Exploring How Logistics Activities Can be Used to Motivate Consumer Cross-Buying Behaviors Across Omnichannel Fulfillment Channels
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Date
2021-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
As e-commerce continues to become an increasingly integrated part of consumer's lives, companies will be challenged to adapt their traditional retail approaches to changes in shopping behaviors. For many companies, the move to a more online-centric buying environment will involve an expansion of omnichannel distribution alternatives, wherein consumers can select logistics delivery methods that best fit their preferences at any given time. These logistics delivery methods will be offered through a digital interface but could involve delivery directly to the consumer's home or to a conveniently located brick-and-mortar location. All the while, there continues to be targeted efforts to encourage consumers to buy more than their initial intentions, commonly referred to as cross-buying. Consumer cross-buying activities have been an important source of incremental revenue for companies when consumers make purchases in their brick-and-mortar stores. However, little is known regarding how expanding logistics fulfillment options will affect consumer behaviors when purchases increasingly involve online components.
There are many factors that influence both what fulfillment channel consumers will utilize and whether or not they influence the propensity to buy more. This research focuses on the omnichannel distribution methods of At-Home Delivery, Buy Online Pickup In-Store (BOPS), and Curbside Pickup, as well as the potential logistics characteristics of the cost of fulfillment, time considerations, and physical location of product delivery. In addition, this research seeks to quantify consumer's opinions regarding efforts to promote cross-buying and their current methods and tendencies in shopping. A vignette-based experiment was utilized to address these research questions, while also analyzing how buying behaviors and delivery channels are impacted by demographics, such as gender and self-identified buying profiles, and any prior knowledge and/or usage of the different fulfillment opportunities. Conclusions and suggested implications built from the results of the experiment were constructed to help provide insights for logistics managers moving forward into an increasingly omnichannel world.