From Omnichannel Retailing to "Diachronic Retailing": Blending Digital Technologies with Traditional Marketing Strategies and Practices
(A2019-8750)

AUTHORS

Adam Vrechopoulos, Athens University of Economics and Business, School of Business, Department of Management Science and Technology; Chris Lazaris, Athens University of Economics and Business, School of Business, Department of Management Science and Technology; Georgios Doukidis, Athens University of Economics and Business, School of Business, Department of Management Science and Technology

KEYWORDS

Omnichannel Retailing; "Diachronic Retailing"; Digital Technologies

ABSTRACT

While business and consumer practices radically evolved during the last decades (e.g. webrooming and showrooming phenomena in the context of omnichannel retailing today) and Digital Technologies continuously substitute and automate traditional Marketing processes and practices, there are still several critical tasks that should be implemented in the "old fashioned" way supported, obviously, by technology. Elaborating on the Kumar (2018) research call for new concepts in the evolving context of Transformative Marketing, this viewpoint paper introduces the term "Diachronic Retailing" as an evolution of Omnichannel Retailing focusing on the intelligent blending of traditional and innovative Marketing practices and corresponding human skills, knowledge and expertise (e.g. Personal Selling, Public Relations, Customer Service) with both "traditional" and innovative digital applications (e.g. E-Commerce, Social Media, Big Data, Business Analytics and Business Intelligence, Internet-of-Things, Augmented & Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence). The paper provides practical implications and directions for future research at the end.