Jacques Boulay

Defining a retailer's channel strategy applied to young consumers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop an approach at defining a retail channel strategy applied to young consumers. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use a qualitative study that adopts the consumer perspective and employed an investiga-tive channel-scan approach based on two scenarios applied to 12 retailers selling childrenswear. The authors studied 139 flows between all the channels and explored the retailers’ child orientation. Findings – The paper revealed that the channel configuration and integration of retailers showed a di-versity of approach leading us to distinguish eight different retail channel strategies. It also appears that there is limited evidence of a specific selling channels designed for children by retailers in selling products aimed at the child market. Research limitations/implications – This study contributes to the retail marking literature by showing evidence of child orienta-tion in channel management. Nevertheless, the results show the need for future resea...

When children express their preferences regarding sales channels Online or offline or online and offline

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the preferences of children under the age of 12 regarding sales channels: how young consumers perceive online vs offline shopping in terms of advantages and disadvantages. Within a cross channel perspective, it also analyses the connections they make between brick-and-mortar and online stores. Design/methodology/approach – Results are drawn from an exploratory and qualitative study based on a multi-category approach. In all, 62 children (34 girls and 28 boys) aged six to 12 years were interviewed about the advantages and disadvantages of each channel for shopping; how/where they would prefer to shop and why; and the links they make between a brand’s physical store and an online store. Findings – Traditional sales outlets are more popular with six to 12 year olds than online shopping. Physical stores offer variety and instant gratification. Products can be tried out and tested on-site, making the offline retail experience a fun activity. Conversely, chi...

Children’s experiences and parents’ perceptions of retailers’ mobile applications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe the nature of a branded mobile application experience for children, and analyse how these experiences affect the children’s and parents’ brand perceptions. Design/methodology/approach The authors use a qualitative approach focussing on the consumer perspective. Children were asked to use two selected applications from an I-Pad tablet (“La Grande Recre” – A1 and “MonkiMi” – A2). Children and parents were subsequently interviewed. Findings Children primarily valued the emotional experience of the application (app). The parents appreciated their children’s cognitive experience of the mobile app. Parents are much more responsive to mobile application communication, as they perceive to have more control over this new media and value the cognitive and emotional dimension of their children experience of the app. Research limitations/implications The study shows that branded apps can be an extremely effective way in delivering valuable brand content which positively impact brand perceptions. This initial and exploratory study calls for further extensive research in this area. Practical implications This research demonstrates the untapped potential of sponsored apps as a communication medium. Originality/value The paper indicates that mobile applications constitute a new communication channel for retailers and brand owners to interact at an emotional level with their existing or prospective customers.

L’apport des TSI au management de la supply chain : de l’absence d’un “one best way” aux enseignements pour la recherche en logistique

Les discours entendus ici ou là sur les salons (ou lus dans la presse) professionnels contribuent à alimenter la vision de technologies et de systèmes d’information (TSI) porteurs de tous les espoirs pour les managers de la supply chain : une chaîne logistique mieux intégrée, une collaboration (inter)organisationnelle renforcée, une plus grande performance. Mais la revue de la littérature de recherche sur le thème des apports des TSI à la supply chain proposée dans cet article offre une vision plus nuancée des bénéfices que le manager logistique peut réellement espérer tirer des outils déployés. Elle est l’occasion d’offrir à la recherche en logistique des voies d’investigation renouvelées.