Customer behaviour in e-retail: Investigating cultural e-touchpoint differences within the consumer journey

Abstract

The consultancy project focused on enhancing website engagement and expanding consumer reach for an SME specializing in vegan sustainable jewellery. With the growth in e-commerce within the Eastern market, the company faces the challenge of maintaining visibility for new consumers during their consumer journey (CJ). To address this, SMART KPIs were formulated based on the client’s objectives.

This project seeks to gain insights into the behavioral effects, attitudes, and intentions of eastern consumers (EC) and western consumers (WC) during the online CJ. Exploring the online shopping behaviors of both WC and EC, the project utilizes consumer decision-making theories, Hofstede's cultural framework, and a three-stage CJ model (pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase). The literature review identifies a gap in understanding the cultural affects within an online context of the CJ and the identification of touchpoints deemed critical to consumers. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 10 ethnically diverse female consumers representing WC and EC groups. This sample was selected to reflect the client’s target demographic.

Thematic analysis revealed several shared critical e-touchpoints, such as using Google and viewing reviews during the pre-purchase stage. EC place significant importance on social touchpoints like word of mouth (WOM) because of their collectivist nature and high uncertainty avoidance (UA), whereas WC prioritize incentives and customized content due to their promotion-focused behavior. To fulfill the KPIs and client objectives, the researcher proposed e-marketing strategies informed by analyzing SEMrush data, which evaluates the client’s current organic traffic and backlinks.

It became evident that search engine optimization, involving keywords tailored to Eastern regions and partnerships with Eastern bloggers, could enhance market reach and meet the WOM e-touchpoint of EC. This approach is expected to reduce UA among EC. Furthermore, including a review feature on client's website, addressing a critical journey-ending e-touchpoint of both consumer groups, is recommended. For WC, strategies like incentivized deals and customized mailing lists are suggested to increase engagement and interaction on both the website and client’s social media platforms. Additionally, a conceptual framework was constructed to guide SME managers and marketers, illustrating critical e-touchpoints through the online CJ stages. This framework helps identify where consumers most often end their CJ due to unmet touchpoints, demonstrating the importance of a customer loyalty loop. By successfully addressing these e- touchpoints, the client can create a more relevant online consumer experience, ultimately driving continuous engagement and loyalty among their target market and facilitating entrance into the eastern region for greater market reach.