CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 4

A framework to improve retail customer experience: a qualitative study exploring the customer journey

Poorrezaei, Mojtaba, Pich, Christopher, Resnick, Sheilagh·2023·Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal
DOI 10.1108/qmr-07-2022-0120
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to construct an integrated retail customer experience framework with a single view across platforms and to suggest a new conceptualisation of the customer experience term. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative approach was adopted. Thirty participants were asked to simulate their customer journey in an established UK department store retailer. Their experience was captured through focus groups and analysed by thematic analysis. Findings: The findings indicate that the existence of personalisation and emotional attachment will enhance the customer experience. A new integrated retail customer experience framework is offered incorporating the traditional “7Ps” of marketing and a proposed eighth “P”, which is conceptualised as personal connection. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical study to use the notion of personal connection as a dialectic relationship between emotional attachment and personalisation as the central discussion in developing customer experience within a retail setting. This study captures this experience through a unique method of replication of the retail customer journey across multiple channels.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1108/qmr-07-2022-0120

Cites

5 of 5 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Empirical consumer and retailer perspectives on physical fashion retail remain deficient, especially concerning tactile, sensory, and hedonic needs.

    “Empirical consumer and retailer perspectives on this topic remain deficient (Bäckström and Johansson, 2017;Bruce et al., 2023;Poorrezaei et al., 2023), especially within the physical fashion retail context, with nuances concerning tactile, sensory, and hedonic needs.”

    From Retail futures: Customer experience, phygital retailing, and the Experiential Retail Territories perspective (2025) · cites this paper as Poorrezaei et al., 2023

    The Introduction says prior customer-experience studies were largely quantitative or conceptual and motivates a qualitative study of the retail customer journey. The Abstract describes consumer focus groups in a UK department store, but neither passage establishes a lack of retailer perspectives or a research gap specific to physical fashion retail and tactile, sensory, or hedonic needs. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The changing emphasis of stores' roles from sales generation to a space conferring a more holistic contribution to CX remains under-researched.

    “however, the changing emphasis of stores' roles from sales generation to a space conferring a more holistic contribution to CX remains under-researched (Bruce et al., 2023;Poorrezaei et al., 2023).”

    From Retail futures: Customer experience, phygital retailing, and the Experiential Retail Territories perspective (2025) · cites this paper as Poorrezaei et al., 2023

    The Context section describes a retailer expecting more digital sales while its stores create memorable customer experiences. The Introduction identifies a research gap in how interactions across channels contribute to overall experience, but it does not specifically say that the shift from stores generating sales to serving a more holistic CX role is under-researched. Page numbers were not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 68

  1. Acquila-Natale, E & Inglesias-Prades, S. (2020), "How to measure quality in multi-channel retailing and not die", Journal of Business Research, Vol. 109, pp. 38-148.
  2. Alston, M. & Bowles, W. (2007), Research for Social Workers: An Introduction to Methods. London: Routledge.
  3. Angelini, A. & Gilli, A. (2021), "Customer experience can play a strategic role for wineries", Journal of Business Strategy, Vol. 43 No. 6, pp. 391-396.
  4. Becker, L. (2018), "Methodological proposals for the study of consumer experience", Qualitative Market Research, Vol. 21 No. 4, pp. 465-490.
  5. Becker, L. & Jaakkola, E. (2020), "Customer experience: fundamental premises and implications for research", Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 48 No. 4, pp. 630-648.
  6. Bell, E. Bryman, A. & Harley, B. (2019), Business Research Methods. London: Oxford University Press.
  7. Bilgihan, A. Okumus, F. Nusair, K. & Bujisic, M. (2014), "Online experiences: flow theory, measuring online customer experience in e-commerce and managerial implications for the lodging industry", Information Technology Tourism, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 49-71.
  8. Bloor, M. Frankland, J. Thomas, M. & Robson, K. (2001), Focus Groups in Social Research, London: Sage Publications Ltd.
  9. Booms, B.H. & Bitner, M.J. (1981), "Marketing strategies and organization structures for service firms", in Donnelly, J.H. and George, W.R. (Eds), Marketing of Services, American Marketing Association, Chicago, IL, pp. 47-51.
  10. Bond, D. & Ramsey, E. (2010), "The role of information and communication technologies in using projective techniques as survey tools to meet the challenges of bounded rationality", Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, Vol. 13 No. 4, pp. 430-440.
  11. Cayla, J. & Eckhardt, G.M. (2007), "Asian brands without borders: regional opportunities and challenges", International Marketing Review, Vol. 24 No. 4, pp. 444-456.
  12. Cunliffe, A. L. (2008), "Orientations to social constructionism: Relationally responsive social constructionism and its implications for knowledge and learning", Management Learning, Vol. 39 No. 2, pp. 123-139.
  13. Cummins, S. Peltier, J.W. & Dixon, A. (2016), "Omni-channel research framework in the context of personal selling and sales management: A review and research extensions", Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 2-16.
  14. Cuomo, M.T. Tortora, D. Festa, G. Ceruti, F. & Metallo, G. (2020), "Managing omni- customer brand experience via augmented reality: A qualitative investigation in the Italian fashion retailing system", Qualitative Market Research, Vol. 23 No. 3, pp. 427-445.
  15. Daymon, C. & Holloway, I. (2011), Qualitative Research Methods in Public Relations and Marketing Communications, New York: Routledge.
  16. De Bellis, E. Hildebrand, C. Ito, K. Herrmann, A. & Schmitt, B. (2019), "Personalizing the customization experience: A matching theory of mass customization interfaces and cultural information processing", Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 56 No. 6, pp. 1050-1065.
  17. De Keyser, A. Verleye, K. Lemon, K. Keiningham, T. & Klaus, P. (2020), "Moving the Customer Experience Field Forward: Introducing the Touchpoints, Context, Qualities (TCQ) Nomenclature", Journal of Service Research, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp.433-455.
  18. Duncan, T. & Moriarty, S. (2006), "How Integrated Marketing Communication's "Touchpoints" Can Operationalize the Service-Dominant". In: R. Lusch and S. Vargo, ed., The Service-Dominant Logic of Marketing, 1st ed. New York: Routledge.
  19. Farmer, T. Robinson, K. Elliott, S.J. & Eyles, J. (2006), "Developing and Implementing a Triangulation Protocol for Qualitative Health Research", Qualitative Health Research, Vol. 16 No. 3, pp. 377-394.
  20. Følstad, A. & Kvale, K. (2018), "Customer journeys: a systematic literature review", Journal of Service Theory and Practice, Vol. 28 No. 2, pp. 196-227.
  21. Gambetti, R. Biraghi, S. Schultz, D. E. & Graffigna, G. (2015), "Brand wars: Consumer-brand engagement beyond client-agency fights", Journal of Strategic Marketing, Vol. 24 No. 2, pp. 1-14.
  22. Gentile, C. Spiller, N. & Noci, G. (2007), "How to sustain the Customer Experience: An Overview of experience Components that Co-create Value with the Customer", European Management Journal, Vol. 25 No. 5, pp.395-4.
  23. Gillham, B. (2005), Research Interviewing: the range of techniques, Berkshire England: Open University Press.
  24. Greenhalgh, J. & Manzano, A., (2022), "Understanding 'context' in realist evaluation and synthesis", International Journal of Social Research Methodology, Vol. 25 No. 5, pp.583-595.
  25. Grewal, D. & Roggeveen, A. (2020), "Understanding Retail Experiences and Customer Journey Management", Journal of Retailing, Vol. 96 No. 1, pp. 3-8.
  26. Gummesson, E. (2005), "Qualitative research in marketing: Role-map for a wilderness of complexity and unpredictability", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 39 No. 3-4, pp. 309- 327.
  27. Halliday, M. Mill, D. Johnson, J. & Lee, K. (2021), "Let's talk virtual! Online focus group facilitation for the modern researcher", Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, Vol. 7 (2021), pp. 2145-2150.
  28. Hamzah, Z.L. Sharifah, F.S.A. & Othman, M.N. (2014), "Designing corporate brand experience in an online context: a qualitative insight", Journal of Business Research, Vol. 67 No. 11, pp. 2299-2310.
  29. Hess, J. & Story, J. (2005), "Trust-based commitment: multidimensional consumer-brand relationships", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 22 No. 6, pp.313-322.
  30. Homburg, C. Jozić, D. & Kuehnl, C. (2017), "Customer experience management: toward implementing an evolving marketing concept", Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 45 No. 3, pp. 377-401.
  31. Hsu, H. Yu, H. & Tsou, H. (2011), "Understanding customer experiences in online blog environments", International Journal of Information Management, Vol. 31 No. 31, pp. 510- 523.
  32. Iglesias, O. Sauquet, A. & Montaña, J. (2011), "The role of corporate culture in relationship marketing", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 45 No. 4, pp. 631-650.
  33. Jenkinson, H. Leahy, P. Scanlon, M. Powell, F. & Byrne, O. (2019), "The value of groupwork knowledge and skills in focus group research: A focus group approach with marginalised teens regarding access to third-level education", International Journal of Qualitative Methods, Vol. 18, pp. 1-11.
  34. Keiningham, T.L. Aksoy, L. Bruce, H.L. Cadet, F. Clennell, N. Hodgkinson, N.R. & Kearney, T. (2020), "Customer Experience Driven Business Model Innovation," Journal of Business Research, Vol. 116, pp.431-440.
  35. Kranzbühler, A. Kleijnen, M. Morgan, R. & Teerling, M. (2018), "The Multilevel Nature of Customer Experience Research: An Integrative Review and Research Agenda", International Journal of Management Reviews, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp.433-456.
  36. Lambiri, D. Faggian, A. & Wrigley, N. (2016), "Linked-trip effects of 'town-centre-first' era foodstore development: An assessment using difference-in-differences", Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science, Vol. 44 No. 1, pp.160-179.
  37. Larson, R.B. (2019), "Controlling social desirability bias", International Journal of Market Research, Vol. 61 No. 5, pp.534-547.
  38. Lemon, K.N. & Verhoef, P.C. (2016), "Understanding Customer Experience Throughout the Customer Journey", Journal of Marketing, Vol. 80 No. 6, pp. 69-96.
  39. Leva, M. & Ziliani, C. (2018), "The role of customer experience touchpoints in driving loyalty intentions in services", The TQM Journal, Vol. 30 No. 5, 444-457.
  40. Lin, Z. & Bennett, D. (2014), "Examining retail customer experience and the moderation effect of loyalty programmes", International journal of retail and distribution management, Vol. 42 No. 10. pp. 929-947.
  41. Mari, M. & Poggesi, S. (2013), "Servicescape cues and customer behavior: A systematic literature review and research agenda", The Service Industries Journal, Vol. 33 No. 2, pp. 171- 199.
  42. Marmat, G. (2021), "Enhancing brand experience in the online social media network context: a contingency perspective", Qualitative Market Research, Vol. 24 No. 5, pp. 581-609.
  43. Muijeen, K. Kongvattananon, P. & Somprasert, C. (2020), "The key success factors in focus group discussions with the elderly for novice researchers: a review", Journal of Health Research, Vol. 34 No. 4, pp. 359-371.
  44. Morgan-Thomas, A. & Veloutsou, C. (2013), "Beyond Technology Acceptance: Brand Relationships and Online Brand Experience", Journal of Business Resources, Vol. 66, pp. 21- 27.
  45. Nguyen, A. McClelland, R. & Thuan, N. (2022), "Exploring customer experience during channel switching in omnichannel retailing context: A qualitative assessment", Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Vol. 64, pp. 102803.
  46. Payne, A. Frow, P. & Eggert, A. (2017), "The customer value proposition: evolution, development, and application in marketing", Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. Vol. 45, pp. 467-489.
  47. Pich, C. Armannsdottir, G. Dean, D. Spry, L. & Jain, V. (2020), "Problematizing the presentation and reception of political brands: The strategic and operational nature of the political brand alignment model", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 54 No. 1, pp. 190-211.
  48. Pich, C. & Dean, D. (2015), "Qualitative projective techniques in political brand image research from the perspective of young adults", Qualitative Market Research, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 115-144.
  49. Pine, B. & Gilmore, J. (1998), "Welcome to the experience economy", Harvard Business Review, Vol. 76 No. 4, pp. 96-105.
  50. Rageh, A. Melewar, T.C. & Woodside, A. (2013), "Using netnography research method to reveal the underlying dimensions of the customer/tourist experience", Qualitative Market Research, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 126-149.
  51. Reichheld, F. & Sasser, W.E. (1990), "Zero defections: quality comes to services", Harvard Business Review, Vol. 68 September/ October, pp. 105-111.
  52. Roggeveen, A.L. Grewal, D. & Schweiger, E.B. (2020), "The DAST framework for retail atmospherics: The impact of in-and out-of-store retail journey touchpoints on the customer experience", Journal of Retailing, Vol. 96 No. 1, pp. 128-137.
  53. Rose, S. Clark, M. Samouel, P. & Hair, N. (2012), "Online customer experience in e-retailing: An empirical model of antecedents and outcomes", Journal of Retailing, Vol. 88 No. 2, pp. 308-322.
  54. Romaniuk, J. Dawes, J. & Nenycz-Thiel, M. (2018), "Modeling brand market share change in emerging markets", International Marketing Review, Vol. 35 No. 5, pp. 785-805.
  55. Schmitt, B. (1999), "Experiential Marketing", Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. 15 No. 1-3, pp. 53-67.
  56. Schweidel, D.A. Bart, Y. Inman, J.J. Stephen, A.T. Libai, B. Andrews, M. Rosario, A.B. Chae, I. Chen, Z. Kupor D. Longoni, C. & Thomaz, F. (2022), "How consumer digital signals are reshaping the customer journey", Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 50, pp. 1257-1276.
  57. Singh, K.D. (2015), "Creating Your Own Qualitative Research Approach: Selecting, Integrating and Operationalizing Philosophy, Methodology and Methods", Vision: The Journal of Business Perspective, Vol. 19 No. 2, 132-146.
  58. Surprenant, C.F. & Solomon, M. R. (1987), "Predictability and personalization in the service encounter", Journal of Marketing, Vol. 51 No. 2, pp. 86-96.
  59. Simons, H. (2014), Case Study Research: In-Depth Understanding in Context, in Leavy, P. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research, Oxford Library of Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199811755.013.005. · DOI
  60. Thakur, R. (2019), "The moderating role of customer engagement experiences in customer satisfaction-loyalty relationship", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 53 No. 7, pp. 1278- 1310.
  61. Tyrväinen, O. Karjaluoto, H. & Saarijärvi, H. (2020), "Personalization and hedonic motivation in creating customer experiences and loyalty in omnichannel retail", Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Vol. 57, 102233.
  62. Ucbasaran, D. Westhead, P. & Wright, M. (2001), "The focus of entrepreneurial research: contextual and process issues", Entrepreneurship theory and practice, Vol. 25 No. 4, pp. 57- 80.
  63. Vaughan, C. Buja, L. Kruczkiewicz, A. Goddard, L. (2016), "Identifying research priorities to advance climate services", Climate Services, Vol. 4, pp. 65-74.
  64. Verhoef, P.C. Neslin, S.A. & Vroomen, B. (2007), "Multichannel customer management: Understanding the research-shopper phenomenon", International Journal of Research in Marketing, Vol. 24 No. 2, pp.129-148.
  65. Voorhees, C. Fombelle, P. Gregoire, Y. Bone, S. Gustafsson, A. Sousa, R. & Walkowiak, T. (2017), "Service encounters, experiences and the customer journey: Defining the field and a call to expand our lens", Journal of Business Research, Vol. 79, pp. 269-280.
  66. Welch, C. Paavilainen-Mäntymäki, E. Piekkari, R. & Plakoyiannaki, E. (2022), "Reconciling theory and context: How the case study can set a new agenda for international business research", Journal of International Business Studies, Vol. 53 No. 1, pp. 4-26.
  67. Wilson, A. Zeithaml, V. Biner, M.J. & Gremler, D.D. ( 2016), Services Marketing. Integrating Customer Focus Across The Firm 4 th .ed. London: McGraw Hill.
  68. Zha, D. Foroudi, P. Melewar, T.C. & Jin, Z. (2022), "Experiencing the sense of the brand: the mining, processing and application of brand data through sensory brand experiences", Qualitative Market Research, Vol. 25 No. 2, pp. 205-232.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Poorrezaei, M., Pich, C., & Resnick, S.
Venue
Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal
Publisher
Emerald
Published
2023-08-11
Volume
26
Issue
5
Pages
663-686
ISSN
1352-2752
DOI
10.1108/qmr-07-2022-0120
Cited by
4
References
5
Language
en
Licence
www.emerald.com/insight/site-policies (tdm)

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review