- A.Bypassing traditional retail intermediaries to sell directly to end customers — captures more margin and customer relationship at the cost of acquisition responsibility.
- B.Multichannel uses many channels independently; omnichannel integrates them into one customer experience.
- C.Two or more firms at the same channel level cooperate to exploit a marketing opportunity neither could pursue alone.
- D.Disputes between members of a distribution channel — vertical (manufacturer vs retailer), horizontal (retailer vs retailer), or multi-channel (online vs physical) — that disrupt distribution and require management. ✓
Channel Conflict is disputes between members of a distribution channel — vertical (manufacturer vs retailer), horizontal (retailer vs retailer), or multi-channel (online vs physical) — that disrupt distribution and require management. The other options describe related but distinct concepts in Distribution & Place — see the deep-dive guide for the full distinction.
How to think about questions like this
Conflict undermines the channel's ability to serve customers. Questions like this test whether you can distinguish Channel Conflict from neighboring concepts. The most common trap is choosing a closely-related concept that sounds similar but applies in a different context.
When you see a definition question on an exam, do two things: (1) translate the question into your own words, then (2) generate the answer in your own words before reading the options. This avoids the cognitive bias of recognizing a familiar phrase as correct just because it is familiar.