Examining the global retail apocalypse during the COVID-19 pandemic using strategic omnichannel management: a consumers’ data privacy and data security perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT The global retail industry has faced a doomsday scenario owing to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has brought a change in shopping patterns. The unexpected disruption of supply chain management causes retailers to face a severe cashflow problem, resulting in a retail apocalypse of store closures. Retailers are figuring out how to quickly change consumers’ shopping behavior. In such precarious scenario, omnichannel retailing is expected to address the upheaval task. While using omnichannel for shopping, consumers have certain issues on data privacy and security. Practitioners and academics have begun investigating the issues, with the PLS-SEM technique on data from 387 respondents. This study shows that breadth of choice, content consistency, and customization impact perceived benefits, whereas issues of data privacy and security impact risk. This study also shows that consumers will intend to shop on omnichannel if they believe the benefits are more than the risks.