Retailers are increasingly implementing an online-to-store channel, i.e., buy online and pick up in stores (BOPS), to better target different segments of consumers. It is important for retailers to determine whether to implement such channel in addition to traditional brick-and-mortar (BM) channel or both BM and online channels [double channels (DC)] in a competitive market. To address such a challenging issue, we develop theoretical models to derive the optimal channel strategy for BM and DC retailers, respectively. To this end, we assume that two competing retailers sell two substitutable products to the same group of consumers, and consider two scenarios, i.e., no retailer and both retailers offering BOPS channel. We then extend our analysis to an asymmetric competition case where only one retailer offers such channel. We find that BM retailers and DC retailers need to be cautious when implementing this BOPS channel in a competitive market. Specifically, we present the conditions under which retailers can benefit from implementing BOPS channel. Interestingly, products with a relatively high return rate are not suitable for BOPS option for BM retailers, but may benefit DC retailers. This provides an important insight that retailers should carefully choose the right products to sell through BOPS channel.

中文翻译：

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零售商是否受益于在竞争激烈的市场中实施“在线到商店”渠道？

零售商越来越多地实施在线到商店渠道，即在线购买和到店提货 (BOPS)，以更好地针对不同的消费者群体。在竞争激烈的市场中，零售商必须确定是在传统的实体 (BM) 渠道之外实施此类渠道，还是同时实施 BM 和在线渠道 [双渠道 (DC)]。为了解决这样一个具有挑战性的问题，我们开发了理论模型来分别为 BM 和 DC 零售商推导出最佳渠道策略。为此，我们假设两个相互竞争的零售商向同一组消费者销售两种可替代产品，并考虑两种情况，即没有零售商和两个零售商都提供 BOPS 渠道。然后，我们将分析扩展到一个非对称竞争案例，其中只有一家零售商提供此类渠道。我们发现 BM 零售商和 DC 零售商在竞争激烈的市场中实施这种 BOPS 渠道时需要谨慎。具体来说，我们介绍了零售商可以从实施 BOPS 渠道中受益的条件。有趣的是，退货率相对较高的产品不适合 BM 零售商的 BOPS 选项，但可能使 DC 零售商受益。这提供了一个重要的见解，即零售商应谨慎选择正确的产品以通过 BOPS 渠道销售。