Uncovering intentional and situational drivers behind loyal showrooming: A qualitative study of customers in China with an integrated TPB-SOR model

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Volume Title

School of Business | Master's thesis

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Date

2025-04-17

Department

Major/Subject

Mcode

Degree programme

Master's Programme in Marketing

Language

en

Pages

70

Series

Abstract

This article aims to explore the drivers of loyal showrooming, whereby a customer visits the physical retailer first and then makes an online purchase from the same retailer. A plethora of studies and retailers regard showrooming only as a threat, while ignoring its beneficial and profitable segment: loyal show-rooming. Considering the growing trend of showrooming, understanding its loyal subset becomes indispensable. This study starts by integrating the theory of planned behavior with the stimulus-organism-response model to investigate its drivers, the. The integrated framework allows the researcher to categorize factors into intentional and situational aspects. A qualitative approach was employed, involving 15 semi-structured interviews, which were then analyzed through hybrid coding and thematic analysis. The results demonstrate that even with a clear loyal showrooming intention, a showroomer could do the opposite due to unexpected situational factors. Regarding intentional aspects, key determinants include attitude (e.g., utilitarian or hedonic), normative belief, repeated past behavior, etc. Situational factors are categorized into retailer-related (e.g., salesperson quality; store format) and customer-related (e.g., time pressure and showrooming motivation) factors. This study also conducts a comparative analysis to explore generational differences between Gen Z and Gen X. Although no prominent differences are observed in their frequency of loyal showrooming, some variations emerge in those underlying drivers which may lead to loyal showrooming. Based on these findings, practical suggestions are offered to help retailers retain their showroomers, with special attention given to integration optimization and salespersons training.

Description

Supervisor

Lindblom, Arto

Keywords

loyal showrooming, omnichannel, multichannel, intentional drivers, situational drivers, retail strategies

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Permanent link to this item

https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202505073537

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[gradu] Kauppakorkeakoulu / BIZ