Driving Factors of Consumer Irrationality in Omnichannel Consumer Behaviour

Abstract

The rapid enhancement in information and communication technology has brought a paradigm shift in the retailing market and consumer behaviour. Consumer behaviour in the omnichannel retailing context becomes increasingly more complex, as omnichannel consumers strategically choose where to gather information and buy products: online or offline. Insights into the drivers of channel choice need to be found. Consumers do not think of channels in isolation but rather combine them and make decisions based on their mood and lifestyle demands (Blazquez in Int J Electron Commer 18(4):97–116, 2014 [4]). Contributing factors of irrational consumers behaviour identification that determine their decision is treated as a new approach promoting the development of a standard of cognition of consumer behaviour. Paper aims to substantiate driving factors of consumer’s irrationality in the context of omnichannel consumer behaviour. Guided by the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model, consumer irrationality and omnichannel behaviour literature, the study developed a theoretical framework that explores three types of driving factors, including price orientation, product category and convenience (Stimulus), consumer irrationality (Organism) and omnichannel behaviour, which is described through information search and purchase decision (Reaction).