Module- 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.

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 4-5 pages 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.