The consequences of showrooming behaviour on customer satisfaction and loyalty

Abstract

Purpose

Research on showrooming has focused on investigating its antecedents, motivators and characteristics, leaving a gap regarding its consequences. Our study intends to build a comprehensive framework to examine the role of showrooming behaviour on showrooming satisfaction and customer loyalty while exploring its antecedents.

Design/methodology/approach

Data collection took place in Brazil through an electronic form distributed on social media, reaching 393 people. After eliminating responses from those who had no showrooming experience, the final sample consisted of 310 respondents. The questions captured the costs and benefits of showrooming, internet savviness, showrooming behaviour, satisfaction with showrooming and customer loyalty (i.e. repurchase intention and positive word-of-mouth). We performed partial least squares data analysis by means of the statistical package Smart PLS 4.

Findings

The results show that showrooming behaviour is positively influenced by internet savviness and the perceived benefits of showrooming but not by the perceived costs of showrooming. In addition, showrooming behaviour positively influences satisfaction with showrooming and customer loyalty (i.e. repurchase intention and positive word-of-mouth). Finally, we identify satisfaction with showrooming as a mediator between showrooming behaviour and customer loyalty.

Originality/value

Given that the implications of showrooming behaviour on customer loyalty remain understudied, this work contributes to the marketing literature by demonstrating the influence of showrooming behaviour on satisfaction with showrooming and its consequential effect on customer loyalty. Moreover, we confirmed the mediating role of customer satisfaction in the relationship between showrooming behaviour and customer loyalty.