Title: Physical web atmospherics: utilising internet of things to conceptualise store atmosphere in omnichannel retailing

Authors: Chris Lazaris; Adam Vrechopoulos; Georgios I. Doukidis

Addresses: Department of Management Science and Technology, School of Business, Athens University of Economics and Business, Patission 76, 10434 Athens, Greece ' Department of Management Science and Technology, School of Business, Athens University of Economics and Business, Patission 76, 10434 Athens, Greece ' Department of Management Science and Technology, School of Business, Athens University of Economics and Business, Patission 76, 10434 Athens, Greece

Abstract: The evolution of multichannel retailing in the form of omnichannel retailing (omniretailing), dramatically alters the retailing landscape. In parallel, physical web, a Bluetooth beacons approach to the internet of things (IoT) aims at revolutionising omniretailing, transforming it to physical web retailing. As a result, traditional store atmosphere is enhanced with online atmospheric cues, which create a multichannel environment that provokes several research questions and produces important managerial implications. The study proposes conceptual frameworks of the 'omnichannel retailing store atmosphere (ORSA)' and 'physical web atmospherics' based on the S-O-R model paradigm, in order to hypothesise that the presence of physical and web atmospheric cues in physical stores, which seamlessly integrate with each other (social-local-mobile settings), affects consumer's behaviour in a synergistic manner. The validation of the dominance factor and the flow state in such environments could possibly indicate a shift to consumer's perceived sense of control in traditional stores.

Keywords: omnichannel retailing; internet of things; IoT; physical web; Bluetooth beacons; store atmosphere; S-O-R; flow; dominance; social-local-mobile; SoLoMo; literature review; proximity marketing; eddystone beacon; consumer behaviour.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTMKT.2017.091752

International Journal of Technology Marketing, 2017 Vol.12 No.4, pp.389 - 416

Received: 29 Apr 2017
Accepted: 21 Dec 2017
Published online: 14 May 2018 *

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