Revisiting Austrian Retail Logistics – An Evaluation of Promising Technologies and Future Retail Logistics Practices

Purpose – The purpose of the present research refers to the identification and application practice of retail logistics technologies and concepts. It aims at the selection of appropriate novel technologies and concepts considered relevant for application for store retailing in Austrian retail businesses. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology is based on secondary (i.e. literature review) and primary (i.e. qualitative research with semi-structured interviews and an expert workshop) research. To validate literature and the results of the interviews, the expert workshop with interdisciplinary retail technology and retailing experts proofed to be an important methodological step to achieve an unbiased and objective view on insights. Findings – The underlying applied research approach captures the status-quo in retail logistics practice concerning novel technologies and concepts. The web to store / store to web approach is regarded as highly relevant for the future of the Austrian retail from both, retailers and experts. Through its scalability the concept also holds great potential for smaller retail companies. Practical implications – Implications reveal those retail logistics technologies and concepts – corresponding to the research context – that potentially support order processing and the fulfilment of the logistics process steps from a business perspective. This concerns in-store customer experience on the one hand and required order processing as well as logistics fulfilment operations on the other hand. Originality/value – This is the first study that analyses relevance, applicability and fit of retail logistics technologies and concepts in Austrian retail environments.