1. Introduction
To promote business sustainability, retailers are embracing an omni-channel strategy as a priority for business development. Omni-channel aims to provide consumers with a consistent cross-channel shopping experience by coordinating decentralized service processes and technologies across channels [
1,
2]. BOPS is actually an omni-channel strategy commonly adopted by retailers today. Sales revenue from BOPS channel increased by an average of 35% during the 2019 holiday season. Further, the development of BOPS has been accelerated since the restrictions and lockdowns during the global pandemic in recent years have pushed more retailers to adopt a BOPS strategy. An omni-channel report released by Digital Commerce 360 shows that by the beginning of 2021, 68.7% of the U.S. retailers had offered a BOPS service [
3]. For omni-channel retailers, the BOPS strategy can reduce the risk of single-channel sales and improve the chances of product sales as it is a hybrid channel strategy that can fill the gap between exclusively shopping in the brick-and-mortar store and ordering online for delivery [
4]. On the other hand, BOPS is the perfect way to increase in-store customer flow, which may significantly lead to sustainable growth in brick-and-mortar store sales. For the customers, they can place orders anytime and anywhere online and choose to go to the nearest store or pickup location once the order is ready. With BOPS, customers do not have to deal with additional shipping cost and long delivery time and can return and quickly exchange the items that do not meet their expectation, which helps to promote sustainable satisfaction throughout the shopping process [
5]. The BOPS strategy has played a key role not only in promoting sustainable growth in sales, but also in improving the sustainable satisfaction of consumers [
6]. Therefore, from the perspective of consumers, exploring and enhancing consumers’ sustainable usage intention of BOPS is of great significance to the long-term sustainable development of the BOPS strategy and omni-channel retailing.
BOPS can be regarded as a new service system with both software (e.g., joint inventory management software; joint financial management software) and supporting establishment (e.g., pickup tower of Wal-Mart; pickup station of JD store) from the perspective of consumers. In the field of information system, sustainable usage intention usually means the people’s continuous willingness to use a certain technology or system. For example, in the context of e-commerce, Lin et al. [
7] conducted a study on consumer’s sustainable usage intention of mobile payment technology. In the field of public administration, Si et al. [
8] exploreed the public’s continuous usage intention of bike-sharing systems. In this paper, we will focus on consumer’s sustainable usage intention of BOPS. When studying user acceptance or using intention, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) proposed by Davis is one of the most mature research theories. In addition, the characteristics of the system itself are often considered to be an important factor affecting the willingness to use the system [
9,
10]. Hence, for BOPS, an online and offline collaborative information service system, the quality of cross-channel integration between online and offline channels is believed to have a key impact on the user experience with the system.
However, previous papers have not paid enough attention to this research direction. As far as we know, few papers have introduced the TAM to study whether channel integration quality has an impact on the sustainable usage intention of BOPS through perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Hence, this paper aims to create an appropriate theoretical framework for continuous BOPS usage based on TAM, which can help to identify the ways in which omni-channel retailers can promote the sustainable development of BOPS.
This paper is organized as follows:
Section 2 puts forward the research model and hypotheses based on TAM.
Section 3 details the design of the scale and the collection of data.
Section 4 examines the measurement model and explains the hypotheses testing results. The research findings and implications from the perspectives of BOPS business management are discussed in
Section 5.
Section 6 summarizes the main findings, the contributions of this paper, and the limitations and possible future research directions.
4. Data Analysis and Results
The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is one of the most widely used empirical research methods in psychology and marketing fields because of its excellent performance to analyze direct and indirect relationships between constructs of complex models. Therefore, SEM is employed to examine the proposed relationship and research model in this paper [
38,
39]. Specifically, we use Smart PLS 3.0, a statistical analysis software widely used in modeling studies with formative structures, to test the proposed hypotheses and conceptual model. The measurement consists of two parts: the test of the measurement model and the test of the structural model. Specifically, we first test the reliability and validity of the measurement model. On the premise that the measurement model is qualified, we evaluate the structural model to verify the significance level the hypotheses and draw the theoretical explanatory power of the proposed TAM model.
4.1. Test of Measurement Model
According to Henseler et al. [
40], when the estimates of the three indicators, the factorial loading, Cronbach’s Alpha, composite reliability (CR) are all above the required threshold of 0.7, which implicates that the measurement model has a good reliability. The result of
Table 3 indicates that factorial loading values range from 0.749 to 0.963, Cronbach’s Alpha values range from 0.705 to 0.914, and CR values range from 0.835 to 0.958. These values all exceed the recommended benchmark value of 0.7.
We then conduct the convergent validity test for the measurement model. It is recommended that the AVE values should be greater than the benchmark value of 0.5. The results in
Table 3 show that the AVE values are all reaching the required threshold of 0.5, ranging from 0.629 to 0.919. That indicates the scale has good convergent validity. Furthermore, according to Fornell and Larcker [
41], the discriminant validity, which represents the extent to which a construct is truly different from other constructs, requires that the square root of AVE value should be greater than its inter-construct correlation coefficients. From the correlation matrix in
Table 4, we can see that the square root of the AVE value for each latent construct is greater than the corresponding correlation coefficients. Therefore, a qualified discriminant validity is showed in this measurement model.
In addition, we conduct a multicollinearity test to further test the reliability of this scale. According to Hair et al. [
42], a multicollinearity problem exists if the variance inflation factors (VIFs) are greater than the threshold of 10. The results in
Table 5 show that the VIF values ranged from 1.253 to 1.735 and are lower than a more stringent threshold of 3, which implies that the multicollinearity problem is not considered a threat in this study.
4.2. Test of Structure Model
We test the structure model, and the results of the data analysis are summarized in
Table 6 and
Figure 2. On the whole, 8 out of 10 hypotheses are supported by the data. The results show that BOPS using intention is positively affected by perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, and the proportions of variances explained are 50.6% (t = 6.133) for perceived usefulness, and 33.7% (t = 8.507) for perceived ease of use. Thus Hypothesis 1 and Hypothesis 2 are supported. As expected, channel service transparency has a positive and significant impact on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, with path coefficient at 0.275 (t = 4.395) and 0.281 (t = 5.206), supporting Hypothesis 3 and Hypothesis 4. The positive effect of channel choice breadth on perceived ease of use confirms Hypothesis 6 (β = 0.337, t = 5.705), while the significant effects of channel choice breadth on perceived usefulness (Hypothesis 5) is not verified. Results show that content consistency relates positively to perceived usefulness (β = 0.300; t = 3.784), which substantiates Hypothesis 7, whereas the positive effect of content consistency on perceived ease of use (Hypothesis 8) is not confirmed. Results indicate that process consistency positively affect attitude towards perceived usefulness (β = 0.137; t = 1.989) and perceived ease of use (β = 0.145; t = 2.374), respectively. Therefore, Hypothesis 9 and Hypothesis 10 are supported.
We employ bootstrapping procedures to further examine the significance of the hypothesis. The analytical result shows that the 95% confidence interval (CI) does not include zero at the 0.05 level, which verifies the significance of the corresponding hypothesis.
5. Discussion and Implications
5.1. Discussion
The goal of the paper is to apply TAM to explore the influence of channel integration quality on people’s sustainable usage intention of BOPS. The main findings are discussed below. Firstly, we examine the role of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use in influencing consumers’ willingness to adopt BOPS channel. The results indicate that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use have significant positive effects on the sustainable using intention. That is to say, when consumers perceive that BOPS channel can help them improve shopping efficiency and satisfaction, they are more likely to adopt it. This finding is also consistent with the fact that consumers are always concerned about the characteristic advantage of the purchase channel, and high channel integration quality can help consumers to achieve the desired shopping effect and improve the satisfaction of their purchase [
43,
44]. In addition, the more consumers find BOPS service as convenient to use, the more likely they are to further visit and explore the BOPS channel. It supports that perceived ease of use remains important in the formation of shopping channel adoption intent [
5].
Secondly, the result shows that channel service transparency has significant positive influence on both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. That means the more transparent the information about the available channels, the more useful the BOPS system will be to consumers. Additionally, with the clear information about available channels, it is getting easier for consumers to use BOPS. With a high level of channel service transparency, consumers can explore the advantages and disadvantages of each channel, and easily collect the information they need, effectively reducing the information asymmetry consumers perceive [
45].
Thirdly, channel choice breadth has a significant positive impact on perceived ease of use but has no significant impact on perceived usefulness. The empirical results prove that the more channels consumers can choose, the easier consumers can use channels to satisfy their shopping tasks. Enough channel selection provides customers with the freedom to pick up different channels in different stages (e.g., purchase stage, payment stage). For example, consumers search for products through the website, because it is convenient and flexible to browse products on the web, and then go to the B&M store to buy, because they want to experience the product physically. Thus, it strengthens their self-control and creates a sense of security [
46,
47]. However, the diversity of channels does not necessarily make consumers find BOPS services more useful. Possible explanation for this might be that, in general, consumers are always concerned about how to improve their shopping benefits. However, the rich channel choices cannot essentially enhance the shopping utility. For example, channel diversity does not necessarily mean consumers can enjoy lower retail prices, shorter shopping times, or better product quality.
Fourthly, results indicate that the impact of content consistency on perceived usefulness is significant. This is consistent with our common sense. Consistent product information provides a basis for consumers to switch smoothly across different channels, which not only helps improve consumers’ shopping efficiency, but also enhances users’ confidence in using BOPS service. Coordinated marketing plan, similar product and price structure across channels can ease consumer uncertainty and strengthens their trust in retailers [
48]. This result also aligns with the prior research that content consistency helps consumers improve perceived control in omnichannel retailing background [
34]. However, since the hypothesis that content consistency positively affects perceived ease of use is not significant, content consistency does not seem to be an important factor affecting consumers’ perceived ease of use. Previous studies have also found that the diversification of shopping channels also means that consumers need to spend more time comparing the quality differences of products from different channels before purchasing [
49]. Products with the same description create difficulties for consumers to distinguish the authenticity of the product, which may in turn increase the difficulty of shopping.
Finally, we find that process consistency plays a significant role in the process of developing a positive attitude towards BOPS, as it positively affects both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. To some extent, the consistency of comparable attributes between channels means that omni-channel retailers show similar service images to consumers in different channels, which is conducive to cultivating consumers’ trust in omni-channel retailers, and consumers are more willing to explore BOPS service. According to Avery et al. [
50], positive associations that customers form through their knowledge of or visiting a brick-and-mortar store can be transferred to other channels like a halo effect. The presence of large brick-and-mortar stores should have helped increase consumer trust in other channels.
5.2. Implication
First of all, it can be seen from the above discussion that when the transparency of channel services is low, consumers have insufficient understanding of channels, which may reduce the frequency of consumers’ use of BOPS services. Conversely, higher channel service transparency is conducive to deepening consumers’ understanding of BOPS, thereby improving perceived usefulness and ease of use, and increasing consumers’ sustainable usage intention of BOPS. In addition, the breadth of consumers’ channel choices is also closely related to consumers’ perceived ease of use. However, in fact, due to information asymmetry some consumers are not aware of the existence of online stores set up by physical store retailers, or do not know the existence of physical stores operated by online retailers. Therefore, balancing the online and offline publicity work to improve the transparency of channel services and the breadth of channel selection is the key to increasing the sustainable usage intention of BOPS.
Since omni-channel emphasizes providing consumers with a consistent service experience across channels, content consistency between online and offline channels is one of the basic requirements. If the retailer’s physical store and the e-commerce platform sell the same product at different prices, it is easy to cause dissatisfaction among customers who purchase at a high price, which will lead to a bad experience of BOPS service. However, in reality, the operation of different channels may be mainly managed by different online or offline departments, so it is difficult to maintain the same sales information of different channels. Therefore, it is recommended that omni-channel companies can build a unified product information database, carry out the same online and offline employee training, and develop a rotation system between online employees and offline salespersons to ensure content consistency. In particular, the standardization and accuracy of offline sales work are expected to be improved.
The empirical results also show that physical stores and online stores provide consumers with a smooth and consistent service experience process that will allow consumers to perceive the usefulness and ease of use of omni-channel services, thereby affecting the sustainable usage intention of BOPS. A consistent process experience requires omni-channel retailers to formulate consistent service level standards, create a consistent service style, and implement consistent customer relationship management. It should be noted that, considering the relatively complex service process of physical stores, companies should devote more effort to improving the service environment and service quality of offline physical stores in order to balance the service level of the collaborative dual-channel and improve the customer’s consumption experience.
6. Conclusions
This paper uses TAM as the basic conceptual framework to discuss the impact of channel integration quality on people’s sustainable usage intention of BOPS. On this basis, some management opinions on the implementation of BOPS strategy to promote sustainable retailing are put forward. The main results are as follows. As expected, consumers’ perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use have a positive effect on the sustainable usage intention of BOPS. This paper confirms that channel service transparency and process consistency play important roles in the formation of BOPS using intention, as they both promote the sustainable usage intention of BOPS by affecting perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. However, channel choice breadth has no significant impact on perceived usefulness but has a significant positive impact on perceived ease of use. Finally, we find that content consistency has a significant positive impact on perceived usefulness, but the diversity of channels does not necessarily make consumers find BOPS more useful.
The following three key aspects signify the contributions of this research. First of all, some scholars have conducted empirical explorations on omni-channel retailing. However, the empirical research on BOPS in this sub-area are limited. Especially, few people have studied the influencing factors of sustainable usage intention of BOPS. Therefore, this study is expected to fill this gap. Secondly, this study verifies the effects of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use on BOPS usage and provides case support for the TAM model in the new omni-channel context. Thirdly, the research explores the important influence of channel integration quality on the sustainable usage intention of BOPS, and the implications can provide reference for BOPS management practice.
Future contributions can be focused on the following research directions. Firstly, from the perspective of channel characteristics, the paper discusses the influence of limited variables on the sustainable usage intention of BOPS. We can further explore the variables that may influence BOPS usage intention from the perspective of consumers’ personal characteristics, for example, personal extroversion and personal creativity. Secondly, different product categories may affect the sustainable usage intention of BOPS. For example, for some large household appliances (e.g., refrigerator, air conditioner, washing machine), BOPS allows consumers to inspect products in physical stores, which may greatly reduce consumers’ uncertainty about products [
51]. Consumers are more inclined to use BOPS services for products in this category. Therefore, we can investigate the impact of specific categories on BOPS usage intention. Thirdly, we integrate channel integration quality and TAM to identify the factors influencing BOPS usage intention. We may consider other theories to develop and enrich the empirical model, for example, perceived risk and perceived value, to explore the impact of other elements in future research.