Transition to omni-channel approach: the case of Italian retailers

Addressing consumers’ needs and expectations is one of the main retailers’ concerns. More and more of these expectations have been driven by consumers’ constant use of their mobile devices for almost any aspect of their lives. Therefore, we build on the argument that digitalization is affecting how retailers are operating and how they re-organize their channels so as to meet those expectations. Many argue that the common approach retailers embrace is adopting omni-channel strategy. In their endeavor to fully integrate the channels into an omnichannel model, retailers need to pass several milestones, such as successful customer engagement, effective logistics management, and integrated analytics systems. This paper is concerned with current state of channel integration and further development of channel integration towards omni-channel approach. We collected data by surveying and interviewing thirteen Italian retailers operating in three sectors: fashion, bookstores and media, and consumer electronics. Moreover, we also analyzed results of panel discussion at which nine retailers participated. The results of this explorative study show current state of retail industry in Italy and their activities towards channel integration. We highlight state of the art research and use a thematic bottom-up approach to draw propositions for future research areas.