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Firms increasingly pursue digital channel expansion through online marketplaces, social commerce, direct-to-consumer platforms, mobile applications, and digitally integrated retail ecosystems. These channels promise broader market reach, faster customer acquisition, richer data capture, and new revenue opportunities. Yet expansion into a new channel is not automatically equivalent to strategic readiness. The managerial challenge is to determine whether the firm is prepared to scale the channel without weakening existing commercial, operational, or brand systems. Ad-hoc digital channel expansion can produce several unintended consequences. Firms may overestimate market demand, underestimate customer acquisition costs, or duplicate channels that already serve overlapping segments. They may also trigger conflict with distributors, franchisees, retailers, or internal sales teams. When operational systems cannot absorb added complexity, the new channel may expose fulfilment delays, service gaps, inventory problems, and inconsistent customer experiences. This article develops an original decision framework for evaluating digital channel expansion readiness. The framework integrates four assessment pillars: market reach potential, channel conflict risk, operational capacity, and brand consistency. It is designed as a practical managerial tool rather than an empirical prediction model. Its purpose is to help decision makers move from opportunity enthusiasm toward structured readiness evaluation. The central argument is that digital channel expansion should be treated as a readiness decision, not merely a growth initiative. A structured assessment can reduce the likelihood of channel conflict, operational breakdown, brand inconsistency, and under-realised market potential. The framework provides managers with a disciplined way to compare opportunity attractiveness against internal preparedness. It also creates a foundation for future empirical testing and refinement.