Shopping within today's retail environment - Understanding how the practice of shopping is performed in regard to omni-channels

Abstract

Proceeding from the practice theory perspective, the aim of this thesis is to contribute to a better understanding of today’s shopping within the retail industry. The purpose of this thesis is to examine how the practice of shopping is performed within today’s omni-channel based retailing. A qualitative study was executed in form of semi-structured interviews with nine consumers in order to analyze their shopping practices. The results gave insight into how omni-channels works in practice. The study showed that shopping mostly consisted of two different activities, finding inspiration or information and then making the actual purchase. These activities were performed on both online channels, such as the company website and on social media, but also in the physical store, creating both long and short customer journeys. The study also showed that different kinds of element arrangements are necessary in order to perform the shopping practice. The thesis added to current research within shopping as practice, omni-channel shopping and customer journey, by illustrating how the shopping is performed by interacting with companies using various channels. Further, the thesis contributed with managerial implications and theoretical knowledge by strengthen the understanding of how the practice of shopping is performed in today’s retail environment.