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Brand Building on the Doorstep: The Importance of the First (Physical) Impression

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  • Moreau, C. Page

Abstract

Many brands spend considerable resources to optimize the consumer’s online path to purchase only to have their products arrive unceremoniously on the consumer’s doorstep a few days later in a battered cardboard box. In this article, I argue that many firms are foregoing an opportunity to both strengthen their brand and decrease return rates when they ignore the potential of a product’s delivery package to create a brand-building experience. Why are investments in doorstep branding effective and which firms stand to benefit the most from them? The goal of this article is to raise these questions, offer a framework to address them, and provide preliminary evidence in a proof-of-concept study demonstrating that branding experiences can travel directly to the consumer’s front door.

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  • Moreau, C. Page, 2020. "Brand Building on the Doorstep: The Importance of the First (Physical) Impression," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 155-167.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jouret:v:96:y:2020:i:1:p:155-167
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretai.2019.12.003
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    6. Grewal, Dhruv & Gauri, Dinesh K. & Roggeveen, Anne L. & Sethuraman, Raj, 2021. "Strategizing Retailing in the New Technology Era," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 97(1), pages 6-12.
    7. Duong, Quang Huy & Zhou, Li & Meng, Meng & Nguyen, Truong Van & Ieromonachou, Petros & Nguyen, Duy Tiep, 2022. "Understanding product returns: A systematic literature review using machine learning and bibliometric analysis," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    8. Grewal, Dhruv & Roggeveen, Anne L., 2020. "Understanding Retail Experiences and Customer Journey Management," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 3-8.
    9. Britta Frommeyer & Julia Koch & Carla Scagnetti & Manuel Lorenz & Gerhard Schewe, 2024. "Recycled or reusable: A multi‐method assessment of eco‐friendly packaging in online retail," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 28(1), pages 100-115, February.
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