How to retain customers in omnichannel retailing: Considering the roles of brand experience and purchase behavior

The opportunities and challenges of omnichannel in retail industry have been widely discussed, yet despite these benefits, the key elements that constitute an effective omnichannel and how customers respond to omnichannel retailing strategies remain unclear. This research conducted online surveys to test the effects of omnichannel elements on various brand experiences and customer retention, considering the moderating role of purchase behavior. The results indicate that omnichannel elements (integration, individualization, and interaction) are generally helpful in retaining customers, through omnichannel elements influence brand experiences differently. In addition, these omnichannel elements have different influences on customer retention due to different purchase behaviors. The findings suggest that retailers can use different omnichannel strategies to attract customers’ purchases and provide insights for practitioners who want to use omnichannel strategies to deliver superior experiences for customers.     

The Internet of Things (IoT) in retail: Bridging supply and demand

A sales channel serves two primary functions: delivering information and products to customers. Omnichannel retailing allows for the decoupling of these two functions as consumers can learn about products through channels that differ from those used to purchase them. This separation requires a sophisticated inventory and supply chain operation, as well as integration of all customer touchpoints, in order to match fast-moving supply and demand. The Internet of Things (IoT) can play a fundamental role in channel integration because it allows companies to rebalance supply and demand. We classify IoT initiatives on an opportunity map, presenting a strategic framework that distinguishes initiatives by the value they create and by their major area of impact. We justify the adoption of IoT in terms of its enabling capabilities—those immediately realized by deploying IoT sensor data—but its true potential resides in its enhancing capabilities—unanticipated benefits following IoT adoption—at the intersection of supply and demand.     

Store of the future: Towards a (re)invention and (re)imagination of physical store space in an omnichannel context

This paper explores the future of the physical store within omnichannel retail and specifically, the prerequisites of the designed retail environment in optimizing customer experience. Adopting an exploratory qualitative approach, primary data was obtained using semi-structured interviews with 20 industry experts.The research makes a valuable contribution to the dearth of extent literature on experiential store spaces of the future, specifically within the fashion field. By connecting three topics of academic research - Omnichannel retail, the role of the physical store and in-store customer experience - it serves to suggest the prerequisites for designed retail environments in optimizing customer experience.     

Evolution of retail formats: Past,present, and future

In this paper, the authors review current literature on retail formats and propose a new customer-centric framework for retailers to focus on as they continue to innovate and evolve. Specifically, they review the literature on how formats compare in their attributes and compete with each other; the role of customer behavior in format choice; and developments in multichannel and omnichannel retailing. They propose a framework for retail formats suggesting two paths – either reduce friction in the customer journey or enhance customer experience. They discuss the challenges faced by offline (physical store-first) and online (digital-first) retailers and elaborate on strategies each type of retailer is pursuing to address these challenges. Finally, they offer directions for future research in this domain. They conclude by calling for newer digital-first and physical-first players to continue coming up with different customer-centric formats, which they predict will slowly morph into integrated retailers, leaving space for newer players to enter the market and hence keep the wheel of retailing spinning.     

Mobile-assisted showroomers: Understanding their purchase journey and personalities

Over the last decade, the retail sector has undergone a dramatic transformation, driven by rapid advances in consumer and retail technologies, an evolution of omnichannel environments, and changing consumers who increasingly use their smartphones inside brick-and-mortar retail stores as personal shopping assistants. In this context, showrooming has become a common practice for omnichannel mobile consumers (Flavián et al., 2020). The present study investigates the under-researched phenomenon of mobile-assisted showrooming behavior. Adopting an exploratory qualitative research approach, 31 semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with consumers in a metropolitan city in Queensland, Australia. The authors propose a shopper journey framework that challenges the sequential consumer decision-making process. Influenced by showrooming predispositions, mobile-assisted showroomers pursue a hybrid product evaluation phase that encapsulates both physical and mobile activities during the brick-and-mortar retail visit. In addition, the research identifies four unique personas of mobile-assisted showroomers. The results contribute to extant literature on omnichannel and showrooming behavior by identifying predispositions, behaviors, and segments of mobile-assisted showroomers. The study provides retailers with new strategies to segment mobile-assisted shoppers more effectively and understand their needs and shopping motivations.     

Exploring phygital omnichannel luxury retailing for immersive customer experience: The role of rapport and social engagement

Omnichannel retailing has revolutionized the way retailers create strategies for engaging customers in making purchase decisions. Phygital is a new-age transformative form of omnichannel retailing that emphasizes combining the physical and digital elements, with a particular focus on the human touch to satisfy social and symbolic consumer needs. Extant research has not fully addressed the role of phygital in luxury fashion retail. We explore the research question regarding how human interactions with experienced salespeople add value to the phygital experience. In doing so, we contribute to the luxury marketing literature by addressing the research gap by elucidating the role of phygital functionality in enhancing rapport building, social engagement, and developing trust and commitment, which results in a seamless customer experience, along with enhanced loyalty and patronage. Through 18 in-depth qualitative research interviews conducted with luxury retail managers and senior retail leaders, we provide guidelines to managers and practitioners at retail firms, to create actionable growth-oriented strategies focused on leveraging phygital capabilities.     

An omnichannel approach to retailing: demystifying and identifying the factors influencing an omnichannel experience

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research is to identify the factors that influence an omnichannel experience. Omnichannel is an emerging approach to retailing that responds to the changing nature of how customers shop in alternation between online and offline shops, and the increasing use of digital devices (e.g. smartphones and tablets), as a consequence retailers are focusing and establishing a seamless integrated approach to their services. Omnichannel is now a hot topic in retailing but there is a lack of empirical studies into the factors that influence an omnichannel experience. Using a mixed methods approach, we propose and empirically test a conceptual model that identifies four factors influencing an omnichannel experience: brand familiarity; customisation; perceived value, and technology readiness. We conceptualise omnichannel to include three key channels; in-store, online and mobile. Two hundred and forty-six questionnaires were collected and analysed using PLS-SEM and 11 interviews were carried out with marketing/ omnichannel professionals. Our results indicate that brand familiarity has a strong influence on omnichannel (in-store, online and mobile) while perceived value has a negative impact on the mobile experience. Our results show that retailers need to consider multiple factors, such as brand familiarity, customisation, perceived value and technology readiness as influencing factors of an omnichannel experience, and plan the use of multiple touchpoints simultaneously to enhance their overall customer’s experience. Although this study demonstrates the significant factors influencing an omnichannel experience, questions remain regarding the exact use of each touchpoint by customers and the extent of overlap between the touchpoints. which .     

Quality of channel integration and customer loyalty in omnichannel retailing: The mediating role of customer engagement and relationship program receptiveness

The aim of this study was to understand how omnichannel integration quality affects customer loyalty through customer engagement and relationship program receptiveness and to verify the relationship between customer engagement and relationship program receptiveness in omnichannel retailing. Data was collected through a questionnaire with 378 available respondents. PLS-SEM was exerted to examine the model. The results disclosed the positive influence of omnichannel integration quality on customer engagement and relationship program receptiveness, which consequently impacted customer loyalty. Also, the positive influence of customer engagement on relationship program receptiveness was proved. Further, the role as mediators of customer engagement and relationship program receptiveness was explored. This study contributed to the omnichannel literature by confirming that psychological and behavioral customer engagement plays a vital role in omnichannel retailing. This study also helped omnichannel retailers understand that providing a seamless, consistent and reassuring environment can facilitate customer engagement and thereby gain customer loyalty.     

Omnichannel Shopper Segmentation in the Fashion Industry

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to identify groups of omnishoppers based on their main motivations (usefulness, enjoyment, and social influence); and, second, to characterize the omnishopper clusters. To this end, we surveyed a sample of 628 customers of an omnichannel clothing store and analyzed the data using cluster analysis. The results reveal three different segments: reluctant omnishoppers, omnichannel enthusiasts, and indifferent omnishoppers; and significant differences in gender, age, income level, and omnichannel behavior among these segments. In contrast, we found no differences in the use of channels and devices. These results have theoretical and managerial implications.     

Integrating Bricks with Clicks: Retailer-Level and Channel-Level Outcomes of Online–Offline Channel Integration

This research examines the impact of online–offline channel integration (OI), defined as integrating access to and knowledge about the offline channel into an online channel. Although channel integration has been acknowledged as a promising strategy for retailers, its effects on customer reactions toward retailers and across different channels remain unclear. Drawing on technology adoption research and diffusion theory, the authors conceptualize a theoretical model where perceived service quality and perceived risk of the Internet store mediate the impact of OI while the Internet shopping experience of customers moderates the impact of OI. The authors then test for the indirect, conditional effects of OI on search intentions, purchase intentions and willingness to pay. Importantly, they differentiate between retailer-level and channel-level effects, thereby controlling for interdependencies between different channels. The results of three studies provide converging evidence and show that OI leads to a competitive advantage and channel synergies rather than channel cannibalization. These findings have direct implications for marketers and retailers interested in understanding whether and how integrating different channels affects customer outcomes.