Omnichannel Retailing in Light of Psychological Factors: A Mediated Model

Introduction

The retail industry is transforming its promotional strategies regarding channel management. Customers’ interaction with retailers has broadened with the development of digital technology, and they are no longer satisfied with single-channel retailers, as digital technologies have made them more experienced.¹ This phenomenon has been forcing retailers to shift their businesses from single-channel to multiple channels (ie, multichannel, cross-channel), and now it is the age of Omni-channel^2,3 that promises a seamless shopping experience to customers through channel integration.^4,5 The concept of omnichannel is introduced in terms of fully integrated multiple channels offering that enables customers to enjoy a hurdlesless shopping experience when they use all shopping channels coordinated by the retailers.⁶ Thus, omnichannel retailing facilitates customers in their shopping journey, whether they get information about a product or purchase a product through a smartphone, website, physical store, or online site that ultimately provides a holistic shopping experience.^7,8 Omni-retailing facilitates the customers in their shopping journey through full coordination and integration of channels. It makes it easy for them to access, purchase, receive, and return products through all retailers’ touchpoints.⁹ As such, integrating channels (ie, online and offline) has created a sense of continuity among customers, which is a fundamental determinant of relationship marketing.^7,8,10,11

In the past, marketing literature used cross-channel, multichannel, and omnichannel indistinctly for multiple-channel retailing.^5,9 However, omnichannel is an evolutionary step of multiple-channel that vanishes the boundaries between physical stores and online retailers and allows customers to move freely across different channels during their shopping journey with the help of advanced technologies and social media networks. Conceptually, this development can be categorized into three levels of integration (ie, single-channel, multichannel, and omnichannel), ranging from a low-level integration to a high-level integration.^5,12

Brick-and-Mortar shops had a static structure and flow¹³ as compared to multichannel retailing that consisted of more than two channels, kept all channels apart, and provided real-time alignment between various services (eg, product information, channel choice, purchasing media, information regarding firm’s divisions, services, and support). The multichannel retailing enabled firms to enhance their revenues through market expansion, brand switching, through categorized their low-value and high-value customers.^13–15 It was claimed by^1,6 that physical stores provide gratification to the customers via the physical existence of the products. In contrast, customers get a wide range of products at low prices from internet retailers, also enabling them to review and rate the products. Therefore, Omni-channel management differed entirely from multichannel management when we focused on channel scope, integration, management, objectives, and brand versus customer relationship.⁹

The omnichannel retailing strategy incorporates all customer touchpoints and provides a holistic and unified customer experience.² Advanced technologies have vanished channel boundaries through the integration of online content with touch-and-feel information in the physical stores that drive retailers to compete in new and innovative ways, ie, in an Omni-channel environment.^16,17 Thus, omnichannel retailing transforms the world into a showroom without walls. Omni-channel retailers can satisfy customers’ needs according to customers’ choices.^9,18

Researched customers’ shopping behaviour with 46,000 customers’ data and found that 73% were Omni-channel customers.¹⁹ Myer, a large Australian departmental store, increased 41.1% of its sales in one year by adopting Omni-channel.²⁰ Nowadays, consumers are adopting free-riding shopping behaviour. The report presented that 69% of consumers adopted web rooming, and 46% showed showrooming behaviour during Thanksgiving.²¹ According to,²² integrating retail channels enhanced the consumers’ purchase intention. Based on impressive statistics, the report showed that the future of retailing is Omni-channel retailing,²³ which has gained the intentions of practitioners and academicians in recent years.²⁴ Building an ultimate omnichannel environment is not a forthright task because it comprises system and channel integration regarding applied touchpoints, providing digital solutions to ensure interchangeable channel usage and generating a seamless shopping experience across all channels.²⁵ Such an environment drives organizations to reorganize their marketing strategy.⁹ Prior literature indicated that companies adopting an omnichannel approach have gained a leading position in the market, and the operational perspective of its implementation is still in its infancy.²⁶

As the concept evolved, the research community struggled to investigate the phenomenon. The current research stream defined, classified, and characterised omnichannel retailing and examined its relationship with firm-specific (supply chain and logistics characteristics) and consumer-specific (consumer decision-making factors) factors.² Literature showed that the customer-centricity theme remained a hot issue for retailers and practitioners in the context of marketing channels.²⁷ The work of²⁸ explained four drivers for the transition of omnichannel retailing: customer demands, adoption of advanced technology by customers, technological advancement and interruption, and the evolution of the online channel. Study²⁸ highlighted the gap regarding the theoretical understanding of consumer behaviour from an omnichannel retailing perspective. A systematic literature review² identified certain areas for marketers to achieve a leading position in the marketplace. Firstly, a successful omnichannel retailing strategy depends upon the consumer’s perception regarding omnichannel services.^28,29 Secondly, Attaining and retaining omnichannel consumers is crucial to a company’s long-term survival, and omnichannel customers comprise a unique segment of the retail industry.³⁰

To design a customer-centric omnichannel strategy,² suggested consumer behaviour factors for omnichannel retailing, including customer engagement, retention, consumer channel choice behaviour, purchase intention, and customer value. According to,³¹ omnichannel services usage in the physical store is worth understanding for actual purchase behaviour. In particular, rare studies investigated the consumers’ usage intention psychologically.^28,29,31 So, the current research filled this significant gap in the existing literature on omnichannel retailing.

Usage intention is a vital feature of consumer behaviour and is affected by different environmental and psychological factors.^22,32,33 Although retailers aim to implement omnichannel strategies, the success of these strategies highly depends upon the consumer’s perception and usage of these strategies.³⁴ Consumers’ different shopping behaviours depend upon their shopping goals and plans, highlighting the gap in identifying whether the usage intention leads to actual use.³⁵ So, investigating consumers’ usage intention is crucial as it leads to actual behaviour.³⁶ Studies identified numerous antecedents of consumers’ behavioural intention, but according to^33–36, motivation is an essential antecedent of individuals’ behavioural intention. Motivation theorists categorized motivation into two broad categories (ie extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation) that were also used in their motivational model to investigate behavioural intention. The motivational model proposed by³⁷ distinguished intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, and various researchers used the model to investigate the influence of both types of motivation on behavioural intentions in different research. For example,³⁸ used the model to investigate intention toward live-stream broadcasting, and³⁹ examined the donation intention. According to,⁴⁰ intrinsic motivations comprise enjoyment, relaxation, skill development, social interaction, self-expression, and altruism, while aspects like income, reputation, and career development are related to extrinsic motivation. This gap triggered the scholar to investigate consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing based on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. So, the current study investigates the effect of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations on consumers’ usage intention under the shade of the motivational model.

The work of² identified the gap that psychological factors like personality traits might be an antecedent of consumer usage intention in Omni-channel because personality traits (PTs) significantly affect consumer behaviour.^41,42 Prior studies investigated the impact of PTs on technology adoption,⁴³ internet use,⁴⁴ Social Networking Sites,⁴⁴ online review,⁴⁵ and collaborative technology.⁴³ PTs have been established as essential predictors of motivations to use online media⁴⁶ and impulse purchase behaviour.⁴⁷ Still, limited comprehensive studies were conducted to observe the influence of PTs on consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing.^2,48 To explore personality traits, the five-factor model (FFM) is the most employed model to define different aspects of an individual personality.^49,50 The factor model is also called the Big Five Model (BFM), comprising Openness to experience, emotional stability, extroversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.⁵¹

Personality traits did not directly affect the purchase intention; they have a mediation effect through belief.⁵² For example, belief regarding the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) mediates the link between individual traits and behavioural intention.^43,52–54 Prior studies identified that beliefs mediate the relation between individuals traits and behavioural intention to some extent.^55,56 Similarly,⁵⁷ investigated the mediating role of motivation between personality traits and behavioural intention. Motivation was also found to be a mediator between personality traits and managerial networking in the latest research.⁵⁸ So, this study tried to fill this gap by using the Big-Five Factors Model (BFM) of personality traits (BFM) through the Motivational Model (MM) to investigate the usage intention in the omnichannel context.

Literature Review and Hypotheses Development

Retailers are adapting to an omnichannel environment to gain a competitive edge, but any strategy’s success depends on consumers’ perception and engagement.³⁴ Omni consumers are considered more valuable for retailers, and attracting and attaining them is crucial for retailers in implementing a successful omnichannel strategy.^59,60 Thus, it will be worthwhile to study the usage intention of Omni consumers.³⁴

Consumers’ Usage Intention and Motivation

The Motivational Model explains how psychological needs make an individual self-motivated and self-determined based on cognitive evaluation theory. According to it, individuals present two types of motivation (ie, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation), and their choices regarding their actions depend upon these motivations.⁶¹ Intrinsic motivation arises when an individual becomes self-determined due to their competency and autonomy, resulting in involvement in an action of interest, pleasure, enjoyment, or challenge without any expectation of tangible or material rewards.^38,62,63 On the other hand, extrinsic motivation develops when basic needs are not satisfied. Individuals are involved in an activity for rewards (eg, monetary reward) or other benefits like social status, image, or reputational enhancement that stem from society or social interaction.^38,63 Both motivations are different, so individuals’ actions affect both due to complex human behaviour.³⁸ The current stream of research has empirically proved motivation as the antecedent of individuals’ intentional behaviour, like in online broadcasting⁶⁴ crowd funding⁶³ and in Omni-channel context.³¹ Under the influence of the given discussion, the current research hypothesized;

H₁: Intrinsic motivation significantly affects consumers’ usage intention of Omni-channel retailing.

Consumers’ Usage Intention of Omnichannel Retailing and Personality Traits

Defined personality as an individual’s response toward a particular situation.⁶⁵ A person’s personality consists of feelings, thoughts, and behaviours, which differentiate him from others and remain over position and period.⁶⁶ Individuals have a firm, expected, and schematic personality linked with their environment and interconnected through personality traits.⁶⁵ The personality of individuals is shaped by different attributes like society, family, physical circumstances, heredity, and geographical area,⁶⁶ and these attributes differentiate from others throughout their lives.⁶⁵

Until the 19th Century, psychologists claimed humans had no personality.⁶⁷ In the 1970s, scientific work on personality traits was cast into the doldrums. Still, after that, an electrifying burst has been seen in the field regarding the taxonomy of personality traits to solve the most critical issues the investigators face.⁶⁸ At the initial stage, most works were related to the general personality trait taxonomy framework, whose roots extend back to Aristotle’s work, and investigators used these models to solve many scientific issues.⁶⁸ In the past, researchers framed different models with several dimensions to measure an individual’s personality. For example,⁶⁹ identified two clusters comprising 16 prime and five subordinate factors to measure an individual’s personality.⁷⁰ Presented a model comprising three factors to estimate personality traits of an individual, ie, psychoticism, neuroticism, and extraversion.

Sir Francis Galton was the first person who provided the foundations of the modern Big-Five Factors Model (BFM) of personality traits through his “lexical hypothesis. He defined that individuals” differences in their translating basically depend on language codes that come either from a single language or all the languages of the world.⁷¹ Developed a dictionary to estimate the personality characteristics written in the lexicon that was later shaped by⁷² and⁷³ in the English language. Using Galton’s insights on personality traits, investigators constructed a structural representation of personality traits. In this regard,⁷⁴ was a pioneer who identified 60 adjectives through factor analysis to demonstrate an individual’s personality. Later, Thurstone reanalyzed Guilford’s questionnaire scales in 1951, leading him to develop a 7-factors Thurstone Temperament Schedule.⁷⁵ Similarly, inspired by Thurstone’s factor analysis, Raymond B. Cattell analyzed 45.00 items⁷² through oblique rotation, and developed a set of 35 bipolar factors as personality descriptors.⁶⁹ Later on, various researchers verified these factors in their studies as personality descriptors.⁷⁶ It was often claimed by Cattell that he had identified at least twelve factors based on oblique rotation in factor analysis. However, when other investigators analyzed Cattell’s defined factors, they found only five replicable variables.^76,77 Along the same lines, some other investigators used a different set of variables to establish five-factor structures^78,79 that many researchers extensively reviewed in the past.^51,80,81

Initially, these five factors were labelled as follows: Factor I was “Extraversion” or “Surgency”, Factor II was “Agreeableness”, Factor III was “Conscientiousness”, Factor IV was “Emotional Stability” vs “Neuroticism”, and Factor V was “Culture”. Later, on further investigation, Factor V was reinterpreted as “Intellect”.^82,83 Still, most recently, it was given the name “Openness to Experience” by.⁸⁴ Literature showed that personality traits were used in different research like social media services,⁸⁵ online reviews,⁴⁵ usage of social media,⁸⁶ blogs,⁸⁷ and collaborative technology.⁴³ Big Five personality traits (ie, agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, Openness, and neuroticism) are widely used to study personality in various technology-related studies,⁸⁸ like online games,⁴⁶ live stream broadcasting,³⁸ and online shopping.⁴⁷ Based on the above discussion, we proposed the conceptual framework given in Figure 1:

Figure 1 Conceptual Framework.

Emotional Stability and Consumers’ Usage Intention of Omnichannel Retailing

Emotional stability is generally linked to neuroticism, which depicts a person’s emotional control degree.⁸⁹ People with a low degree of neuroticism are emotionally more stable than those who have a high degree of neuroticism.⁴² According to,⁹⁰ emotionally stable people are less anxious, fearless, friendly, and happy. Emotionally unstable people have feelings like depression, anger, insecurity, worries, volatility, and anxiety.⁸⁴ Emotionally stable people do not show distressing emotions like dread, frustration, sadness, unease, and agony.⁹¹ Such types of people are less subtle to the effects of external stimuli and thus less inclined to react against normal occasions and remain calm during cognitive activities.⁹² Individuals with stable emotions are fearless regarding rejection and skillfully handle interpersonal conflicts.⁹³ Previous research revealed that emotionally stable people are not disturbed by something new and are likely to accept the change. They generally show a positive attitude towards novelty.⁹⁴ At the same time, neuroticism is positively associated with invention anxiety.⁵⁰ The intention to give online reviews has a significant positive relation with the emotional stability of individuals.⁹⁵ In the past,⁹⁶ identified that neurotic individuals showed negative intentional behaviour toward the use of growth of information systems due to their stressful and threatening procedure. Thus, we developed the hypothesis on the basis of the above literature;

H₄: Emotional stability and consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing are significantly related.

Openness to Experience and Consumers’ Usage Intention of Omnichannel Retailing

Claimed that the personality trait of openness to experiences is specific to an intelligent, broad-minded, and curious person.⁹⁷ Such individuals are imaginative, interested in novelty, and have different interests.⁹⁸ Individuals with high Openness to experience personality traits are broad-minded, intellectual, curious, creative, original, sensitive, novelty acceptors, adventurous, and flexible.⁹⁹ A person with this trait appreciates original and novel ideas^92,93 and enjoys new experiences.¹⁰⁰ Openness to experiences is the best indicator to identify whether or not a person likes adventures, inventions, or progress.¹⁰¹ Open people like to gain knowledge and are curious by birth, so they always have fresh ideas and new viewpoints about the world.⁹² Past studies showed a link between PTs’ Openness to experiences and behavioural intention. For example, it positively influences the usage intention of Internet banking¹⁰² and the intention to use advanced information systems.^103,104 Investigated the impulse buying behaviour of consumers and found that Openness to experiences PTs has a noteworthy positive relation with impulse buying behaviour.¹⁰⁵ Identified that customers with a high degree of Openness to experiences PTs liked online shopping to learn new trends.¹⁰⁶ Revealed that Openness to experiences positively affected the online purchasing intention of customers. Thus, on the basis of the above discussion, we proposed the following hypothesis.

H₅: Openness to experiences is significantly related to consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing.

Conscientiousness and Consumers’ Usage Intention of Omnichannel Retailing

Conscientious individuals are organized, self-controlled, inclined to novelty and efficiency, hardworking, responsible, and achievement-oriented.^84,92,107 Described that conscientious people are more responsible, well-disciplined, and well-organized and always know the meaning of what they say. Such people always welcome new technologies and inventions as they improve their work performance. Individuals with conscientiousness PTs are intrinsically motivated to perform their jobs better.⁴³ They never give up on pursuing their objective without considering time and effort.⁹² Individuals with a high degree of conscientiousness are more likely to gain the most relevant and accurate knowledge about the novelty and then decide on its adoption, so they are more ambitious than those with a low conscientiousness level.¹⁰⁸ Conscientious people first carefully analyze whether the new technology will be helpful in their job accomplishment and performance.⁴² In the past, many researchers investigated the relationship between conscientiousness and behavioural intention to use new technology and inventions.¹⁰⁹ Found a positive correlation between conscientiousness and individuals’ intention to join religious service activities. Conscientious people are more inclined toward vocational education systems.¹¹⁰ Individuals with high conscientiousness are strongly associated with using collaborative technology.⁴³ Based on ease of use judgment, the intention to use computers is significantly related to an individual’s conscientiousness PTs.^89,111 Identified that conscientious individuals are more inclined to use online shopping as they see it as more convenient and can be done in a more comfortable environment. Based on the evidence mentioned above, we hypothesized that.

H₆: Conscientiousness is significantly related to consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing.

Agreeableness and Consumers’ Usage Intention of Omnichannel Retailing

A trusted, good-natured, and helpful person has agreeableness PT.⁸⁴ Agreeable individuals are more supportive, excellent, and sympathetic in nature, helpful, and considerate.^112,113 Agreeableness persons establish good relations with others and work for the well-being of others. Such people prefer cooperation over competition,^114,115 and being trustworthy; they avoid arguments against a healthy learning environment.⁹² Agreeableness is a personality trait that presents an individual’s commitment, society-inclined attitude, and receptiveness.⁹² Agreeable people dislike close and harmonious relationships with others, so they perceive the costs of maintaining relations as relatively low.¹¹⁶ They encourage tight ties with others and provide social support in interpersonal situations.¹¹⁷ According to,¹¹⁸ agreeableness represents an individual’s communication variances in society and may range from antagonism and animosity to attachment and warmth. High-degree agreeable people are polite and try to maintain uniformity in their relations even against their interests.⁹² Previous literature on personality traits showed that agreeableness significantly relates to adopting new inventions.⁴² Agreeable people are more eager to adopt new information systems to benefit from completing their daily tasks.⁹⁶ There is a noteworthy positive link between agreeableness and intention to education learning.^110,119,120 Thus, we hypothesized;

H₇: Agreeableness is significantly related to consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing.

Extraversion and Consumers’ Usage Intention of Omnichannel Retailing

According to,⁸⁴ a talkative, friendly, and outgoing person is called extraverted. Such people enjoy social attention, skilfully handle interpersonal interactions, are easily approachable,⁹³ are positive and optimistic in life,¹²¹ like others’ company, and are self-assured.⁹² They are generally eager to develop new contacts,¹²² as they perceive new connections cost relatively low.¹¹⁶ These traits remain part of an individual’s life.⁹² People with high extroversion properties perform excellent jobs in society and are more conscious regarding their image and behaviours. Due to positive attitudes, extroverted individuals show their intentions regarding a phenomenon based on the perception of others.⁴² People with a high degree of extraversion show great intention to accept an innovation.⁴² Being outgoing and self-assured, extroverts like new experiences in life.⁹² According to,¹¹⁹ people with a negative link with extraversion showed less intention to adopt a particular choice. They also claimed that extraversion is the best indicator of an individual intention in the field of physical sciences. The latest investigations showed that extroverts have a positive relation with behavioural intention in different contexts.^{108–110,120} In the online shopping context,¹¹¹ identified that extroverted individuals showed a positive intention toward online shopping behaviour. Triggered by the above discussion, the current study proposed the following hypothesis.

H₈: Extroversion traits of consumers have a significant effect on consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing.

Research Methodology

By following quantitative, cross-sectional research approach.¹²³ The Web-based survey method collected primary data through nonprobability purposive sampling. Social Media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and WhatsApp are adopted to distribute questionnaires. Data was collected from Pakistani respondents during January to June 2023. The data collection process comprised two stages. Firstly, the questionnaire was designed by adapting various scales used in the previous English-language studies, as all the scales were frequently applied in prior studies. This counter the occurrence of Common method Biasness (CMB).³⁸ Secondly, the questionnaire was translated into the local Language (Urdu) to align instruments and study objects, ie omnichannel with the respondent’s perception. All items are measured using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from “1:Strongly Disagree – 5:Strongly Agree”. The study referred to in the survey that there is no consensus regarding the definition of omnichannel retailing in the research community. To give clarity to the respondents, we defined the concept briefly as “the new retailing approach that vanished the boundaries of physical and online stores through the integration of all available channels like social media platforms, websites, email, etc”. To provide further explanation, the study stated one of the main assumptions of the concept, ie, simultaneous use of all available channels, any time, everywhere, (24/7) to present a unified picture of the firm to its customers. This presumption gave a practical example for respondents before filling out the questionnaire.

The questionnaire consists of two parts. The first part comprised the screening items and demographics to identify the relevance of the respondents with the current study, and the second part consisted of the items regarding the variables of the present study. The variables of personality traits (ie, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, Openness to experience, and extraversion) were measured through a 10-item scale.¹²⁴ To measure the personality traits of individuals, a short-form scale was adopted in which each trait is measured against two items. When researchers have limited time and the primary focus of the study is not to investigate personality traits, a short form of the instrument could be used to measure the personality traits.¹²⁴ The mediators of the current study, ie, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, were measured through 4 and 3 items adopted.³⁸ The dependent variable usage intention of the Omni-channel was measured through 4 items.³⁸ The target population of the current study was internet users, as they might be prospective Omni shoppers in the near future.

Moreover, it may be proposed that this population segment may be multichannel users in the current shopping experience. The researchers selected the prospective Omni-channel users as the target sample. According to^125,126 a sample size larger than 30 and less than 500 is appropriate. Additionally, researchers proposed that the sample size should be 10 times or more as large as the number of variables. Therefore, the current study calculates a sample size of 700 using G*power 3.1.9.4 software with a small Effect size, ie, f² = 0.2, power 0.80. Based on the calculations, non-probability convenience sampling was adopted to meet the criteria. Confirmatory Factors Analysis (CFA) was analyzed to verify the proposed framework, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was investigated to test the proposed relationships via AMOS 23.

The Demographics profile showed that the current study was comprised of 200 female and 524 male respondents, of which the majority of the respondents were young people, 41% (299 aged between 20–25 years). Almost 85% of participants completed their master’s degree, and a majority of them, 41%, were job holders. 90% of respondents said that “they had knowledge about online and offline shopping modes.” The majority of participants, 66%, showed their willingness to future shopping through both modes of shopping (ie, online and offline). 98% of participants indicated their willingness through more than II channels to get information regarding their shopping in the future. In comparison, 100% are willing to shop by using more than III channels in the future. A detailed description of respondents’ demographic and omnichannel knowledge is in Table 1.

Table 1 Demographics and Adoption of Omnichannel in the Future (N=724)

Results

Reliability and Validity

All the items above 0.70 Cronbach’s alpha value expect extraversion of 0.67, and the overall scale has a Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.56. All these high values of Cronbach’s alpha meet acceptable internal consistency criteria for evaluating the measured constructs.¹²⁷ Scale is further analyzed through Confirmatory Factor Analysis by applying structural equation modelling with the maximum likelihood estimation method,^127,128 and a detail of all these measurement analyses is given in Table 2.

Table 2 Reliability and Validity Measures

The composite reliability was computed based on standardized loadings of the items to their relevant constructs. Most values of standardized loadings were found above 0.70 except for two items. One belongs to usage intention and other extraversion. All the CR values above 0.7 meet the criteria recommenced by,^127,128 so there is no issue regarding composite reliability. Furthermore, standardized loading values also support convergent validity, as all loading values are above 0.5, so convergent that fulfills the convergent validity criteria.^127,128 The values of Average Variance Extracted for all constructs are also above the threshold value of 0.5, as recommended by.¹²⁷ Most correlation values between the constructs in the measurement model were below the recommended threshold values of 0.8.¹²⁹ Thus, there was no issue regarding discriminant validity. Additionally, the AVEs of all constructs were higher than the shared variance among each of the two factors that also validated discriminant validity,¹²⁹ as represented in Table 3

Table 3 Correlation Among Constructs of the Measurement Model

The fit indices are compared with recommended values for analyzing measurement model fit.¹²⁷ The analysis indicated a higher value of χ² (464.578, 166 df, p<0.05) that was also statistically significant. A statistically significant and higher value of χ² indicates that the theoretical model should be rejected.¹³⁰ However,¹³¹ claimed that χ² was not an adequate model fit measure when the sample size was large. Hence, the study relied on other model fit indices rather than χ². The CMIN/DF value is 2.79, below the recommended value of <3.00. Similarly, GFI is 0.938, NFI 0.940, CFI is 0.960, and AGFI is 0.914, which are greater than the threshold value. Moreover, the RMR is 0.058, below the recommended value of <0.09.¹³¹ As all the measurement model fit indices met the criterion recommended by,^127,128,130 the model was considered fit for further structural relationship evaluation. The structural model fit indices presented that GFI is 0.928, AGFI is 0.920, NFI is 0.983, and RMESA is 0.089,^130,131 below the threshold values. So, the structural model was analyzed and found to be satisfactory as all model fit indices fulfilled the recommended values.

The analysis verified that the majority of the hypotheses were accepted at a significant level p < 0.05 (see Table 4) except hypotheses H₄, H₅, H_6c, and H_8c, which were rejected (emotional stability: β = 0.081, p>0.05, Openness to experiences: β = 0.038, p>0.05, conscientiousness: β = −0.038, p>0.05, extraversion: β = −0.022, p> 0.05). As proposed, personality traits were proved to be direct determinants of consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing; rather, they indirectly affect consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing. Similarly, as hypothesized, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation significantly impact the consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing was also validated. Finally, it was also confirmed that personality traits affected consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing directly and indirectly, as both types of motivation mediated the relations between personality traits and consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing. Moreover, the model explains 77% of consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing, 58% of intrinsic motivation, and 69% of extrinsic motivation.

Table 4 Hypotheses Testing

Mediation analysis showed that both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations fully mediate the relationship between emotional stability and consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing. Both types of motivations, individually and combined in series, performed full mediation between consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing and the emotional stability PTs of an individual. Similarly, Openness to experiences PTs of individuals did not directly affect the consumers’ usage intention; rather, both types of motivations fully mediate the relation. The direct, indirect, and total effects and significance of all relationships are given in Table 5.

Table 5 Mediation Analysis

The other PTs’ agreeableness, conscientiousness, and extraversion did not directly affect consumers’ usage intention regarding the use of omnichannel retailing. The effect of these PTs on consumers’ usage intention was through both types of motivations. Analysis showed that intrinsic motivation partially mediates the relations between agreeableness, extraversion, and conscientiousness and consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing. On the same lines, extrinsic motivation also partially mediates the relations among these constructs. Moreover, both types of motivations also partially mediate the relations when they combine in series with these variables. The combined mediation analysis is given in Table 6. Results showed that the combined mediation effect of all mediators on Openness to experiences and emotional stability showed full mediation effect, while they partially mediate the impact on others.

Table 6 Combined Mediation Analysis

Discussion and Implications

This study’s results were based on empirical data regarding psychological and motivational factors that impact the consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing. This study presents and validates two theoretical models—the Big Five Factors model of personality traits and the Motivational model—of customer intention to adopt omnichannel retailing. The research helps to understand the factors that affect the usage intention of consumers toward omnichannel retailing. Overall, the results of this study provide an empirical explanation of the factors that affect the consumer’s usage intention toward omnichannel retailing.

The results of the demographic characteristics of respondents of the current study showed that the Pakistan retailing industry has a great potential for transformation into omnichannel retailing. The results showed that the majority of respondents were young people, 67.2% were well-educated, and 89.6% of respondents were ready to digest the transformation of the retail industry. Young and educated people of any society are capable of using modern technology and can compare the phenomenon easily. So, it can be concluded that Pakistani people will welcome the transformation process of traditional retailing into omnichannel retailing. According to the results of the current study, 61.1% of respondents are involved in some economic activities, either they are doing their own business or doing some jobs. These results highlighted that the majority of the respondents have purchasing capacity and must be involved in some shopping in the retail industry. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the retail industry in Pakistan has a bright future.

The results of descriptive statistics regarding channel choice showed that the majority of respondents were well aware of offline shopping modes and online shopping modes. It indicated that people belonging to developing economies know different shopping modes encountered by the developed world. So, based on these results, it was concluded that omnichannel retailing has a high potential to grow in developing economies like Pakistan. Since 65.7% of respondents were willing to use both types of shopping modes (ie, online and offline) in their shopping experience in the future. It indicates that Pakistani people like to shop through more than one shopping channel in the future. Based on these results, It was concluded that omnichannel retailing is the future of Pakistani retailing. The results regarding information gathering about shopping and purchasing products in the future, the majority of respondents showed that they would use more than 3 channels. These results again indicated that individuals in developing countries like Pakistan want a shift in the retail industry toward omnichannel retailing.

The results of hypotheses testing estimations revealed that the direct effect of extrinsic motivation on consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing was positively significant (β = 0.45***), which supported the proposed hypothesis H₂ of the current study. These results are consistent with those of^38,40,132 but were found to be inconsistent with those.¹³³ These results indicated that consumers in developing economies like Pakistan are inclined toward omnichannel retailing under the effect of extrinsic motivation. More external rewards linked with this retail strategy pull the intention of people toward its use. According to the results, the intrinsic motivations of respondents are also positive and significantly (β = 0.47***) linked with consumer’s intention of omnichannel retailing. These results also supported the proposed hypothesis H₁ and showed consistency with.^38,40,132 Based on these results, it was concluded that intrinsic motivation less affected the intention to use omnichannel retailing in developing countries people as compared to extrinsic motivation. From these inferences, it was concluded that extrinsic motivation played a more vital role in the usage intention of people belonging to developing countries like Pakistan.

The results of the current study supported the majority of the proposed hypotheses regarding personality traits. The results of the current study supported the proposed hypothesis H₆: conscientiousness has a significant relation with consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing. The results (β = −0.08***) showed that conscientiousness has a negative significant relation with consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing. The results of the current study were found to be inconsistent.^134,135 These results indicated that respondents of the current study showed negative behaviour toward omnichannel retailing. From these results, it was concluded that people with a high degree of conscientiousness are already well-managed in their lives, and so they show reluctance against any change. The results of the current study did not support the proposed hypothesis H_6c, which explained the link between conscientious and extrinsic motivation. These insignificant results showed that respondents’ conscientiousness did not affect their extrinsic motivation. H_6a was also supported by the results of current study. The results (β = −0.19***) showed that conscientiousness has a significant negative relation with intrinsic motivation. These results showed inconsistency from,¹³⁶ those who found a positive relation between conscientiousness and motivation. From these results, it was inferred that respondents with a high degree of conscientiousness showed a negative relation with extrinsic motivation. Based on these results, it was concluded that people in developing economies are more inclined towards external rewards attached to innovation. The personality trait agreeableness has a significant negative relation with consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel. The results (β = −0.07***) supported the proposed hypothesis H₇ that agreeableness has a significant relation with the intention to use omnichannel retailing. These results were inconsistent with^110,119,120, who identified a positive relation between the constructs. Although people with a high degree of agreeableness are more inclined toward the adoption of innovation, based on current study results, it was concluded that people in developing countries showed less interest in retail changes. The reason behind this behaviour may be their poverty and lack of access to new shopping modes. The proposed hypothesis H_7a, agreeableness has a significant effect on intrinsic motivation, was also accepted based on the results of the current study. These results were found to be inconsistent with^136,137 as they showed that respondents’ high degree of agreeableness did not show any relation with intrinsic motivation. Based on these results, it was concluded that the personality trait agreeableness of developing countries people has a negative effect on their intrinsic motivation. The results (β = −0.07***) supported the proposed hypothesis H₈; extraversion has a significant relation with consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing that showed consistency with the previous study.^{108–110,120} According to these results, extraversion negatively linked with consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing that showed inconsistency from the previous studies^{108–110,120} who identified a positive relation between extraversion personality trait and intentional behaviour. The negative relation between the constructs of extraversion and usage intention showed that people showed an inverse inclination toward the acceptance of omnichannel retailing. The personality trait extraversion also showed a significant relation with intrinsic motivation. These results of the current study again supported proposed hypotheses H_8a. These results were on the same lines as in previous studies.^136,138 However, the results of the current study failed to show a significant relation between extraversion and extrinsic motivation, so the proposed hypothesis H_8c was rejected. The results showed that respondents with a high degree of extraversion were more inclined toward motivation in order to use omnichannel retailing. Based on these results, it was concluded that people in Pakistan with a degree of extraversion will show more interest in omnichannel retailing. The results of the current study partially supported the hypotheses related to openness to experiences. The results did not support the proposed hypothesis H₅. These results concluded that people having openness to experience personality traits in developing countries did inclined toward innovation directly. Instead they impressed by innovation through some mediators like satisfaction, motivation etc. The results of current study supported the proposed hypotheses H_5a, individuals high in openness to experiences personality traits have a significant positive relation with intrinsic motivation. These results showed consistency with previous studies.^135,136,138 It was concluded based on the results of the current study that people with high degree openness to experiences have a positive impact on their motivation so it should be focus during the implementation of omnichannel retailing. The results of current study did not support the proposed hypothesis H₄ regarding personality traits emotional stability. The emotional stability failed to establish a link with consuemrs’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing. The hypotheses regarding motivation were supported by the results of current study. Based on these these the proposed hypotheses H_4a and H_4c were accepted. These results showed inconsistency from the results found in previous studies. It was concluded from these results, people with high degree of emotional stability in Pakistan show reluctant to adopt omnichannel retailing and are not intrinsically motivated. The results (β = 0.10***) showed that the emotional stability has a positive significant impact on intrinsic motivation of individuals and thus supported the proposed hypothesis H_4a. These results showed that respodents’s extrinsic motivation has positively link with their emotional stability regarding accepting of omnichannel retailing strategy. Based on these results, it was concluded that individuals with high degree of emotional stability in developing countries were motivated in adopting innovation.

The results of the mediation analysis showed that extrinsic motivation partially motivated the relation between intrinsic motivation and consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing. Furthermore, both types of motivation played a full mediation role between relations of emotional stability, openness to experiences, and consumers’ usage intention. At the same time, the role of motivation was partially mediated among all other personality traits and consumers’ usage intentions.

The current study is going to have several theoretical implications. First, the study tried to fill the gap in the existing literature on omnichannel retailing regarding consumers’ usage intention.² To fill this gap, the current study’s authors applied Motivational Model (MM) perspectives and suggested the critical effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on consumers’ usage intention regarding omnichannel retailing. Furthermore, the study identified and validated the role of the fundamental antecedents of consumers’ usage intention (Big Five factors of personality traits). At the same time, the mediation role of motivations was examined to explore the phenomenon.^131,139 This study is among the few that tried to investigate the phenomenon of omnichannel retailing quantitatively based on the Big Five factors of personality traits and motivation types (intrinsic and extrinsic motivation).

Moreover, the current study investigated the mediation role of extrinsic motivation between intrinsic motivation and usage intention of omnichannel retailing. Similarly, the current study investigates the effect of personality traits in incorporating motivation as a mediator. Since the current research detected the link between personality traits and consumers’ usage intention through motivation, these empirical results will increase the empirical insights into omnichannel retailing. The empirical results of this study enhance the empirical contributions in the field of omnichannel retailing successfully.

Second, this research empirically confirms the general expectations regarding factors that influence the usage intention of omnichannel retailing. The study empirically proved that intrinsic and extrinsic motivations positively influence the usage intention of omnichannel retailing. This positive and significant link between motivation and behavioural intention is consistent with existing literature on behavioural intention.^38,40 These results suggest that both motivations (ie, intrinsic and extrinsic) stimulate and enhance consumers’ usage intention toward omnichannel retailing. Moreover, the mediating role of extrinsic motivation between intrinsic motivation and usage intention was significant, implying that retailers should focus on factors that enhance the internal motivation of the consumers before some externally motivated factors. The results of the current study suggest that both types of motivation, ie, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, may explain more than 77% of the variance of consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing. The results also show that among these predictors, the major role in explaining the usage intention is extrinsic motivation, ie, 69%.

Third, the study also verified the Big personality traits as antecedents of motivation, which is inconsistent with prior work.³⁸ The study found a positive and significant link between Openness to experiences and intrinsic motivation. Similarly, emotional stability has a significant positive relation with intrinsic motivation, while conscientiousness, agreeableness, and extraversion have a significant negative association with intrinsic motivation. To predict extrinsic motivation, the study identified that emotional stability positively and significantly predicted extrinsic motivation. On the other hand, conscientiousness has an insignificant negative link with extrinsic motivation.

Fourth, the Big Five factors of personality traits also proved good predictors of consumers’ usage intention toward omnichannel retailing. The results revealed that conscientiousness, agreeableness, and extraversion significantly negatively affect consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing. These results validated our proposed hypotheses that personality traits significantly affect the consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing but are inconsistent with previous research.³⁸ The cause of this inconsistency might be due to the field’s novelty, and respondents might not comprehend the questionnaire during the survey. So, they have a negative attitude toward the use of omnichannel retailing. The results of the current study also identified that PTs’ emotional stability and Openness to experiences have no direct relations with consumers’ usage intention of omnichannel retailing; rather, both factors of PTs affect the behavioural intention through motivation.

The current study proves several implications for stakeholders in the omnichannel retailing industry to implement, manage, and promote the omnichannel retailing environment. First, retailers and practitioners can strengthen their omnichannel strategy through motivational factors. Both types of motivation support the usage intention of omnichannel retailing, although the effect of intrinsic motivation (β= 0.47) is higher than extrinsic motivation (β= 0.44). Furthermore, extrinsic motivation mediates the link between intrinsic motivation and usage intention. This suggests practitioners should focus on creating mechanisms that facilitate intrinsic motivation (ie, satisfaction, enjoyment, competency, and feelings of love and affection) to strengthen omnichannel retailing. Meanwhile, retailers should focus on activities that enhance consumers’ extrinsic motivation (eg, gaining recognition, rewards, and fulfilling dreams).

Additionally, individuals who are emotionally stable and Openness to experiences showed a positive significant link with usage intention, so the segmentation and identification of such people would be worthwhile for the company before implementing the omnichannel strategy. The results showed that both these personality traits have no direct relationship with behavioural intention; rather, they affect usage intention through motivation. Thus, retailers should enhance both types of motivations to engage such persons to strengthen their use of omnichannel retailing.

The PTs’ agreeable, conscientiousness, and extraversion significantly negatively impact consumers’ usage intention. Although previous literature showed both types of relationships (positive and negative) among these constructs in different contexts, but the positive link is most prominent in the prior literature. According to researchers' opinion, these negative relations may be established due to specific reasons. First, the omnichannel concept is quite new in retail, especially in developing countries, so the respondents failed to understand the phenomenon comprehensively. Secondly, respondents were reluctant to adopt this new retailing approach due to the high fraud rate in developing countries’ online business markets.

Limitations and Future Directions

As every research has some limitations according to their relevant context, this research also has certain limitations that must be addressed here. First, the current study used convenience sampling¹⁴⁰ to collect data through an unrestricted self-selected online survey. This might reduce the chance of generalisability of the obtained results over the whole population relevant to the current study. Second, previous research highlighted that the motivation and behavioural intention to use new inventions by individuals are affected by the culture and environment.^141,142 As the data for this current study was collected from a developing country, Pakistan, such limitations might be possible because data will be collected from individuals having different values and cultural backgrounds. Thus, the generalizability of the results of the current study may be restricted. In the future, researchers may extend the scope of research in the field by comparing the results of the present study with those conducted in different countries with different individuals’ values.

Moreover, the current study’s sample consisted of prospective users of omnichannel retailing rather than actual users. Results might be improved when data to verify the results would be collected from actual users in the future. Thus, it will help to generalize the results in behavioural intention research. The current did not focus on any specific industry to collect data regarding omnichannel retailing. This might confuse prospective omnichannel users in answering their questionnaires, so future studies may select a single sector that is more omnichannel-oriented.