In today’s rapidly evolving retail landscape, omnichannel strategies have emerged as the cornerstone for businesses striving to provide seamless and consistent shopping experiences across diverse consumer touchpoints. This dynamic approach integrates digital and physical retail platforms, acknowledging that modern consumers engage in shopping journeys that fluidly traverse online storefronts, brick-and-mortar outlets, and a myriad of other channels. Recent empirical investigations underscore the complexity of effectively implementing omnichannel strategies, particularly when examining the delicate interplay between manufacturer-driven online direct sales and traditional physical retail environments. A recent study by Wang (2025) delves deep into this phenomenon, employing advanced game-theoretic models to unravel the strategic nuances underpinning channel integration under scenarios of retail price leadership.
This research highlights the distinctive nature of consumer behavior in cross-channel shopping contexts, emphasizing how perceived service values shape consumer utility and demand patterns. Unlike simplistic assumptions that treat online and offline channels as independent or competing entities, the study demonstrates that their interplay is more symbiotic, contingent upon specific proportions of offline activities such as in-store browsing and product trials, and the associated offline service values like personalized customer assistance and hassle-free returns. It reveals that cross-channel demand arises predominantly when offline interactive experiences surpass their equivalent service value metrics, indicating an intrinsic dependency on tangible service engagements that digital environments find challenging to replicate fully.
The integration of online and offline sales channels, however, is far from a guaranteed path to increased profitability. The findings illustrate scenarios where integration might produce adverse outcomes, such as win-lose or even lose-lose situations, especially when the balance between offline and online consumer activities is skewed. These observations echo earlier empirical conclusions by Zhang et al. (2019a, 2019b), who documented that while channel integration might depress profits initially, it holds promise for turning operating margins positive over extended horizons through the gradual accumulation of consumer loyalty and operational efficiencies. This temporal perspective is critical for retailers and manufacturers calibrating their omnichannel strategies with realistic timeframes in mind.
An innovative dimension of the study involves the strategic use of subsidies by manufacturers aimed at enhancing channel profitability. When offline activities dominate the consumer experience or online engagement is minimal, subsidies to physical retailers invigorate their financial health and encourage cooperative efforts toward unified brand promotion. Such fiscal mechanisms not only stimulate short-term channel performance but also align incentives more closely across the supply chain, fostering collaborative ecosystems rather than adversarial relationships among stakeholders. This insight is profound in emphasizing the role that economic incentives play in facilitating harmonious channel coexistence.
Beyond subsidy mechanisms, the research showcases the importance of profit redistribution strategies to optimize channel integration outcomes. By tactically apportioning the earnings yielded from cross-channel consumer demands between online and offline channels, businesses can engineer conditions that enhance collaboration and mutual benefit. This flexible approach caters to the varying dominance of consumer activities in different channels, accommodating the heterogeneous fabric of shopping behaviors that characterize contemporary commerce. Consequently, profit-sharing arrangements become pivotal levers for sustaining channel integrations that might otherwise falter under competitive pressures or misaligned incentives.
Sensitivity analyses within the study reveal nuanced interdependencies among variables such as wholesale prices, service levels, and channel preference intensity. Notably, without integration, wholesale prices and service levels exhibit monotonic relationships with the cost coefficients of online and offline services. Profits, however, display a non-linear trajectory, declining initially before rebounding with increasing offline service costs. The integration scenario complicates these patterns, engendering complex dynamics influenced heavily by the proportions of offline channel activity and their associated service value weights. These intricate behavioral responses underscore the vital need for precise modeling and adaptive strategic frameworks in executing omnichannel initiatives effectively.
One of the profound practical implications of this research lies in its elucidation of the evolving role consumer experience plays in strategic decision-making within omnichannel environments. Modern consumers demand not simply product availability but an experiential dimension defined by convenience, consistency, personalization, and satisfaction. Businesses that prioritize these facets are more likely to devise integration strategies aligning comprehensively with consumer expectations, thereby building stronger brand equity and customer loyalty. This emphasis on experiential quality elevates omnichannel retail beyond mere distribution logistics into the realm of holistic consumer engagement.
The proposed contractual channel integration strategy offers a promising avenue for companies aiming to scale market presence rapidly while reducing upfront investments and operational latency. By leveraging strategic partnerships akin to cooperative game-theoretic frameworks, firms can extend their reach by distributing marketing efforts and logistical responsibilities across a network of online and offline retailers. The case of Nike is emblematic of this approach, with its multichannel collaborations enabling expansive market penetration and a seamless consumer journey that binds together digital and physical platforms. Such strategic orchestration minimizes the fixed costs associated with establishing new physical stores and maximizes consumer touchpoints, catalyzing an enriched omnichannel experience.
Nonetheless, product-related factors may modulate the efficacy of service-centered integration strategies, particularly in industries where brand prestige, exclusivity, and product differentiation dominate consumer decision matrices. In luxury goods markets, for instance, the primacy of product availability and exclusivity often eclipses the value consumers place on service access and diversity. The case of brands like Louis Vuitton exemplifies this paradigm, where a selective retail partner network and meticulously curated customer experiences reinforce exclusivity and brand identity. Here, the utility derived from product attributes surpasses that of service interaction, necessitating integration strategies attuned more to brand positioning and customer loyalty than to service breadth.
The strategic insights from this omnichannel study transcend retail and resonate within multiple service-oriented industries where the convergence of digital and physical channels promises enhanced service delivery. In hospitality, for example, integrated platforms linking hotel operations with airline services streamline booking, check-ins, and customer engagement, amplifying convenience and operational coordination. Likewise, the healthcare sector is increasingly embracing omnichannel paradigms by blending telemedicine capabilities with traditional in-person consultations. Such integrations not only ensure continuity of care but boost efficiency by optimizing resource allocation and enabling healthcare providers to cater to diverse patient needs flexibly.
Central to the study’s contribution is the introduction of a profit distribution mechanism designed to harmonize incentives among stakeholders in an integrated channel ecosystem. This mechanism supports enduring collaboration by aligning manufacturers’ and retailers’ objectives through profit-sharing, thereby mitigating potential channel conflicts and promoting unified brand messaging and service consistency. Unilever’s omnichannel strategy exemplifies this model, employing subsidies and promotions to empower retail partners in both digital and physical arenas. This cooperative approach improves sales performance and fosters long-term partnerships, ultimately creating a unified and satisfying consumer experience across platforms.
Profit-sharing schemes echo beyond consumer goods industries, proving equally potent in technology and financial services sectors. Cloud service providers collaborating with third-party resellers can incentivize customer acquisition via commissions or rebates, expanding market reach efficiently. Similarly, banks joining fintech platforms through profit-sharing arrangements harness new customer channels while ensuring mutual benefits. Such cross-industry applicability highlights the versatility and critical strategic value of coordinated channel integration mechanisms emphasizing aligned incentives.
Despite its broad scope, the study acknowledges certain limitations that merit attention in future research endeavors. Primarily, the analysis centers on the perspectives of manufacturers and retailers, underscoring a need for deeper explorations of consumer experiences in real-world shopping contexts. Variables such as time investment, transportation costs, and service quality have pivotal roles in shaping purchase decisions and warrant more granular investigation. Further, while retail price leadership is presumed, variations in pricing structures could fundamentally alter channel dynamics, suggesting that comprehensive studies of alternative pricing models would deepen understanding.
Extending this research to dissect competition patterns across diverse online channels and platform-to-platform rivalries could reveal additional strategic complexities inherent in omnichannel operations. Given the increasingly multifaceted retail ecosystem, comprehending how competitive tensions influence channel strategies is vital for crafting resilient business models. As online marketplaces and physical retailers navigate coexistence and rivalry, insights into their interactive dynamics will empower more robust and adaptive omnichannel frameworks that remain responsive to evolving market forces.
In essence, Wang’s study serves as a clarion call for integrating consumer experiences front and center in omnichannel research and practice. Only by unfolding the nuanced layers of consumer behavior, service valuations, and strategic incentives can businesses transcend surface-level integration and craft cohesive, operationally efficient, and consumer-centric omnichannel models. Such approaches promise not only to amplify profitability but to redefine how brands engage with consumers in a digitally interconnected and physically grounded commerce ecosystem, elevating retail and service paradigms for an increasingly complex future.
Subject of Research: Consumer cross-channel experiencing behavior and its impact on omnichannel integration strategies under retail price leadership, analyzed through game-theoretic methods.
Article Title: The impact of consumers’ cross-channel experiencing behavior on omnichannel integration based on game-theoretic analysis.
Article References:
Wang, J. The impact of consumers’ cross-channel experiencing behavior on omnichannel integration based on game-theoretic analysis.
Humanit Soc Sci Commun 12, 904 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05270-4
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