Ricerc@Sapienza

Purpose – Retail customers are now omnichannel both for attitude and behavior. Since individuals interact
with multiple touchpoints throughout their shopping journey, retailers must consider all channels holistically
as consumers do, in order to provide them with a unified shopping experience. Thus, recently retailers are
showing an increasing interest in the deployment of advanced in-store systems aimed at enhancing the
shopping experience by providing customers with innovative tools able to engage them for obtaining deeper
insights, saving time and feeling more independent while shopping. Such technologies can help retailers to
better react to those emerging settings by: acquiring a positive image and reputation, being perceived as
innovator; reducing management costs; maintaining and acquiring loyal consumers; making imitation
strategies as difficult as possible for competitors; and reaching a unique and differentiated positioning.
The purpose of this paper is to explore whether and how store technology positively affects the customer
experience in an omnichannel retail environment and if the early adoption of in-store technology by retailers
produces a sustainable competitive advantage.
Design/methodology/approach – To achieve the research aim and deeply explore the phenomenon of
interest, a multiple-case study involving 15 retailers, operating in different industries of the Italian market,
was carried through 80 semi-structured in-depth interviews with store managers and employees.
Findings – Results of the content analysis show that customers are increasingly willing to use the in-store
innovations in order to obtain richer shopping experiences while retailers achieve a stronger brand loyalty as
well as a better and updated brand image.
Originality/value – This paper contributes to the relevant literature by proposing two conceptual
frameworks. It provides a deeper understanding of possible advantages and threats resulting from early
technology adoption by retailers, which is becoming essential for improving the omnichannel customer
management and increasing business performance.