Unraveling Determinants of Webrooming Behavior: A Qualitative Inquiry

Abstract

Webrooming, a practice whereby consumers research for products online prior to making their final purchase offline, represents a prevalent form of shopping behavior in the current retailing landscape. This study aims to explore the determinants for and against the adoption of webrooming behavior among Millennials. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were employed to collect data. Data were analyzed through theoretical thematic analysis. Results unveil a number of important themes, categorized based on consumers- (i.e., need for touch, need for interaction, price-comparison orientation, and product knowledge), channel-related factors (i.e., online search convenience, perceived usefulness of online reviews, perceived helpfulness of in-store salespeople, immediate possession, perceived risk), situational factor (i.e., product category), as well as experiential outcome (smart-shopping perception) that arose from webrooming. Considering the limited research on webrooming, this study advances the theoretical understanding on the determinants of webrooming, and offers managerial insight for retailers to deal with this popular shopping phenomenon.

Developing trends in showrooming, webrooming, and omnichannel shopping behaviors: Performance analysis, conceptual mapping, and future directions

“…To counter showrooming or channel‐switching behavior, several scholars have suggested strategies for brick‐and‐mortar retailers, such as pricing and in‐store service strategies (Schneider & Zielke, 2021; Wang & Wang, 2022), offering exclusivity through store brands (Mehra et al, 2018), and operational strategies for competitiveness (Jiao & Hu, 2020), among others. Other scholars have also examined the determinants of webrooming behavior including customer experience (Schiessl et al, 2023), motivation (Aw, 2019), and other factors (i.e., consumer, channel, situational) (Eugene Cheng‐Xi Aw et al, 2021). Research about showrooming and webrooming in multi‐ and omni‐channel contexts is crucial because it sheds light on changes in customer behavior and the retail industry and provides insights into how retailers can effectively navigate these changes to meet customers' needs and remain competitive.…”

“…store brands(Mehra et al, 2018), and operational strategies for competitiveness(Jiao & Hu, 2020), among others.Other scholars have also examined the determinants of webrooming behavior including customer experience(Schiessl et al, 2023), motivation(Aw, 2019), and other factors (i.e., consumer, channel, situational) (Eugene Cheng-XiAw et al, 2021). Research about showrooming and webrooming in multi-and omni-channel contexts is crucial because it sheds light on changes in customer behavior and the retail industry and provides insights into how retailers can effectively navigate these changes to meet customers' needs and remain competitive.5.1.2 | Cluster 2: Consumer behavior in online retail and shopping (blue color)The second cluster contains five (5) keywords, namely "consumer behavior," "retailing," "shopping," "internet marketing," and "click and collect".…”

Demystifying the product attribute nexus: illuminating webrooming behavior in emerging fashion industry

“…Figure 1 Proposed research model online retailers to aid in their decision-making before purchasing at stores (Aw et al, 2021b).…”

“…Consumers use internet sources to acquire information and enhance product knowledge (Sadeli et al, 2023). Consumers have indicated a lack of product knowledge as an essential reason to search online before offline purchases (Aw et al, 2021b). Conversely, consumers with high product knowledge tend to seek new information to know more about the product and increase their satisfaction by achieving a better quality-to-price ratio (Hwang and Lee, 2019).…”

Omnichannel as a driver of digitalization: evidence from the emerging market in the fashion industry

“…There are few academic studies that focus on studying customer behaviour in showrooming and webrooming. In the literature, showrooming and webrooming are discussed in the context of personal characteristics (Mosquera et al , 2019) and product categories (Heitz-Spahn et al , 2018; Aw et al , 2021b), mainly as separate topics (Aw et al , 2021a; Kleinlercher et al , 2020; Raj et al , 2020; Kokho Sit et al , 2018). Showrooming and webrooming, however, are still little recognized but are worthwhile issues to research in the context of using new technologies.…”