Customers’ adoption of multiple platforms and retailers’ channel performance: evidence from Chinese fast-food industry

Abstract

PurposeRetailers are increasingly adding multiple platform apps. For instance, Hilton Hotel is listed on booking.com, Expedia and TripAdvisor. The purpose of this study is to examine whether and how the adoption of a second homogenous mobile platform app by new and existing consumers affects their purchasing behavior in both the original app and the overall platform apps.Design/methodology/approachWith 604,864 unique data from a Chinese fast-food company, which sequentially add three food delivery platforms, this paper explores the influence of a second homogeneous mobile platform app adoption on consumer purchase frequency, order size and spending.FindingsThe results of the log-linear regression model show that multiplatform consumers are more profitable than single-platform consumers. For both existing and new consumers, multiplatform adoption would increase purchase frequency, decrease order size and increase total spending with the retailer. However, for existing consumers, multiplatform adopters are more likely to buy less frequently, spend less per order and have lower total spending in the original platform app.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper contributes to platform addition and multichannel literature by empirically finding that multiplatform adopters, both new and existing consumers, are more profitable than single-platform consumers. Managerially, the results suggest that companies should not hesitate to add multiple platforms and should encourage consumers to use multiple mobile apps.Originality/valueFirst, this study examines the multiplatform addition effect on both new and existing consumers, which has not been discussed yet. Second, this study contributes to multichannel literature by finding that multiplatform consumers are more profitable than single-platform consumers. Third, unlike Rong et al. (2021), this study supports that channel capability theory is still valid in the homogenous mobile-to-mobile channel expansion context.