From Browsing to Buying and Beyond: The Needs-Adaptive Shopper Journey Model

Abstract

We propose a theory-based model of the shopper journey, incorporating the rich literature in consumer and marketing research and taking into account the evolving retailing landscape characterized by significant knowledge, lifestyle, technological, and structural changes. With consumer well-being at its core and shopper needs and motivations as the focus, our needs-adaptive shopper journey model complements and contrasts with existing models. In addition, we identify 12 shopper journey archetypes representing the paths that consumers commonly follow—archetypes that illustrate the workings and applications of our model. We discuss the nature of these archetypes, their relationships with one another, and the psychological states that consumers may experience on these shopper journeys. We also present exploratory empirical studies assessing the component states in the archetypes and mapping the archetypes onto dimensions of shopping motivations. Finally, we lay out a research agenda to help increase understanding of shopper behavior in the evolving retailing landscape.