Retail digitalization: Implications for physical stores

摘要

Digitalization is dramatically transforming society, and distinctly so within the field of retailing. Following the emergence of the Internet and new technology, new patterns and logics have emerged, and scholars have paid increasing attention to what is described as a digital transformation of retailing. However, until recently the focus has primarily been on e-commerce (Hagberg et al., 2016). E-commerce is certainly growing and increasingly encompassing both large and small retailers, and the growth of e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba and Amazon is strongly influencing the competitive environment. Still, while e-commerce is a central aspect of digitalization, the implications of digitalization extend far beyond e-commerce (e.g. Pauwels et al., 2011). To take an example, mobile applications are used by consumers not only for e-commerce but also in fixed store settings in order to compare prices, evaluate products, and compare health, environmental, and ethical considerations, in addition to facilitating payment or creating shopping lists, among other things (e.g. Strom et al, 2014; Grofi, 2015; Pantano and Priporas, 2016). Emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things, augmented reality and artificial intelligence are also starting to be applied in the field of retailing (Grewal et al., 2017). Big data also offers a lot of possibilities, and Grewal et al. (2017: 1) note that those retailers who are able to draw conclusions from big data are better prepared and can better predict consumer behaviour, thereby targeting consumers more effectively.