Abstract  Background: E-commerce and omni-channel retailing strategies have emerged with digitalization. Digital channels have affected many parts of the daily life for consumers and as a result the consumer’s decision-making processes have become more complex. Born natives are a generation of consumers that have grown up having access to digital technology and their behaviors form a unique phenomenon as consumers within the omni-channel environment. At the same time, continuous growth in the Swedish furniture industry has allowed for new retailing strategies to emerge. The sample of born natives born during the 1990’s provides a unique insight in how these consumers behave and interact in the Swedish omni-channel furniture retailing environment.  Research question: How does the omni-channel retailing environment affect decision-making Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore how digital native consumers who now comprise a larger consumer segment on the furniture market perceive the omni-channel environment in addition to how the digital omni-channel environment affects their decision- making process when it comes to furniture purchases in terms of perceived risks, purposes, and consumer benefits.  Methodology: This study is of qualitative nature which approaches the research problem and purpose with a relativistic philosophical stance. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to provide relevant data by individual consumers, and which have been analyzed with a hermeneutical approach. An inductive approach was adopted to explore the phenomenon.  Conclusion: Consumers perform multiple different actions and adopt different behaviors when operating in the furniture omni-channel retailing environment. Risk aversion, identity building, entertainment and channel selection are all aspects of furniture shopping that are impacted by digital natives operating in the omni-channel retailing environment.

Customers uses both offline and online channels before the final purchase, retailers that are operating and selling their products both online and offline can benefit from aligning the experiences on their channels by using an omni-channel strategy. The smartphone is becoming a natural part of our day-to-day life and keeping us connected, also when visiting abrick and mortar retailers. Mobile technology therefore possesses the opportunity to integrate in-store experience with the online world for creating value for customers. But many retailers are struggling in their integration efforts towards an omni-channel strategy due toall the possible technologies to invest. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis was to investigate the acceptance of mobile technologies in a brick and mortar retail setting, the chosen technologies are beacons and augmented reality.This research investigated the mediating effect of the four technology readiness dimensions:optimism, innovativeness, discomfort and insecurity, on the constructs of the technology acceptance model: perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. The research was carried out with a positivist research philosophy, inductive approach and lastly with an explanatory research design including a quantitative method. The data was collected through a survey, which got answered by 224 participants. The data was further statistically analyzed. The result showed that several of the dimensions of technology readiness had a significant effect on the constructs of technology acceptance model, especially the dimension: optimism. Thus, retailers that wants to introduce mobile technology into their stores should put emphasis on customizing their offerings towards the customers’ different level of technology readiness, especially optimism.

The development of digital solutions has changed the way consumers complete purchases today. New distribution channels through internet and mobile applications have come to challenge the business of traditional retailers. Thus, retailers must find new ways of keeping customers loyal to the store. One way of retaining customers is to provide a more prominent customer experience. This study focuses on technological solutions for the food retail industry that enables the creation of this experience, more specifically self-scanning applications provided by the Swedish company Datema.The Swedish market, in which Datema acts, is among the most technologically advanced in the world regarding self-scanning solutions and has begun to reach a maturity phase. This, along with desires to expand the marketplace, has created an attraction to larger foreign markets such as North America. Similarities in business culture and a strong buying power have led to a certain interest in the Northeastern part of America. Thus, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate the need for self-scanning solutions in this specific area and to provide recommendations for how the market could be targeted.To create an overview of the market structure the consumer market has been studied through an in-depth literature review of the latest market investigations. Furthermore, the technological level of Northeastern supermarket chains was investigated through market observations and interviews with store managers in Boston, Massachusetts. To create the holistic view of the market, interviews with experts in the US retail market and with US IT-vendors were conducted. Additionally, interviews with management consultants and experts in market entries have contributed to answering the question of how the market should be entered. Finally, in order to provide conclusions and recommendations, the results have been analyzed with relevant literature and theories within marketing, change management and entry mode management.The findings in this master thesis indicates that there is a need for technological solutions that enhance the customer experience in the Northeastern American food retail market. Furthermore, the technological level of the existing supermarket chains in Boston is considered low and that the level and acceptance varies with the store concept. The previous resistance towards implementation of new technological solutions in the stores was found to mainly depend on a low knowledge, low trust in the consumers and fear of losing customer interaction.Datema is recommended to address the middle and high-end supermarket chains with a follower approach. Further recommendations include that the market should be entered through a joint venture with a local partner.

This cumulative dissertation consists of four papers that investigate retailer switching and identify potential and threat of cross-channel retail services (CCRS) for retail businesses. The first, conceptual paper compares different theories and models of retail quality. It derives the concept of retailer aspects as a framework to measure retailer quality and further discusses how CCRS can serve as a tool to enhance those retailer aspects. The second paper discusses results from a consumer panel survey and quantifies the influence of satisfaction with retailer aspects on retailer switching during webrooming behavior. The findings of this second paper present the two retailer aspects assurance of delivery and competitive product pricing as key determinants for retailer switching. The third paper defines CCRS and outlines a conceptual classification scheme for CCRS assessments – the CCRS Pentagon. The fourth paper quantifies the impact of CCRS adoption and retailer aspect preferences on CCRS-induced retailer switching based on a second consumer panel survey. Results from this second study affirm the existence of CCRS-induced retailer switching. The paper concludes that CCRS can serve as a retailer’s lock-in mechanism, but that the availability of CCRS in retail environments also threatens retail businesses. In sum, the dissertation provides academic contributions and suggestions for further academic research as well as practical implications and management tools for application in retail businesses.:I. Introduction II. Enhancing Multi-Channel Retail Quality through Cross-Channel Services III. What Drives Competitive Webrooming? The Roles of Channel and Retailer Aspects IV. Cross-Channel Retail Services: A Service Classification Along The Retail Function V. Service-induced Retailer Switching – Power of Cross-Channel Retail Services VI. Conclusion Appendix A: Estimated parameters in baseline-category logit model Appendix B: Conditional marginal effects and conditional probability Appendix C: T-Tests for retailer aspects per service example

L’omni-canal constitue un idéal que la plupart des distributeurs cherche à atteindre en vue de s’adapter aux nouvelles exigences du marché (i.e. évolution du comportement des consommateurs et des standards concurrentiels). Dans la lignée des recherches en marketing de la distribution, nous cherchons à comprendre comment s’opère la mutation des distributeurs multi-/cross-canal vers l’omni-canal, du point de vue organisationnel. Au-delà de l’aspect technologique (e.g. modernisation des systèmes d’information ou logistiques), nous nous interrogeons sur la dimension culturelle de la transformation de ces acteurs « historiques » (e.g. révision des modes de fonctionnement et de pensée au sein des organisations et auprès de leurs membres). Nous nous intéressons d’abord à l’émergence de l’omni-canal et soulignons le changement culturel qu’il requiert ; la culture organisationnelle permet ensuite d’appréhender ce que recouvre ce changement culturel ; enfin, dans le cadre d’une stratégie de marketing interne, le storytelling contribue à faciliter la mutation auprès des collaborateurs, premiers destinataires du changement. Nous mettons en oeuvre une étude de cas multiples pour explorer la manière dont la mise en récit du changement par les distributeurs permet de favoriser l’émergence et le déploiement d’une « culture omni-canal ». Nos résultats témoignent d’une convergence dans la manière dont le changement s’opère mais aussi dont les distributeurs le racontent au travers d’un « storytailing » commun, dessinant les prémices d’une « révolution culturelle » de la distribution. Celle-ci se traduit par une vision élargie de la notion d’omni-canal à celle « d’omni-commerce » et une volonté des distributeurs de définir leur agency. / Most retailers strive to reach the omni-channel ideal in order to meet new market requirements (i.e. evolution of consumer behavior and competition standards). In this study, we seek to understand how multi-/cross-channel retailers transform into omni-channel, from an organizational point of view. Beyond the technological aspect (e.g. modernization of information systems and logistics), we investigate the cultural dimension of the change in “historical” actors (e.g. overhaul of processes and ways of thinking inside organizations and among their members). First, we explore the emergence of omni-channel and outline the cultural change that it requires; then, we investigate organizational culture as a means to achieving such cultural change; finally, when formulating marketing strategy, we propose storytelling as an internal marketing approach with collaborators, who are often the first recipients of change. We conduct multiple case studies to explore the narrative of change whilst favoring the emergence and deployment of an “omni-channel culture”. Our findings show confluent results about the way retailers change and tell this story. Their narrative reveal a shared “storytailing”, shaping the premises of a “cultural revolution” in retailing. It is reflected in the proposition of a widened conception of omni-channel through “omni-commerce” and a wish for retailers to define their agency