Search results

This study aims to advance knowledge of channel integration, a key feature of omnichannel retailing, by investigating the role of specific touchpoints in delivering a consistent integration perception.

Quantitative methods were adopted, by testing a model built on the stimulus-organism-response framework. Data collection used a panel survey across the grocery and fashion sectors (1,031 and 739 consumers, respectively). An ordinary least squares regression with clustered standard errors was conducted, combined with a multiple correspondence analysis, followed by a mediation analysis.

This study identifies touchpoints relevant for channel integration perception and shows that they differ across product category and customer types (first time vs repeat customers). Furthermore, it pinpoints touchpoints that are directly and indirectly related to patronage intention, thereby exposing the mediating role of channel integration. By drawing on categorization theory, it discusses individual touchpoints’ contribution to channel integration perception, at general level and on different customer targets.

This study offers a new vision of channel integration perception that highlights touchpoints’ role. It contributes to the established channel integration quality framework by showing that integrated information is concerned not only with consistency of information across channels but also with the specific touchpoints through which such information is disseminated.

This study provides directly actionable managerial implications, by through strategic insights for customer journey and customer experience design/redesign and by offering a practical methodology for retailers to identify the touchpoints they can leverage to improve their customers’ channel integration perceptions – with consequences for patronage intention.

Although well documented for physical stores, consumer motives for buying apparel online have been poorly investigated. Drawing on the social exchange theory (SET), the authors tested a framework that relates time savings, effort savings and money savings to satisfaction, e-loyalty and e-word-of-mouth (e-WOM).

A cross-sectional, web-based survey was conducted in Canada during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Data were collected from 247 participants who made online clothing purchases and analysed using partial least-squares structural equation modelling. The reliability and validity of the measurement model were assessed, and the path coefficients of the structural model were estimated.

Money savings have a strong effect on e-satisfaction, which in turn determines e-loyalty and e-WOM. Time savings have also been found to influence e-satisfaction, whereas effort savings have no influence. Finally, the results indicate that e-satisfaction competitively mediates the relationship between money savings and both e-loyalty and e-WOM.

Utilising the SET, this study contributes to deepening the knowledge of online clothing purchase in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors provide a comprehensive view of the mechanisms through which time savings and money savings are the strongest drivers of customer satisfaction, which in turn influence customer loyalty and e-WOM when buying clothes online.

Advances in digital technologies and the growing number of touch points have had a significant impact on the shopping behaviour of omnichannel customers. Several research papers have explored different facets of omnichannel, but only a few have thoroughly explored the literature on showrooming and webrooming simultaneously. This paper aims to identify the key groups of antecedents influencing customer buying behaviour in omnichannel, under the influence of digital technologies, with a particular focus on showrooming and webrooming.

Our study conducted a systematic literature review to identify the factors influencing customers’ buying behaviour in omnichannel, which have been the subject of academic discussion over the last decade. We finalized 149 articles for the thematic analysis and identified three groups of antecedents: channel-related, product-related and consumer-related with their subgroups.

Under channel-related antecedents, cost and perceived benefits, search convenience, need for interaction and situational circumstances have been identified as major attributes. The expressiveness of the product, product demonstration and search and experienced products have been identified under product-related antecedents, followed by price consciousness, past experiences, perceived risks and shopping motivations as leading attributes under consumer-related antecedents. The study revealed the multifaceted influence of digital technologies on omnichannel buying behaviour. Digital technologies are shaping the antecedents related to channels, products and consumers. Digital technologies simultaneously mediate between antecedents and the selection of a specific path within an omnichannel environment. Showrooming and webrooming should no longer be seen as general concepts. The rise of digital technologies has led to the development of new consumer journey patterns and the blurring of distinctions between showrooming and webrooming. A conceptual framework has been proposed to understand consumers' omnichannel behaviour, having considered the identified antecedents and the role of digital technologies.

This study advances the academic understanding of consumer behaviour in omnichannel under the influence of digital technologies and provides important implications for omnichannel management. With the advancement of digital technologies such as augmented reality and virtual reality, retailers should implement channel integration strategies to bridge the gap between online and offline channels, providing a memorable shopping experience for omnichannel customers.

This study is unique because it identifies and analyses the antecedents of consumer behaviour in omnichannel settings under the influence of digital technologies. It also uncovers new potential combinations of showrooming and webrooming patterns. The proposed framework can help retailers in their future planning of omnichannel strategies.

This research aims to examine the integral elements of omnichannel retailing, an evolving approach that blends online and offline shopping experiences. It focuses on how various factors – merchandise variety, monetary saving, personal interaction, complaint handling, social influence, perceived crowd and skepticism – affect relative advantage, consumer satisfaction and word-of-mouth (WOM) advocacy in an omnichannel context.

A comprehensive survey was conducted with 258 participants, and the data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). This methodology provided insights into the complex relationships between different omnichannel retailing factors and their impact on customer satisfaction and WOM.

The study found that monetary saving influences both relative advantage and satisfaction. Personal interaction was observed to affect complaint handling and relative advantage. Importantly, relative advantage was found to impact both satisfaction and WOM. Additionally, the study highlighted the roles of social influence and satisfaction in enhancing WOM.

This research adds to the existing literature by providing a nuanced understanding of the dynamics of consumer engagement in omnichannel retailing. It bridges a gap in existing research by concurrently examining the impact of online and offline retail factors on consumer satisfaction and WOM in an omnichannel setting.