The Formation of Customer Experience Through Offline-Online Channel Integration

Abstract: The rise of e-commerce has a dramatic effect on physical stores and has also changed customer needs and behaviours with customers requiring both online and offline benefits in the shopping context. Offline-online channel integration, where online features are implemented in the physical store, has been introduced as a means for physical stores to react to the rise of e- commerce as it addresses the changed customer needs. The aim of this thesis was to investigate how customer experience is formed within an offline- online channel integrated retail format. In order to reach this goal a theoretical framework illustrating the customer experience formation process was developed. Data for the qualitative research were obtained from expert interviews, observations, individual interviews and focus group discussions, with focus groups being the main contributor of data. The results revealed that customers have not yet fully adapted their behaviour towards a channel integrated format, instead they still follow a multichannel approach by using channels separately. Nevertheless, tendencies towards a channel integrated customer thinking can be identified through customer awareness of channel integration benefits. However, customers are not yet educated in the practical application. Thus it was concluded that a high level of service and support is required in order to condition customers. Furthermore, it was found that the cognitive, pragmatic and emotional dimension play an essential role within the customer experience formation process of this context.