Mobile word of mouth (m-WOM): analysing its negative impact on webrooming in omnichannel retailing

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to analyse the influence of mobile word of mouth (m-WOM), received at the physical store, which “challenges” the consumer's preferences in a webrooming experience. The impacts of the social relationship between the sender and the receiver of the m-WOM and product category (electronics versus fashion accessories) are examined.Design/methodology/approachAn online experiment was carried out which manipulated the presence and type of challenging m-WOM, and product category, in a 3 × 2 between-subjects factorial design. The participants were 204 consumers recruited through a market research agency. Their perceptions about the helpfulness of the m-WOM, and their product preferences and choices, were analysed.FindingsReceiving in-store m-WOM was perceived as helpful by webroomers and affected their preferences and choices. For electronics online reviews posted by anonymous customers were more influential than friends' opinions, whereas the opposite was the case with fashion accessories. The trustworthiness and expertise of the m-WOM source may explain the effects of m-WOM.Practical implicationsm-WOM entails challenges and opportunities for retailers in the omnichannel era. The findings suggest that allowing customers to access m-WOM may be beneficial; however, retailers must consider the type of m-WOM that may be most suitable for their businesses. Recommendations for referral and review sites are also offered.Originality/valueThis study examines the impact of challenging m-WOM on shopping experiences, combining online, mobile and physical channels. The results revealed the importance of the information source and product category in the determination of consumers' perceptions of helpfulness, preferences and choice.

• Publication year

  2020

• Venue

  International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management

• Publication date

  2020-11-25

• Fields of study

  Business, Psychology

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1108/ijrdm-05-2020-0169
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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