Module 3 – Case
DISTRIBUTION & MARKETING PLAN
Assignment Overview
Online shopping has increased
dramatically over the past few years, and online retailing becomes the top
priority of all major grocery retailers. On one hand, retailers see the needs
to offer easy and convenient shopping venues to attract and keep customers. On
the other hand, the consumers take advantage of the extended product
assortments and services offered by both online and traditional retailers. More
and more traditional brick-and-mortar retailers such as Best Buy, Walmart,
Costco, and Macy’s are becoming brick and click stores. Multichannel retailing
is popular way to sell products and services nowadays. The marketing managers
need to find ways to effectively and efficiently manage various distribution
channels and deliver products and service through both online and offline
channels. In this case, we focus on Macy’s brick-and-click channel-management
issues.
Case Reading
Review the followings articles
related to brick and click shopping and multichannel retailing (Use the
university online library search engine and additional library resources on TLC
Portal to find the articles):
Avery, J., Steenburgh, T.J., Deighton, J., &
Caravella, M. (2013). Adding bricks to clicks: On the role of physical stores
in a world of online shopping. GfK Marketing Intelligence Review, 5(2), 29.
Birchall, J. (2009, May 14).
Macy’s online sales rise 16% despite store woes. The Financial Times, pp. 16.
Clicks and bricks; retailers and
the internet. (2012). The Economist, 402 (8773), 18.
Griffiths, G H & Howard, A
(2008). Balancing clicks and bricks – strategies for multichannel retailers.
Journal of Global Business Issues, 2(1), 69.
Katia Campo, & Els
Breugelmans. (2015). Buying groceries in brick and click stores: Category
allocation decisions and the moderating effect of online buying experience.
Journal of Interactive Marketing, 31, 63.
Macy – online order fulfillment
center expansion – Arizona. (2014). World Market Intelligence News
Macy’s fights online shopping with
a tablet in fitting rooms. (2015). Engadget [Engadget – BLOG]
Mixing bricks with clicks; retail.
(2013). The Economist,406(8828), 70.
Newman, D. (2016). The Top 10
Trends Driving Marketing In 2017. Forbes. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2016/10/18/the-top-10-trends-driving-marketing-in-2017/#34f633e17581
Case Assignment
Develop a report in terms of the
following guidelines based on the articles listed above and other supplemental
articles. At least two additional articles should be included in the analysis.
A well-written report should have a brief introduction, headings or
subheadings, and a brief concluding comment. Note that you should use some
keywords as headings or subheadings such as “Facts Recap,” instead of
a sentence or a question.
Briefly review the facts on the
brick and click retailing and multichannel shopping, as reported in the
articles.
Describe how Macy’s performed in
online channel? How Macy’s could do a better job to manage the online and
offline channels? Consider appropriate distribution concepts to support your
arguments.
Considering the changing consumer
shopping behaviors and new technology trends, how would you recommend Macy’s
compete with Amazon and other retailers in the future?
Assignment Expectations Regarding
Your References and Defense of Your Positions
Write clearly, simply and
logically. Your paper should be 750-1,000 words long, excluding title pages and
references, but quality of writing is more important than length. Use
double-spaced, black Verdana or Times Roman font in 12 pt. type size.
Back up your positions or opinions
with references to the required reading found in the Module 1-4 Backgrounds and
Ongoing Useful Resources. In using those references, demonstrate your
understanding of the concepts presented. Rather than grading on how much
information you find, emphasis will be on the defense of the positions you take
on the issues. Also remember that the “why” is more important than
the “what” and the defense of your positions on the issues is more important
than the positions you take.
Do not repeat or quote
definitions. Your use of the required reading to support your opinions (that
is, contentions or positions) should demonstrate that you understand the
concepts presented. Do not include summaries of the readings or simply describe
what the company did. Instead, your responses to the questions should be
analytical and should demonstrate that (a) you understand the principles from
the background reading and (b) you can apply them to this particular case.
Vague, general answers will not earn a good grade.
Avoid redundancy and general
statements such as “All organizations exist to make a profit.” Make
every sentence count. Paraphrase the facts using your own words and ideas,
employing quotes sparingly. Quotes, if absolutely necessary, should rarely
exceed five words. When writing an academically oriented paper, you will
uncover many facts about the product. If you paraphrase the facts, cite the
sources in your text and link those citations to references at the end of the
paper.
Here are some guidelines on how to
conduct information search and build critical thinking skills.
ScholarMatic: Explanation & Answer
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