Retail marketing: From distribution to integration

Retailing represents the culmination of the marketing process, the contact point between consumers and manufacturer products, marketing communications and customer service. This paper reviews the research on retail marketing that has appeared in the academic literature in the last several years. The review will address the revolutionary changes occurring in retailing today brought on by the availability of purchase transaction databases and new forms of marketing communications. The author suggests a reorientation of the role of retailers away from the prevailing focus on distribution toward an emphasis on integrated communications and the management of customer relationships. Research on many aspects of both store and nonstore retailing are discussed in terms of this orientation. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.