We examine how the integration of retail channels affects crucial firm outcomes, such as customer satisfaction and loyalty intentions, with a particular focus on the impact of different levels of offline-to-online channel integration. Across three experimental studies, one of them in an operating physical store, accommodating comparisons of several omnichannel configurations, increasing the level of omnichannel integration positively influences customer satisfaction and loyalty intentions. Flow experience mediates the effects. The impact of increasing the level of omnichannel integration on customer satisfaction and loyalty intentions is more pronounced among consumers who perceive the channels as complementary and for consumers with a goal-directed shopping orientation. This article contributes to extant omnichannel literature by experimentally investigating the impact of increasing levels of omnichannel integration—as compared to adopting a binary, “either-or” approach—and by demonstrating that omnichannel retail environments provide a fertile ground for flow experiences in physical stores. Furthermore, this article establishes the role of perceived channel complementarity and shopping orientation as boundary conditions for the realization of flow in omnichannel retail environments.

This study examines the efficacy of a novel form of consumer-generated content (CGC) digital advertising, termed “directed” consumer-generated content (DCGC), in comparison to traditional brand-created social media advertisements. The analysis focuses on performance metrics and return on ad spend (ROAS). Data were gathered from social media campaigns incorporating both DCGC and non-CGC through a field experiment, followed by a rigorous statistical analysis to identify the most effective advertising strategies. Findings indicate that DCGC typically results in significantly higher conversion rates, increased conversions, and superior ROAS. Overall, DCGC advertisements demonstrate enhanced performance relative to non-CGC campaigns, suggesting that they represent a more strategic allocation of a brand’s marketing resources, particularly when the primary objective is to drive sales and achieve elevated conversion rates. This research contributes to the academic discourse and practical implementation of social media advertising by highlighting the advantages of DCGC as a cost-effective and efficient advertising approach for brands.

This article examines omnichannel redemption options when issuing digital coupons over social media. It investigates which channels or combinations of them provide optimal performance in terms of service-quality perception, customer satisfaction, and revenue. For that purpose, it compares three omnichannel redeeming options employing a between-participant quasi-experimental design that utilizes the primary data of a sporting goods retailer in Greece and a questionnaire as a data-collection instrument to investigate cause and effect relationships. Those three omnichannel redeeming options are analyzed in two pairwise comparisons: (a) multichannel (both online and offline) vs. offline-only (physical store), and (b) multichannel (both online and offline) vs. online-only (online store). Results reveal that while perceived service quality is essential to improve customer satisfaction, especially if satisfying the need for interaction with service employees, revenue performance depends only on the availability of multiple redemption options. Theoretical, practical, and research implications are thoroughly discussed at the end.

Consumer behavioral patterns radically changed during the last decades, as well as during the COVID-19 pandemic. In parallel, digital technologies continuously substitute traditional business practices in the context of digital transformation attempts that were also significantly accelerated due to the pandemic. However, since technology cannot totally replace all human aspects in the retailer-consumer interaction process, an optimum blending of technical and human resources is crucial. This chapter reviews the latest developments and key aspects of this blending and emphasizes the consumers' needs for the provision of value-added services by retailers in the post-COVID-19 era. It advocates that retailing remains a retailer-consumer affair, where both humans and technologies take part in diversified interactions. It develops an integrated framework of human and technology components and channels between retailer-consumer interactions, aiming to provide a holistic view of the available capabilities and trends from both the retailer and the consumer perspective in the post-COVID-19 era.