Thoughtfully selected : case study analysis of brick and mortar, e-commerce, and blended retailers

The American shopping experience has recently shifted from brick and mortar stores, those that exist in physical form, to E-commerce, a relatively new mode of buying goods, and thus there is a potential difference in how clothing retailers communicate and sell products to consumers in stores and now communicate and sell products to consumers via the Web. By way of the case study method, this thesis spotlighted three distinct boutiques and their separate journeys toward communicating and selling products to consumers via brick and mortar stores and the Internet. Previous works (McComb, 2012; Moin, 2012; Strugatz, 2012) have explored how consumers shop in stores versus online and what major department stores are doing for customers in those respective formats, but there has yet to be any research specifically on boutiques and the ways such specialized companies operate their brick and mortar and online businesses. Through my study, I explored how boutiques operate their brick and mortar and online businesses. Major findings include supplementation of traditionally brick and mortar strategies morphed toward the E-commerce platform; increasing and diversified workload for all boutique owners due to technological advances; store strategies reflecting the values, perspectives, and identity of the particular boutique owner who owns the shop; and physical place as unimportant to online boutique retailers in favor of building online community. Key words: fashion, boutiques, independent business, strategic communication, technological shift, and consumer communication Running head: BOUTIQUES 4 Acknowledgements and Dedication I would like to thank the members of my thesis committee, Dr. Gordon Rowland, Dr. William Ryan, and Dr. Cory Young, for the knowledge, enthusiasm, and time that you have devoted to this project. A particular thank you is owed to Dr. Cory Young for acting as my thesis advisor. The countless hours spent talking about this thesis, and the one before, with Cory has made the experience of completing a master’s thesis as pain-free as possible. Thank you also to my classmate, Betsy Acker and all of my friends at Gimme! Coffee. Thank you for your support throughout this process and the many cups of coffee we shared talking about what I really want to know about boutiques. I owe a great deal of gratitude to my family. To my parents, Martha Kelshaw and Marshall Raabe, and to my aunt Liz Dills, thank you for reminding me to work on my thesis when I didn’t need reminding, telling me not to stress the small stuff, and for making me believe that great things really do await me. I also owe special thanks to my stepfather Todd Kelshaw and my sister Deirdre, thank you for always telling me not to buy more clothes. By telling me not to, I think you created a monster! Finally, I would like to dedicate this thesis to my grandparents, Buford Raabe and Josephine Raabe. As small business owners of the past, your entrepreneurial spirits have instilled a keen interest in independent businesses in me. You have also always encouraged my outlandish fashion sense. I hope to one day open my own boutique, like you opened your donut shop in 1950 in Seattle, WA. Running head: BOUTIQUES 5