Omnichannel Marketing Strategy and Customer Experience in the Retail Industry: An Integrative Literature Review

Abstract

Retail customers increasingly move between physical stores, websites, mobile applications, and social platforms, making coordinated channel experiences a strategic concern for retailers. This integrative literature review examined how omnichannel marketing strategies relate to customer experience and subsequent consumer responses in the retail industry. The review synthesized 10 selected conceptual and empirical journal studies published within the past decade. Literature was identified through searches using terms related to omnichannel retailing, channel integration, customer experience, customer journeys, satisfaction, purchase intention, and loyalty. Eligible studies addressed retail contexts and examined strategy, integration, or customer experience across multiple channels. Findings were analyzed thematically rather than statistically pooled because the studies differed in design, context, and measurement. The synthesis identified three recurring patterns. First, channel coordination particularly consistency of information and services, transaction continuity, and fulfilment integration was central to customers’ perceptions of a connected journey. Second, customer experience was multidimensional, encompassing functional evaluations such as convenience and effort, alongside affective responses such as engagement and flow. Third, empirical studies associated integration and positive experience with satisfaction, reduced perceived risk, purchase or patronage intention, and loyalty-related outcomes. These relationships varied across studies, and the review did not establish a single universal effect size or causal pathway. Conceptually, the review connects omnichannel strategy, perceived customer experience, and behavioral responses within a unified framework. It concludes that providing multiple channels is insufficient on its own: retailers need to coordinate them around customer needs and evaluate whether customers experience that coordination as consistent, convenient, and valuable. Further research should test these pathways using comparable measures across retail sectors.