Order effect of multi‐touchpoints on Generation Z consumers

Abstract

AbstractAbundant user‐generated content has increasingly driven consumers to form or modify their purchasing decisions based on interactions with other consumers, although the extant research overlooks the customer‐to‐customer (C2C) interaction touchpoints. Based on the customer journey characteristics of cross‐channel and multi‐frequency interactions, this study explores the impact of interaction valence and interaction channel sequence on Generation Z consumers' purchase attitudes from the perspective of attitude modification process. Using a scenario‐based experimental design in a restaurant setting, we sample 616 Generation Z students. Findings suggest that C2C interactions that have the same valence at each touchpoint strengthen Generation Z consumers' initial purchase attitude, whereas inconsistent valences modify purchase attitudes. Our results reveal that a negative‐to‐positive ordering is more conducive to the formation of a positive purchase attitude than a positive‐to‐negative ordering. Moreover, the cross‐channel sequence of a customer journey moderates the inconsistent valence order such that the positive‐to‐negative order improves purchase attitude more than the negative‐to‐positive order. This study explains theoretically the difference of ambivalent experiences on Generation Z consumer attitudes. We provide practical suggestions for multi‐channel restaurant enterprises to successfully employ customer journey touchpoint management.