The upside of showrooming: How online information creates positive spill-over for the brick-and-mortar retailer

Abstract

ABSTRACT The ubiquitous nature of mobile internet devices (i.e., smartphones and tablet computers) has led to an increase of their use within the retail environment as a shopping assistive technology. Consumers use them for a variety of shopping-related tasks, the most significant of which is researching product information. The use of these devices has clearly impacted how consumers shop, but what is not clear is how these devices affect shopper satisfaction, trust in the retailer and subsequent shopper intentions. The purpose of this paper is to better understand these relationships and extend existing research on the use of mobile internet devices in the retail industry. Several hypotheses are offered, and survey data from a nationwide random sample of consumers tested the hypotheses using structural equation modeling. Results indicate that shoppers’ satisfaction and trust in an online information source creates a spill-over effect on satisfaction and trust toward the retailer. Additionally, retailer repatronage intentions increase as a result of this spill-over effect. Contributions to emerging mobile marketing literature and theory, managerial implications, and future research recommendations are discussed.