Research on e-commerce platform’s instant retail strategy considering delivery timeliness under consumer channel preferences

Purpose The rapid growth of online shopping, fueled by technological advancements, has exposed the limitations of traditional e-commerce delivery in meeting evolving market demands. To maintain competitiveness, e-commerce platforms increasingly partner with local stores to offer instant retail services characterized by rapid online ordering, store-based fulfillment and delivery within hours. This paper aims to identify the optimal conditions for introducing instant retail and to develop balanced strategies that accommodate channel characteristics and consumer preferences, ensuring mutual benefits for all stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach This research investigates strategies for integrating an instant channel into a platform retail system that includes online and offline channels. It quantifies consumer sensitivity to delivery timeliness and examines how delivery speed and consumer preferences influence channel interactions and equilibrium outcomes in terms of competition and cooperation. Findings Results indicate that introducing an instant channel generally reduces prices across all platform retail channels, although its impact on profits remains uncertain. At moderate delivery speeds, the instant channel increases profitability for both the platform and physical retailers, with maximum profitability achieved through revenue-sharing mechanisms. At very high delivery speeds, both entities can still gain by targeting a smaller, highly time-sensitive consumer segment. Originality/value This paper quantifies consumer sensitivity to delivery timeliness and examines strategic implications arising from introducing an instant channel into e-commerce platforms. Through a rigorous analysis of competitive and cooperative channel dynamics, it provides valuable insights into consumer behavior, channel selection and the development of new retail models.