Preparing students for careers in multichannel retailing using an authentic experiential learning project

摘要

Multichannel retailing education has penetrated into fashion marketing programmes with the emergence of ecommerce. Although class textbooks and lectures help set the curriculum in motion, there is a lack of educational literature on the experiential learning practices in multichannel retailing classes. This paper introduces an experiential learning group project that complements multichannel textbooks and lectures to better prepare students for careers in the multichannel retailing world. The project specifically assigned students the task of building an online presence for actual brick and mortar stores near the university. The four learning modes of experiential learning were used as the framework to record the transformations which occurred from the students' experiences with the project. The learning outcomes demonstrated the students' development of knowledge and skills relevant to careers in today's multichannel retailing environment. Future research opportunities and limitations are also discussed.