Collective digital touchpoints' impact on retail agglomeration experience and patronage

Abstract

Purpose – This study examines how different consumer motivations for interacting with collective retail agglomeration digital touchpoints (e.g. websites, social media pages, mobile apps) influence the customer experience of the agglomeration visit, satisfaction and patronage intention. While prior research has shown that such touchpoints can support the visit, little is known about how motivational mechanisms shape experience and related outcomes in this collective, place-based context. Drawing on Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT), the study examines motivation-driven interaction with these touchpoints. Design/methodology/approach – Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), the study examines the effects of four motivations for interacting with collective digital touchpoints (entertainment, convenience, rewards and place-support) on customer experience, satisfaction and patronage intention. It also tests age and gender as moderators of the relationships between motivations and customer experience. Data were collected from 178 Dutch consumers who had interacted with the collective digital touchpoints of a retail agglomeration they had also visited. Findings – The results show that the four motivations for interacting with collective digital touchpoints influence the customer experience of the agglomeration visit differently. Entertainment had the strongest positive effect, followed by place-support-seeking and then convenience. Reward-seeking showed no overall significant effect and was negative among consumers aged 50 and above. Customer experience strongly predicted satisfaction, which in turn predicted patronage intention, indicating a mediating role of satisfaction. Practical implications – Practitioners involved in the marketing and management of retail agglomerations should align collective digital touchpoints with entertainment-, place-supporting- and convenience-driven motivations. Reward strategies may require tailoring to specific demographic segments, particularly older consumers. Originality/value – This study applies UGT in a novel context, namely, place-based retail agglomerations, by examining how consumer motivations for interacting with collective digital touchpoints relate to the customer experience of the agglomeration visit and subsequent outcomes. In addition to the standard entertainment, convenience and reward motivations derived from UGT, the study incorporates a place-support motivation to capture consumers' desire to contribute to the continuity of the retail agglomeration and its retailers. The findings identify place-support-seeking as a distinct and influential motivation in shaping the retail agglomeration visit experience, alongside the strong effect of entertainment-seeking. In doing so, the study specifies UGT for the context of place-based retail agglomerations by showing that consumers derive experiential value not only from personal benefits but also from supporting the agglomeration and its local retailers.