Channel Integration Quality, Customer Experience and Patronage in Omnichannel Retailing

Purpose: By integrating multiple separate online, offline distribution channels, omnichannel distribution has modernized and revolutionized the retailing sector. Omnichannel distribution supports firms by delivering seamless shopping experiences for customers throughout all touchpoints of the shopping journey. This paper aims at exploring the impact of channel integration quality on customer experience and patronage intentions in the omnichannel distribution context. Research design, data and methodology: An online survey was taken with 351 omnichannel experienced shoppers by utilizing the structured questionnaire. The partial least square– structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and Smart PLS software were employed to analyze and test proposed hypotheses. Results: The findings reveal that channel integration quality dimensions including breadth of channel-service choice, transparency of channelservice configuration, content consistency, and process consistency, play crucial roles in the customer shopping experience. The perceived compatibility has been influenced by the integrated interactions in which content consistency and process consistency. The findings also demonstrate the positive and direct impact of perceived compatibility on customer experience, and both factors have substantial effects on customers patronage intentions. Conclusions: This study sheds light on the literature on channel integration quality, omnichannel retailing experience and customer patronage. In addition, this study provides practical implications for omnichannel retailers in enhancing customer experience and patronage.