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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 study aims to evaluate the impact of product complexity, product involvement and product diagnosticity on shaping webrooming behavior in emerging fashion retailing, with product knowledge acting as a moderator and information processing, and uncertainty reduction theory contributing as the theoretical foundation.

In total, 371 responses were collected from fashionable consumers who had recently purchased fashion products via a purposive sampling approach, and the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and PROCESS macro.

The results illustrated that product complexity had a significant impact on product involvement and product diagnosticity, and consumer attitude. Attitude, in turn, had a favorable impact on webrooming behavior. Likewise, product diagnosticity and product involvement had a positive mediating association between product complexity and consumer attitude. Product knowledge significantly moderated the relationship between product complexity, product involvement, and consumer attitude, but it exhibited a negative moderation association between product complexity, product diagnosticity, and attitude.

This study represents a novel research endeavor, shedding light on webrooming from the perspective of product attributes in fashion retailing. It contributes to the growing body of literature on fashion marketing by analyzing the rapidly evolving phenomena of webrooming behavior within the multichannel context of the fashion industry.

The purpose of this paper addresses the issue of inconsistent findings regarding the impact of consumers' need for touch (NFT) on webrooming behavior. It investigates the moderator of maximization by drawing on maximizing mindset theory.

Three studies were carried out to test the hypothesized relationships. The first study investigated the impact of autotelic NFT on webrooming intention. The second study examined the impact of instrumental NFT on webrooming intention. The third study tested all hypotheses by the structural equation modeling approach.

The results confirm moderation by consumers' maximizing mindset. The moderated mediation analyses show that the interaction effect of autotelic NFT and maximization influences webrooming intention indirectly via anticipated sensory pleasure. Likewise, the interaction effect of instrumental NFT and maximization influences webrooming intention indirectly via product fit uncertainty.

The study draws on maximizing mindset theory to show that consumers' autotelic NFT and instrumental NFT drive their webrooming intentions depending on the activation of their maximizing mindset. The nonsignificant relationship between autotelic NFT and webrooming intention in the context of satisficers explains the conflicting findings reported in the literature. Consumers' affective and cognitive responses were also studied to uncover the underlying mechanisms of their webrooming intention. This research contributes to the literature by enhancing the understanding of webrooming behavior.

This purpose of this paper is to extend the model of goal-directed behaviour by including the potential benefits of webrooming and descriptive norms to scrutinise the consumer's rationale and intent behind webrooming.

A survey instrument was employed to collect the data. A total of 324 usable responses were obtained, and the structural equation modelling technique was used for analysis.

The results of the study revealed that consumers utilised the information collected online to strike better deals offline. Also, webrooming not only stimulated smart shopper feelings amongst shoppers but also assisted them in avoiding certain risks associated with shopping online. Besides, support was also garnered for informative and possession benefits linked with webrooming. The findings demonstrated the positive impact of attitude, anticipated emotions and perceived behavioural control on desire, which in turn positively determined the intentions. Significant mediation impact was also observed between attitude and intentions via desire. However, past behaviour was evidenced to impact only intentions. Surprisingly, descriptive norms emerged as a stronger predictor of consumers' desire as opposed to subjective norms, which was found to be insignificant.

Information search and switching costs associated with webrooming have not been considered in this study. A larger sample size would help draw broader generalisations.

While online retailers can utilise the findings of the study to convert webrooming shoppers into buyers, alternatively, offline stores can use the key insights to retain webroomers. Additionally, educators can use the findings of the study to teach the students about the changing retailing dynamics.

The present study emerges as the first one to incorporate cognitive, affective and habitual factors collectively for a better understanding of the webrooming phenomenon.

Webrooming (i.e. searching information online and making the final purchase in a physical store) has become a popular shopping practice, but remains insufficiently studied. To address this, a research framework encompassing online and offline channel attributes (i.e. online review diagnosticity, online search convenience, expected price loss, offline purchase effort and offline after-sales service convenience), consumer traits (i.e. anticipated regret) and shopping experience (i.e. smart-shopping perception) as determinants of webrooming continuance intention is proposed.

The proposed model was validated by conducting a questionnaire-based survey that yielded 354 useable responses. The data was subjected to partial least squares structural equation modelling and importance-performance map analysis.

According to the obtained results, online review diagnosticity, offline after-sales service convenience and anticipated regret are the vital antecedents of webrooming continuance intention, while smart-shopping perception acts as the mediator.

The current study adds significantly to the body of knowledge about webrooming by validating the inter-relationships between online review diagnosticity, after-sales service convenience, anticipated regret, smart-shopping perception and webrooming continuance intention.

Recent statistics on increasing webrooming customers make it topical in the multi-channel retailing domain. The purpose of this paper is to offer an enhanced understanding on “Webrooming behaviour”, an area of concern for e-retailers by proposing an integrated framework grounded on the Theory of planned behaviour and Technology acceptance model.

The conceptual model presented develops a number of propositions applicable to webrooming behaviour utilizing the rich literature on channel choice behaviour in the multi-channel retailing environment. The propositions are open for verification and can serve the basis for future line of research.

The model proposed provides basis for understanding the webrooming sequence via search attitude towards online channels, purchase attitude towards offline channels, perceived ease of online search and perceived usefulness of webrooming behaviour. The impact of online risk perceptions and mediating role of (lack of) “trust” have been proposed along with the direct impact of product type and category which offers an holistic view towards understanding the webrooming conduct.

The model proposed lacks empirical verification. There is a need to test the model empirically to validate the model and to find out the suitability of integrated TPB-TAM model.

Webrooming substantially erodes online profits. Before retailers’ strategies to defend webroomers, it is imperative to understand the phenomenon from the consumer’s side. The model proposed is a step in this direction and provides the basis for formulating strategies for holding back the webroomers.

This paper adds to the body of knowledge in retailing by proposing a conceptual model on webrooming behaviour which is an emerging area of research in the present retail landscape.

Recent statistics concerning webrooming shoppers is indicative of the trending webrooming phenomenon, and points toward the dire need for the addressal of the issue. The purpose of this paper is to reason the consumer’s intentional visit to an online store prior to making purchases offline by linking it with perceived channel benefits and uncertainty reduction approach through an application of the theory of planned behavior.

A survey instrument was administered online, and a total of 374 responses were obtained. Respondents were queried with respect to the webrooming sequence, if at all they were into webrooming. The PLS-SEM was used to test the formulated hypotheses.

The factor “Access to reviews online” emerged as the prime perceived search benefit which drives consumers’ to first visit an online store, while factors like “access to touch and feel the product,” “better post-purchase services offline” and “immediate possession of product” induced customers to later purchase offline. Factors like “E-distrust” and “perceived risks related to purchasing online” notably determined consumer’s movement to the physical store for purchasing the product in the second phase of the webrooming sequence.

A small sample size limits the authors from drawing definitive generalizations. Due to the lack of studies, individually examining webrooming conduct, a prior qualitative exploration can be conducted to draw more insights.

The findings of the study can be utilized by the online retailers for devising strategies to push the webroomers to make purchases online.

The study creates awareness as to what motivates consumers to webroom, which has been realized as one of the serious issues being faced by the online retailers today.

This study addresses a key concern “webrooming phenomenon,” which has emerged as a critical challenge in the present retailing dynamics.

The purpose of this paper is to propose and empirically test a model encompassing antecedents of webrooming, an emerging shopping behaviour in omnichannel retailing. This study delineates the impacts of shopping motivation, perceived channel-related benefits and costs on webrooming intention.

A questionnaire-based survey was conducted using a purposive sampling technique. A total of 300 responses were collected, and data were analysed using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling.

Shopping motivation, such as efficiency shopping and bargain hunting, negatively influenced webrooming intention. Immediate possession positively influenced webrooming intention. With regard to perceived costs of webrooming, purchase effort and expected price loss negatively influenced webrooming intention. An additional exploratory analysis uncovered the moderating role of efficiency shopping.

This study provides empirical evidence for the antecedents of webrooming intention and expands the understanding of this emerging yet largely unexplored cross-channel behaviour.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of convenience on banking consumers' webrooming intention. To fulfil this objective, this study empirically investigates how convenience impacts consumers' webrooming intention, using a comprehensive moderated–mediation framework. The study investigates the mediating effects of perceived hedonic values and perceived utilitarian values and how these mediating effects are moderated by consumers' perceived security concerns.

Data were collected using a questionnaire-based offline survey from 534 banking users in India, using systematic sampling. The covariance-based structural equation modelling and PROCESS macro were used to examine the hypotheses.

The results indicated that access convenience, search convenience, benefit convenience and post-benefit convenience have a crucial impact on consumers' webrooming intention. The perceived hedonic values and perceived utilitarian values mediate the effects of convenience dimensions on webrooming intention, and mediation effects varied between high and low levels of consumers' perceived security concern.

This study was conducted in India using cross-sectional data. The proposed model can be replicated in other countries using longitudinal data for generalising the findings.

The study's findings will help banks identify how to enhance convenience to manage channel-switching behaviour.

“Webrooming”, a key channel-switching concern in a multichannel banking context is investigated by examining the impact of convenience dimensions.

This study examines consumers' channel attitudes and choices leading to webrooming and showrooming, and how product attributes (informational vs experiential and perceived risk) moderate the effects of channel attitudes.

A research framework is built upon the heterogeneity of channel attitudes, the lack of intrachannel lock-in and interchannel synergy. A questionnaire-based survey yields 868 multi-channel consumer responses in China. Simultaneous equation modeling and STATA 12.0 are used to test the hypotheses.

Consumers webroom when buying high-risk informational products (e.g. personal computers or mobile phones). They webroom as well as showroom for high-risk experiential products (e.g. clothing or cosmetics). Moreover, a single channel is preferred to webrooming or showrooming for purchasing low-risk informational (e.g. books or stationery) and low-risk experiential (e.g. snacks or toys) products. The results also show that webrooming is more frequently used than showrooming by consumers.

This study extends current understanding on multi-channel and omnichannel shopping behavior and highlights the role of product attributes in customer journey mapping.

This study offers retailers and other downstream firms a fresh perspective on multi-channel customer experience management and channel design.

This study offers a clear explanation on the commonalities and differences between webrooming and showrooming.