Customer experience – a review and research agenda

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on customer experience to develop a better understanding of the concept and propose a research agenda. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on a thorough review of 69 full-text articles, 12 books and one published dissertation related to customer experience. Findings: The review describes the relevance of experiential perspective, service experience and customer experience to attract, delight and retain customers. Customer experience is regarded as a holistic interactive process, facilitated through cognitive and emotional clues, moderated by customer and contextual characteristics, resulting into unique and pleasurable/un-pleasurable memories. The study provides a deeper understanding of the concept and research issues for customer experience. Research limitations/implications: It provides important insights into the emergence, development, management and measurement of customer experience-related issues for future research. Practical implications: Customer experience needs to be considered and managed as a holistic strategic process for creating customer value, differentiation, customer satisfaction, loyalty and competitive advantage. Originality/value: The study contributes to the understanding of customer experience and research agenda based on a thorough review of literature spanning 25 years.