grawe 2019).In this line of thought, Lionel Binnie, the author of The Future of Omni-Channel Retail: Predictions in the Age of Amazon, talks about the drivers of omni-channel retail, the key characteristics that indicate the best channel, as well as the emerging challenges upon which retailers should focus. Indeed, the author believes that changes in two key consumer purchasing behaviors push retailers to adopt omni-channel retail. The first, discovery, refers to finding a new product, or a good that best fits consumers' needs, the best place to buy it, and at the best price. The second, fulfillment, refers to purchasing and receiving the product. The book proposes a framework that describes how discovery, fulfillment, and product type may influence the design of an omni-channel retail strategy, as well as associated challenges.Retailers design the omni-channel retail strategy depending on the influence that distinct product characteristics have on consumers' discovery and fulfillment processes. Some products, for example, are classified as homogenous, since they are interchangeable and easily searched online. Conversely, other products are classified as heterogenous, if a unique shopping experience is expected. Relatedly, the level of customer engagement further classifies products into high-engagement products, for which consumers want an important and rewarding shopping experience, and low-engagement products, which are merely functional and routinely purchased.The intersection of these categories generates four product types, namely elite, unique, artisan, and mundane (see figure 1). Elite products are homogenous yet high-engaging, like cars or laptop computers. Consumers look for the nearly perfect solution and an exceptional shopping experience. Consumers are emotionally involved in the purchase and expect to find information online, but they are likely to purchase such products in-store, where they expect a well-informed salesperson and a customized purchasing experience. Thus, retailers would still offer elite products in-store to guarantee the service experience. For unique products, heterogeneous and high-engaging, such as handmade jewelry, consumers want a memorable shopping experience. Retailers are unlikely to move unique products online, as they represent highly experiential products for consumers. Next, artisan products, heterogeneous and low-engaging, present characteristics of uniqueness. Some of these products, such as fresh or prepared foods, are moving online as deliveries are increasingly faster and more reliable, yet in many instances, consumers want the in-store experience. Thus, retailers will need to collaborate with business partners to distribute these products both online and offline. Finally, mundane products, homogenous and low-engaging, are routinely purchased, and consumers do not seek an experience. Many of these products, such as basic clothes or canned soup, have moved online, as consumers find the online distribution channel convenient in terms of time and effort.The future of omni-channel retail presents two challenges for retailers. The first refers to requalifying physical stores and malls that currently merely serve as a place where to find readily available products. The second relates to providing faster, more reliable, and free deliveries in line with customers' expectations (Nguyen et al. 2019), while remaining profitable, as increasing competition and thin margins raise concerns around the sustainability of this level of service. Some retailers have found a solution in creative collaborations with other retailers or service providers. In 2017 Amazon acquired Whole Foods to increase its physical presence in major metropolitan areas and as a drop-off location for customer returns. Recently, some grocery retailers have been testing multiple home-delivery solutions, such as partnering with sharing economy service platforms, namely Uber and Lyft, launching their delivery platforms, such as Walmart with Spark Delivery, or acquiring delivery startups, such as Target with Shipt.While incentivizing inventive collaborations, omni-channel retail also blurs the competitive boundaries between retailers and manufacturers, altering the relationship from collaboration to coopetition (Murfield et al. 2017). In some instances, the triadic relationship manufacturer-retailer-customer is shifting toward a manufacturer-customer relationship, thus decreasing a retailer's market share. The collaboration between Samsung and Best Buy is a good example of this dynamic. Samsung can leverage Best Buy physical stores as a showroom for Samsung products, offering consumers the experience of discovery and fulfillment they seek in an omni-channel retail. However, because both firms sell through their online and offline channels, they wind up competing for the same consumers. Hence, in setting up an omni-channel strategy, retailers need to offer a holistic service, focusing on blending and integrating distribution channels and establishing profitable partnerships with manufacturers and service providers.Summing up, drawing from an extensive professional experience, Lionel Binnie has written a well-developed portrait of the past, present, and future of omni-channel retail, highlighting key challenges and opportunities. Overall, the book offers many insightful managerial implications, as well as opportunities for future research.Managers need to rethink their retailing strategy, focusing on consumers while blending and integrating distribution channels. In this vein, academics may investigate the new role of physical stores and malls in a more complex physical distribution, understanding the utility of store proximity to enhance service convenience. Indeed, retailers' physical footprint can mitigate operational and service challenges existing in online fulfillment, for example by allocating inventories closer to final customers. In this regard, research can also explore issues related to the integration of information across channels, enhancing inventory visibility in multiple locations. In addition, future investigations can compare deliveries from distribution centers and deliveries from physical stores in terms of efficiency and effectiveness of product fulfillment. Furthermore, retailers' offline presence can also provide service improvements related to service recovery solutions. Future research can focus on online and offline integration of service operations, such as those related to after-sale support and customer returns.In omni-channel retail the area of strategic retail logistics, which refers to the need for retailers to adopt a more strategic approach to design their omni-channel service process, deserves more consideration. For instance, retailers may seek collaborations with other retailers or manufacturers to further enhance the shopping experience. Further research is needed to investigate the necessary resources to establish an omni-channel distribution strategy, emphasizing the benefits and drawbacks of networks in the retailing industry. Moreover, the influence of product assortment will also determine retailers' omni-channel fulfillment strategy. The book discusses four product types that characterize the distribution strategy. This consideration offers opportunities for future research related to product type, distribution channels, and level of service.Finally, the book highlights the relevance of consumer-centric logistics, emphasizing the need to examine the logistics-marketing interface in terms of service process design based on shifting consumer expectations with the aim of consumer satisfaction (Esper et al. 2020). Indeed, the book stresses that consumer expectations toward the shopping experience will play a crucial role in designing the distribution strategy. In this vein, research can examine consumers' purchasing behaviors based on readily available products, information, and experiences. Ultimately, omni-channel retail is meant to serve consumers, which implies that shoppers want to experience either time well spent or time well saved.