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Impact of Shipping Distance on Online Retailers’ Sales: A Case Study of Maiyang on Tmall

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Abstract

Many studies have qualitatively explained that information and communication technology (ICT) has loosened the restrictions of distance and space on retailers’ sales. Few empirical studies, however, have explored the impact of shipping distance on online retailers’ sales. This study examined the Maiyang (M-Y) store on Tmall in China as a case study to investigate the relationship between shipping distance and sales. The results showed that sales volume in 2014 at the county level did not strictly obey the distance decay law. The shipped distance of high-priced commodities may not be much longer than that of low-priced commodities. Within the scope of investigation, the relationships between income, cost, and net profit curves do not follow central place theory. Goods have neither thresholds nor ranges. The key factor in the spatial discrepancy of sales is the size of market. The impact of shipping distance on sales is not as strong as that of traditional retailers in Information Era.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank M-Y for its data support, and we acknowledge the reviews of anonymous referees.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China

    Chunshan Zhou & Wanfu Jin

  2. School of Public Administration, Guangdong University of Finance and Economics, Guangzhou, 510320, China

    Guojun Zhang

Authors
  1. Chunshan Zhou
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  2. Wanfu Jin
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  3. Guojun Zhang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Guojun Zhang.

Additional information

Foundation item: Under the auspices of the National Planning Office of Philosophy and Social Science (No. 17BRK010), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41601161), Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (No. 2017A030313224) and Guangdong Planning Office of Philosophy and Social Science (No. 2017GZZK16)

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Zhou, C., Jin, W. & Zhang, G. Impact of Shipping Distance on Online Retailers’ Sales: A Case Study of Maiyang on Tmall. Chin. Geogr. Sci. 28, 261–273 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-018-0945-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-018-0945-7

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