Using multiple channels along the buying process is common for today’s consumers. Research suggests that additional channels enhance customer satisfaction and ultimately customer loyalty. However, research that focuses on the relationship between satisfaction with multichannel performance and behavioral consequences is relatively sparse. As this topic is of tremendous importance for retail practice this study attempts to investigate main drivers of consumer satisfaction in a multichannel environment and the consequences concerning consumer behavior and loyalty. Therefore we take on an approach of Renoux (1973) that considers explicitly the aspect of the consumer decision stage in order to explain satisfaction with a multichannel retailer. The study focuses on satisfaction in the pre-purchase and purchase stage. Furthermore, it is investigated whether the perceived integration of channels has an influence on satisfaction with a multichannel retailer. Results of a structural equation model based on a survey among 171 German multichannel shoppers show that satisfaction in the pre-purchase stage is a crucial predictor of consumer’s overall satisfaction with a multichannel retailer. It has also a strong impact on satisfaction in purchase stage and can therefore influence the buying decision. To add, perception of the integration of channels positively influences the overall satisfaction with the multichannel retailer. Satisfaction, in turn, can lead to loyalty to the multichannel retailer and thereby influences repurchase and supplementary purchase intention, and recommendation intention. The study concludes with managerial implications and suggests directions for further research.

• Jessica Fleer(University of Braunschweig)