The Impact of Distribution Channel Reforms Accelerated by COVID-19 on Marketing Strategy

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had major impacts on Japanese marketing. How to adapt marketing strategies in a rapidly changing environment is an extremely important issue for both marketing research and marketing practice. Moreover, the impact of this epidemic on marketing will not be limited to that. If some of the pandemic-induced changes in the lifestyle and buying behavior are irreversible, there is the possibility that marketing should be changed drastically in the long run. This paper focuses on online customer service, D2C, and omnichannel, which have spread in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and attempts to clarify what strategic challenges these movements will bring to the future through distribution channel policy.

Keywords

• marketing strategy
• distribution channel
• covid-19
• online customer service
• d2c
• omni channel
• electronic commerce