New research urges accounting professionals to rethink retail in the face of thriving e-commerce
Driven by technology, online shopping is booming in China
As retailers and consumers grow farther apart, consumer experience – not product quality – is king
Marketing efforts now focus on integrating online and offline stores and boosting convenience
but the impact of these changes on retailers has remained unclear
Now, researchers have examined these practices using the “Double 11” online shopping festival in China as a case study
Incentives like deposit expansion and store-wide coupons led to increased sales
but tracking revenue from online sales was difficult
Additionally, logistics and business models were disrupted by accounting challenges
New strategies are clearly needed, such as reconsidering the role of offline stores
These findings could be critical to existing and future online retailers
Xiong et al. “New Development of Online Retail in China and Associated (Accounting) Challenges”. IEEE Access