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Like many industries (Vasudeva & Singh 2017), the retail industry is now experiencing various evolutions due to new technologies (Internet, smartphones, etc.) (Grewal, Roggeveen & Nordfält, 2017; Inman & Nikolova, 2017) that are altering the relationships between retailers and their customers (Pantano & Viassone, 2014). These increasing uses of technological innovations can enhance consumers’ experience (Oh, Teo & Sambamurthi, 2012; Papagiannidis, Pantano, See-To & Bourlakis, 2017), as well as retailers’ competitiveness and business performance (Inman & Nikolova, 2017). However, many technological innovations also fail (Chiesa & Frattini, 2011), which is an outcome with significant financial consequences. Furthermore, retailers use new technologies in their various channels (e.g., stores, websites, mobile applications) to offer seamless experiences and make shopping more convenient for consumers in omnichannel retailing ecosystems (Piotrowicz and Cuthbertson, 2014; Verhoef, Kannan & Inman, 2015).
Prior studies show that cross-channel integration can increase retailers’ performance and improve consumer satisfaction (Van Birgelen, De Jong & De Ruyter, 2006), yet it is not clear how the introduction of technological innovations might create value for consumers (e.g., shopping experience, satisfaction) or retailers (e.g., store loyalty). But the consequences of introducing innovations are critical, because companies invest heavily in innovative technologies (e.g., interactive kiosks, self-scanning, contactless payment), often without clear knowledge of their effects on consumers and thus on the companies’ performance (Inman & Nikolova, 2017).
Most of prior research investigated the adoption of technological innovations and its cognitive evaluation (Davis, 1989; Renko & Druzijanic, 2014). However, shopping is not just about obtaining utilitarian value but also pleasure. An enjoyable shopping experience can lead to higher shopper satisfaction and spending (e.g. Donovan, Rossiter, Marcoolyn & Nesdale, 1994; Papagiannidis et al., 2017).
Consequently, the objective of this research is to investigate how positive hedonic evaluation of technological innovations affects directly or indirectly customer satisfaction, shopping experience and store revisit intention. We specifically analyze how customer satisfaction and shopping experience mediate the relationship between hedonic evaluation of technological innovations and store revisit intention. Understanding factors affecting directly and indirectly revisit intention is critical in an omnichannel context where customer “showrooming” has become a major threat to physical stores.
This research contributes to existing research in three main ways. First, it shows that hedonic evaluation of technology (including both pleasantness and interactivity aspects) has positive and homogeneous effects across the value creation chain, for both consumers (increased satisfaction and better shopping experience) and retailers (higher store revisit intention). Thus, this study complements existing research on the effects of new technologies in retailing (Inman & Nikolova, 2017; Papagiannidis et al., 2017). Second, this research brings further insights about the relationships between hedonic evaluation, customer satisfaction and store revisit intention. This paper specifically establishes a significant mediation effect of customer overall satisfaction on the relationship between hedonic evaluation of technological innovations on store revisit intention. Thus, this result enriches the recent study of Inman & Nikolova (2017) who showed that satisfaction mediates the effect of retail technology on retail patronage intentions. Furthermore, these results highlight differences between pleasantness and interactivity dimensions. Specifically, this research shows that technology affects positively store revisit intention while technology interactivity does not. Both technology pleasantness and interactivity influence indirectly store revisit intention through the mediation of customer satisfaction and shopping experience.