Low-literate versus literate customer experience: Dimensions, consequences and moderators

Abstract

This study explores the lived phenomenon of customer experience (CX) across the customer decision journey of two divergent segments of customers in a naturalistic environment. Specifically, the study focusses on understanding the similarities and differences with respect to—(a) dimensions of CX, (b) consequences of CX, (c) moderators of CX, and (d) situating CX in customer decision journey. The findings are in congruence with the various theories from cognitive psychology, environmental psychology, and economic geography. The findings contribute to existing research that is primarily focussed on conceptualizing and measuring CX by providing an in-depth analysis of its formation for these two customer segments. Managers can utilize the findings to identify these touchpoints that lead to relevant customer responses. In all, the propositions drawn from the study findings are assimilated in the theoretical framework that adds to the nascent research on CX and customer decision journey.

Low-literate customer experience: an empirical exploration

“…Finally, as expected, satisfaction influences patronage. As called for by past studies (e.g., Blut et al, 2018;Mishra and Verma, 2022), we consolidate the prior findings by confirming the presence and absence of these interdependencies amongst these retailerrelevant constructs. Thus, our framework provides academic conclusions about the previously understudied population of LLCs so that retailers can gain deeper insights to serve them.…”

“…Literacy is defined as "using printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one's goals, and to develop one's knowledge and potential" (Kirsch et al, 1993). Given such obscurity, we follow the conceptualization of Jae et al (2011, p. 312) and consider customers "who can read but not as well as the average adult" to be low literate (see also Mishra and Verma, 2022).…”

“…Although research has been conducted on CX and patronage separately, little attention has been paid to investigating potential parallels between the two streams. While the majority of CX research has focused on its conceptualization and measurement (Dieck and Han, 2022; Lemon and Verhoef, 2016), there is a need for more holistic empirical research to analyze its dimensions and consequences (Becker and Jaakkola, 2020; Mishra and Verma, 2022). Similarly, patronage research has made significant progress in understanding its nature, antecedents and consequences (Blut et al ., 2018; Pan and Zinkhan, 2006).…”

“…Our research builds upon previous studies and aims to fill gaps by making three key contributions. We draw insights from a recent qualitative study by Mishra and Verma (2022), as well as seminal works by Bitner (1992) and others (e.g., Becker and Jaakkola, 2020; Blut et al ., 2018; Lemon and Verhoef, 2016) to identify the dimensions that could potentially influence LLCs' CX and the consequences thereof. Additionally, we base our selection of these dimensions on the “sustainability aspects” of retailing (see Holmlund et al ., 2020).…”

A value-driven touchpoints strategy for managing the customer experience process

“…De Keyser et al (2020) suggested in their study that improving customer experience through touchpoints depends in part on income. Mishra and Verma (2022) attempted to comprehend the role of client qualities, such as income level, in defining the customer experience in a different piece of work. Moreover, Manyanga et al (2022) examined the impact of customer demographics as moderators in their experience formation.…”