This study examined the effects of customer experience on channel loyalty and firm performance in an omnichannel environment. Study 1 identified the dimensions of customer experience applicable to the omnichannel context, and Study 2 investigated the influence of each customer experience dimension on omnichannel loyalty and how this influence varies by retail format.

The main findings are as follows. First, customer experience in the omnichannel context was found to consist of four dimensions: accessibility, personalization, convenience, and synchronicity. Second, customer experience in the omnichannel environment was shown to affect customer relationship performance through omnichannel loyalty, confirming the mediating effect of omnichannel loyalty. Among the four dimensions of customer experience, personalization, convenience, and synchronicity had significant effects on omnichannel loyalty, whereas the effect of accessibility on omnichannel loyalty was not significant. Third, the effects of personalization and convenience on omnichannel loyalty among the omnichannel customer experience dimensions were found to vary by retail format. Specifically, personalization was identified as a more important factor in department stores, while convenience was more important in discount stores.

This study makes a significant contribution by extending and conceptualizing customer experience and channel loyalty—which have primarily been addressed in single-channel environments—to be applicable to the new omnichannel environment. The findings of this study provide answers regarding what types of customer experience can enhance omnichannel loyalty in the omnichannel environment, thereby helping retailers effectively formulate channel strategies in today's competitive landscape where switching barriers between channels are increasingly diminishing.