THE EMPIRICAL EFFICACY OF OMNICHANNEL INTEGRATION IN RETAILING: A SYSTEMATIC META-ANALYSIS

Abstract

This paper studies the impact of omnichannel integration on overall retail performance using an integrative analysis of previous literature based on a systematic meta-analysis approach. In particular, we investigate whether omnichannel integration strategies lead to increased revenues for retail firms, which would seem to be the ultimate aim of most marketing and sales strategies.

Despite the widespread adoption of omnichannel retailing among companies and recent advancements in technological infrastructure, published findings reveal mixed results regarding the extent to which these systems actually increase retailers’ revenues. This lack of consensus can partly be attributed to diverse underlying factors, including different channels involved, differing degrees of integration across sectors and company size, as well as potential differences in definitions provided by researchers.