Omnichannel operations in the automotive aftermarket: Consumer reactions to various strategies

The new retail mode in the digital era has forced firms to engage in omnichannel management. Although many companies have realized the importance of omnichannel operations, not all firms implementing omnichannel operations have achieved the expected returns. To explain why this is the case, we draw on signaling theory and use the automotive aftermarket as our research context to explore consumer reactions to various omnichannel strategies. We design two scenario-based experiments involving a total of 630 Chinese consumers. The results show that while implementing omnichannel operations is necessary, a wider scope of omnichannel operations (i.e., the breadth strategy) does not have a significant effect on consumers' service usage intentions. By contrast, increasing the density of omnichannel operations (i.e., the depth strategy) can significantly enhance consumers’ service usage intentions. More interestingly, we find that signal costs and perceived service quality are two key mediators in linking the depth strategy–service usage intention association. Our study contributes to existing omnichannel management research by highlighting the mechanisms behind the successful implementation of omnichannel operations. The findings also assist firms in effectively merging their online and offline channels.