Influencing shopping engagement across channels: the role of store environment

The paper aims at investigating the role of store environment in engaging shoppers during their grocery buying process across multiple channels. Specifically, the study investigates the shopper’s buying behavior in three channels, namely: physical, electronic and mobile. The main object of the paper is to spot the light on how the store environment (ENV) generates shopping engagement (ENG) by the means of shopping enjoyment (ENJ) and time convenience (CON). A survey on a sample of 935 grocery shoppers was performed administering a structured questionnaire. Each channel was empirically investigated applying a Structural Equation Model (SEM). Results show that the mobile store-app environment does not suit consumers’ need for shopping convenience, limiting the expansion of the mobile grocery channel in comparison with the electronic and the physical channels. Some preliminary theoretical and managerial implications are derived comparing the results of the three SEMs.