Digitalization of retailing: A review and framework

• ‘Digitalization’ is one of the most significant ongoing transformations of contemporary society and encompasses many aspects of business and everyday life. These transformations are especially important for the retail sector as it both affects and is affected by the development. So far, scholarly conversation about retailing’s digitalization has been voluminous but relatively limited to specific aspects of digitalization, e.g., e-commerce. The purpose of this paper is to systematically analyse how retailing has transformed and is being transformed due to digitalization. This is done by reviewing and discussing the literature and developing a framework comprising four elements: exchanges, actors, offerings, and settings. It is argued that digitalization transforms: i) the retailing exchanges in a number of ways and in various facets of exchange: communications, transactions, and distribution; ii) the nature of retail offerings, and leads to blurred distinctions between products and services and what constitutes the actual offering; iii) the retail settings, i.e., where and when retailing takes place; and iv) the actors participating in retailing, i.e. retailers, consumers, and other parties. The article proposes that these elements are mutually reinforcing, which leads to a certain dynamic and far-reaching transformations due to digitalization. It is concluded that digitalization, far from being restricted to e-commerce, is more or less transforming all areas of retailing, which will possibly also have implications for the very definition of retailing.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Företagsekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Business Administration (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

digitalization

retailing

retail

framework

literature review

transformation

retailer-consumer interface

Handel och IT

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)