Study On The Retailers’ Multi-channel Integration Strategy In The Perspective Of Synergies And Complementarity

Today,the multi-channel has become the standard mode of the retailing, online and offline channel integration is becoming more and more important for a multi-channel retailer’s retailing transformation. As a matter of fact, the retail managers are confused by how to make a choice between two seemingly contradictory integration strategy which is synergies integration and complementarity integration.To solve the realistic problem, this paper will divide synergies integration into two dimensions: informational consistency integration and process consistent integration, and extend complementarity integration to functional complementarity integration. From the dimensions of informational consistency integration, process consistent integration and functional complementarity integration, we study the impact mechanism produced by the multi-channel integration upon the customer perceived value, and then further discusses the moderating effect of brand familiarity, product involvement, consumer innovativeness, Internet shopping experience between multi-channel integration and customer perceived value.First, we establish the hypothetical model produced by the multi-channel integration upon the customer perceived value. Then we investigate the customers who have ever bought product through more than one channel. 531 valid questionnaires are collected. Then validate the model by using statistical analysis software of SPSS 17.0 and AMOS 7.0. The results showed that firstly informational consistency integration, process consistent integration and functional complementarity integration can enhance customer perceived value, and then brand familiarity, consumer innovativeness, internet shopping experience have the moderating effect between synergies integration and customer perceived value, product involvement has no moderating effect between synergies integration and customer perceived value while has the moderating effect between functional complementarity integration and customer perceived value which is in contrast to hypothesis H5 c. Finally, according to these conclusions, we declare when consumers are not familiar with the retailers or have low innovativeness and few Internet shopping experience, synergies integration strategy should be taken; on the contrary, complementarity integration strategy should be taken.