The roles and strategies of brand manufacturers in digitally transformed distribution channels

The development of new digitalised communication channels has a significant impact on the purchasing behavior of the consumer and the communication and sales strategies of retailers and brand manufacturers.The digitalisation and use of technology has led to a fragmentation of the distribution chain (Peters, Albers, & Schäfers, 2008). The suppliers no longer operate the purchasing process as a whole but only one or few of several touching point along the typical functions of retail (Clifford, Cashmore, &Lyall, 2018). Offline retailers are getting increasingly engaged in online channels, creating multichannel strategies to improve the customer experience (Leimstoll & Wölfle, 2017).In this environment, brand manufacturers see the possibility of establishing direct-to-consumer strategies that would enlarge their market coverage, increase the customer satisfaction and have direct contact with him (Käuferle & Reinartz, 2015), ensure an optimal presentation of their brand and gather important information about the shopping behavior of their customers (Wölfle & Leimstoll,2016)....