5 Understanding the customer experience in the age of omni-channel shopping.pdf

DOI:ri14.v15i2.1070|ISSN:1697-8293|Julio-diciembre 2017 Volumen 15 N 2|ICONO14Understanding the customer experience in the age of omni-channel shopping|166 Understanding the customer experience in the age of omni-channel shoppingComprendiendo la experiencia del cliente en la era de las compras omnicanalAna MosqueraPh.D.candidate in the Marketing Department(University of La Rioja)Cristina Olarte PascualAssociate Professor in the Department of Marketing(University of La Rioja)Emma Juaneda Ayensa Professor in the Department of Economics and Business(University of La Rioja)Reception date:19 April 2017Review date:20 June 2017Published:1 July 2017To cite this article:Mosquera,A.,Olarte Pascual,C.y Juaneda Ayensa,E.(2017):Unders-tanding the customer experience in the age of omni-channel shopping,Icono 14,volumen 15(2),pp.166-185.doi:10.7195/ri14.v15i2.1070MONOGRFICOICONO14|Julio-diciembre 2017 Volumen 15 N 2|ISSN:1697-8293|DOI:ri14.v15i2.1070167|Ana Mosquera,Cristina Olarte Pascual y Emma Juaneda AyensaMONOGRFICOAbstractOmni-channel is one of the most important retail revolutions of recent years,im-pacting a variety of areas,such as marketing,retailing,communication or information systems.Omni-channel marketing refers to the brand strategy which integrate all chan-nels available to create a seamless shopping experience that increase convenience and engagement during the customer journey.The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the state of the art of this phenomenon.Its main contributions are fourfold.First,it reduces the fuzziness of the term omni-channel,clearly demarcating the concepts of multi-,cross-,and omni-channel shopping.Second,it offers a consolidated overview of the current understanding of the omni-channel customer experience.Third,the proposed framework points to new lines of research related to omni-channel marketing.The theo-retical and managerial implications of this hot topic are also discussed.Key Words:Omni-channel-Customer experience-Omni-shopper-Customer jour-ney-Interactive technologies-EngagementResumen La omnicanalidad es una de las revoluciones ms importantes en los ltimos aos en el comercio minorista,afectando a una variedad de reas como el marketing,el co-mercio,la comunicacin o los sistemas de informacin.El marketing omnicanal hace referencia a la estrategia de marca que integra todos los canales disponibles para crear una experiencia de compra sin fisuras que aumenta la conveniencia y el compromiso del cliente durante el proceso de compra.El objetivo de este estudio es proporcionar una visin general del estado del arte de este fenmeno con una cudruple contribu-cin.Primero,reduce la confusin del trmino omnicanal,demarcando claramente los conceptos multi-,cross y omnicanalidad.Segundo,ofrece una visin general de la actual experiencia del consumidor en un entorno omnicanal.Tercero,se presentan nuevas lneas de investigacin relacionadas con el marketing omnicanal.Finalmente,se discuten las implicaciones tericas y de gestin de este tema de actualidad.Palabras clave:Omnicanalidad-Experiencia del consumidor-Comprador omnicanal-Jornada del cliente-Tecnologas interactivas-Compromiso DOI:ri14.v15i2.1070|ISSN:1697-8293|Julio-diciembre 2017 Volumen 15 N 2|ICONO14Understanding the customer experience in the age of omni-channel shopping|168 MONOGRFICO1.IntroductionThe omni-channel concept is perhaps one of the most important revolutions in busi-ness strategy in recent years,with both practical and theoretical implications(Bell,Galli-no,&Moreno,2014;Brynjolfsson,Hu,&Rahman,2013;Piotrowicz&Cuthbertson,2014;Verhoef,Kannan,&Inman,2015b).Firms compete in global markets,and markets have been transformed by technology.Advances in information technology and communication have led to an increase in the number of retailing formats through which consumers can contact a company during their customer journey.In addition to traditional physical and online stores,new mobile channels(mobile devices,branded apps,social media,and con-nected objects)and touch-points have transformed the consumer buying process(Juane-da-Ayensa,Mosquera,&Sierra Murillo,2016;Melero,Sese,&Verhoef,2016;Picot-Coupey,Hur,&Piveteau,2016;Piotrowicz&Cuthbertson,2014;Verhoef et al.,2015b).Although the term omni-channel first appeared six years ago(Rigby,2011),the concept remains unclear,due to the indistinct use of the concepts multi-,cross-,and omni-channel in the literature(Beck&Rygl,2015;Klaus,2013).While multi-chan-nel refers to having a presence on several channels that then work separately,in an omni-channel environment,the channels work together,such that customers can use digital channels for research and experience the physical store in a single transaction process(Piotrowicz&Cuthbertson,2014).Because the channels are jointly managed,customers expect to have the same brand experience wherever and whenever they interact the company(Piotrowicz&Cuthbertson,2014).This new term originated among business practitioners,but it has re