Situation-related tasks for mobile services in retailing

This research investigates the opportunities in multichannel retailing that may enable firms to integrate mobile services in accordance with their overall marketing objectives. Using a multiple case study method, the authors conduct an exploratory study, followed by survey research to verify the qualitative findings through confirmatory factor analysis. When they add mobile services, retailers can influence the situational prerequisites of consumption during the buying process, particularly in three identified fields of application. With occasion-based services, retailers create a situation that fosters immediate purchase in a specific time frame. Location-based services affect the spatial dimension of a consumer's decision process and thus the choice of retailer. Using target group-based services, the retailer can extend control over customers and attain additional opportunities for information and consumption that match typical routines of predefined customer segments. To analyze the roles of these mobile services in retail marketing planning, this study compares the three fields in terms of their market potentials, key tasks, and required competences.