Understanding Omnichannel Behavior:

Abstract

In this paper, we applied several findings from multichannel research to understand customer-engagement behaviors, such as app use in an omnichannel environment, and explored the relationship between these behaviors and customer or retailer evaluations. Our research indicated that showrooming or webrooming enhances the reputation and engagement of companies implementing an omnichannel strategy. Especially, engagement behaviors correlated strongly with customer evaluations such as RFM. Also, a customer who showed a high level of engagement was more likely to visit a store, resulting in increased sales. Furthermore, our results show that use of multiple communication channels creates a synergistic effect on store visits. Finally, our analysis of outside channels, which are not controlled by the company, showed the presence of customers who intensively used other companies’ apps for earning points, before and after use of the company’s channel primarily for the purpose of earning points.

Keywords

• omnichannel retailing
• multichannel retailing
• customer engagement
• marketing communication