Dominant Retailers and Their Impact on Marketing Channels

Abstract

This chapter explores the implications of dominant retailers for marketing channels – the system through which manufacturers distribute their products to consumers. The emergence of a few dominant retailers has altered the way in which members of the marketing channel make decisions. The chapter first presents an economic framework to explore the source of retail dominance. It then explores how several key decisions (e.g., product quality and assortment, prices, market data collaboration, advertising) taken within the marketing channel are affected by the dominance of certain retailers. Antitrust implications are also assessed.