Decorating omnichannels : Shedding light on the consumer perspective on omnichannel behavior

Abstract: The emerging phenomena of omnichannel has gained momentum with both scholars and practitioners as the future of retail. Fueled by technological developments, the characteristic behavior of omnishoppers are spreading. However, the theoretical understanding of the omnichannel context has within academia traditionally focused on the firm perspective, leaving a gap in understanding the consumer perspective on drivers of purchase intention within this new context. To this end, a tailored conceptual research model emanating from the renowned Technology acceptance model (TAM) was constructed to increase relevancy in this context. It was tested through a survey where the findings revealed that the key determinants of purchase intention within an omnichannel context were, in order of importance; perceived security, followed by perceived usefulness. Further, personal innovativeness was shown to negatively moderate the relationship between personalization and purchase intention, while the consumer’s habit of using multiple channels were found to positively moderate the relationship between perceived usefulness and purchase intention. In-depth interviews further deepened the understanding of these quantitative findings to help provide managerial and theoretical contributions along with avenues for further research.