Mobile-assisted showrooming and the influence of location-based advertising on consumers' purchase intentions

Over the last decade, the retail industry has seen dramatic changes, driven by advancements of new retail and mobile consumer technologies, evolving consumer and shopping patterns, and a growing consumer trend towards showrooming. As smartphones become increasingly integrated into consumers' lives, they have also led to a new threat for retailers: "mobile-assisted showroomers", that is, consumers who avoid sales staff and rather rely on their smart phones as personal shopping assistant. The goal of this thesis is to investigate the phenomenon of mobile-assisted showrooming and to understand how location-based advertising can be utilized to engage with consumers more effectively. This research contributes to multiple literature streams, in particular omni-channel and showrooming literature, and offers empirical insights into attitudes and behaviors of mobile-assisted showroomers as well as enablers and barriers of location-based advertising to engage with showrooming customers.