Analysis of Online and Offline Platforms in China

Abstract

This paper studies how retailers, especially clothing retailers, could balance and achieve a win-win situation in online and offline stores. The rapidly developed e-commerce mode in China generates internal competition within businesses. The differences, such as prices, delivery time, and service, create consumers’ preference on either one platform they want to use. The frequent sales events happening online have impacted offline stores’ sales negatively and hugely. Therefore, businesses should adopt new marketing strategies to attain victory for both sides. This paper would analyze Uniqlo's Chinese market tactics as they successfully connected the two platforms and rose their revenues even during the pandemic. Uniqlo distributed coupons online while they could only be used offline, and it built memberships online, used the model to analyze, and opened offline stores in areas with high consumer density. It also practiced the O2O e-commerce mode as the consumers can order online and pick their purchases up at a nearby store. Some suggestions are also discussed, such as offering different clothing for online and offline stores, setting the same prices for the same clothing on both platforms, and improving service quality and store designs to let consumers have better shopping experiences.