Click and Mortar Strategies Viewed from the Web

SPECIAL SECTION: ‘E-BUSINESS IMPACTS REVISITED’

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DOI: 10.1080/10196780500208632

E-commerce researchers have shown that retailers are increasingly following a click and mortar strategy, whereby online and offline channels are becoming more integrated. Despite case study evidence for the benefit of this approach, an analysis of the websites of nearly 1,000 US-based retailers having both an online and offline presence reveals that a high degree of integration across channels is relatively uncommon. On the contrary, the study reported here demonstrates that retailers are more likely to pursue easy-to-accomplish, low intensity, informational integration when developing an online presence, exemplified by such features as a listing of store locations or hours. Few retail websites offer complex integration capabilities, such as the ability to search local store inventories, or to pick up and return online purchases in a local outlet. Regression analyses reveal that the retail sector and firm resources help to explain this discrepancy. With regard to sector, some product types require more physical presence (e.g. in-person inspection or interaction) than others, and a high degree of integration appears to require a level of investment and IT sophistication not always available to small retailers. Keywords: click and mortar, click and brick, online retailing, e-commerce synergies, online offline integration

Click and Mortar Strategies Viewed from the Web: A Content Analysis of Features Illustrating Integration Between Retailers’ Online and Offline Presence

CHARLES STEINFIELD, THOMAS ADELAAR AND FANG LIU

INTRODUCTION

As the Internet-using population has grown, so has the potential market size for businesses that develop ecommerce enabled websites. Neilsen Net Ratings, for example, estimates the August 2004 US population of Internet users to be in excess of 134 million people (Anonymous 2004a). Activities related to online...