Multichannel retailing and the internet: prospects, problems and strategic options

While the internet holds several benefits for current catalogue and store retailers to pursue multichannel strategies, many firms have not achieved high levels of success in the integration of the internet channel in multichannel retailing. We take stock of the benefits of the internet in multichannel retailing, identify some problems and strategic options that affect the success of multichannel retail strategies using the internet, and offer a decision making framework that identifies critical issues in pursuing a multichannel retail strategy.