Loading…

Do connected town-centre shopping journeys improve town-centre patronage?

Purpose – This study explores the role played by digital channel integration in the town centre shopping experience. It also explores how customers perceive the role of digital in the town centres shopping journeys, improves shopping experiences, and encourages positive future patronage behaviour. U...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Majd AbedRabbo, Cathryn Hart, Fiona Ellis-Chadwick
Format: Default Article
Published: 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/2134/13713301.v1
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1818166912131006464
author Majd AbedRabbo
Cathryn Hart
Fiona Ellis-Chadwick
author_facet Majd AbedRabbo
Cathryn Hart
Fiona Ellis-Chadwick
author_sort Majd AbedRabbo (7198220)
collection Figshare
description Purpose – This study explores the role played by digital channel integration in the town centre shopping experience. It also explores how customers perceive the role of digital in the town centres shopping journeys, improves shopping experiences, and encourages positive future patronage behaviour. Ultimately, the aim is to identify the likely implications of a connected shopping experience on patronage intentions. Design/methodology/approach– A qualitative research design using focus groups to explore customers’ perceptions of connected town centre shopping experiences was deployed. Then, data was analysed using thematic analysis to identify overarching themes. Findings – Digital integration has the potential to serve discreetly different functions in the town centre context: create interconnected information channels, facilitate improved connected shopping experiences, generate positive perceptions of a town, which subsequently shape future patronage intentions. The study also revealed expectations of digital integration are yet to be fully realised in the town centre context and there are tensions between physical and digital domains to be overcome if digital integration is to positively influence patronage intentions. Research Limitations – The nature of exploratory research tends to pose questions and open out a problem rather than provide definitive answers. This study has sought to highlight key issues and also provide points of departure for future studies. The significance and generalisability of the results are limited by the size and nature of the sample. Originality/value – This study provides theoretical contribution to the town centre literature by expanding our understanding of consumers perceptions of the role of digital integration in shopping journey experiences and unlocks insights into its potential impact on future patronage intentions. Practical considerations for integrating digital in the town centre to create more connected shopping experiences.
format Default
Article
id rr-article-13713301
institution Loughborough University
publishDate 2021
record_format Figshare
spelling rr-article-137133012021-02-19T00:00:00Z Do connected town-centre shopping journeys improve town-centre patronage? Majd AbedRabbo (7198220) Cathryn Hart (1256832) Fiona Ellis-Chadwick (1248414) Marketing Business and Management Commercial Services Connected Experience Digital Integration Patronage Town Centre Shopping Experience Purpose – This study explores the role played by digital channel integration in the town centre shopping experience. It also explores how customers perceive the role of digital in the town centres shopping journeys, improves shopping experiences, and encourages positive future patronage behaviour. Ultimately, the aim is to identify the likely implications of a connected shopping experience on patronage intentions. Design/methodology/approach– A qualitative research design using focus groups to explore customers’ perceptions of connected town centre shopping experiences was deployed. Then, data was analysed using thematic analysis to identify overarching themes. Findings – Digital integration has the potential to serve discreetly different functions in the town centre context: create interconnected information channels, facilitate improved connected shopping experiences, generate positive perceptions of a town, which subsequently shape future patronage intentions. The study also revealed expectations of digital integration are yet to be fully realised in the town centre context and there are tensions between physical and digital domains to be overcome if digital integration is to positively influence patronage intentions. <br>Research Limitations – The nature of exploratory research tends to pose questions and open out a problem rather than provide definitive answers. This study has sought to highlight key issues and also provide points of departure for future studies. The significance and generalisability of the results are limited by the size and nature of the sample. Originality/value – This study provides theoretical contribution to the town centre literature by expanding our understanding of consumers perceptions of the role of digital integration in shopping journey experiences and unlocks insights into its potential impact on future patronage intentions. Practical considerations for integrating digital in the town centre to create more connected shopping experiences. 2021-02-19T00:00:00Z Text Journal contribution 2134/13713301.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Do_connected_town-centre_shopping_journeys_improve_town-centre_patronage_/13713301 CC BY-NC 4.0
spellingShingle Marketing
Business and Management
Commercial Services
Connected Experience
Digital Integration
Patronage
Town Centre
Shopping Experience
Majd AbedRabbo
Cathryn Hart
Fiona Ellis-Chadwick
Do connected town-centre shopping journeys improve town-centre patronage?
title Do connected town-centre shopping journeys improve town-centre patronage?
title_full Do connected town-centre shopping journeys improve town-centre patronage?
title_fullStr Do connected town-centre shopping journeys improve town-centre patronage?
title_full_unstemmed Do connected town-centre shopping journeys improve town-centre patronage?
title_short Do connected town-centre shopping journeys improve town-centre patronage?
title_sort do connected town-centre shopping journeys improve town-centre patronage?
topic Marketing
Business and Management
Commercial Services
Connected Experience
Digital Integration
Patronage
Town Centre
Shopping Experience
url https://hdl.handle.net/2134/13713301.v1