Strategies that actively involve customers are central to the competitiveness of e-commerce

How is it that some online stores manage to build a loyal and enthusiastic customer base while others fail in the same pursuit, even when they sell similar products, offer comparable quality or work with matching budgets? Why do some brands that invest in e-retailing never achieve a full return on their investment?

To answer these questions, two recent studies analysed how and why certain e-retailing strategies produce tangible and sustainable business results, and what psychological processes are activated in consumers when these strategies are implemented effectively.

Leading the research was Professor Inma Rodríguez-Ardura, coordinator of the Digital Business Research Group (DigiBiz), and Professor Antoni Meseguer Artola, both members of the Faculty of Economics and Business at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). Faculty members María de los Ángeles García Haro, Qian Fu and Doaa Herzallah were also involved in the projects. Their work has been published in open access in the journals Electron Markets and the Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing.

The main conclusion of both studies is that e-retailing strategies only generate real economic value for companies when they activate engagement; that is, the consumer's commitment to or involvement with the brand across cognitive, affective and behavioural dimensions.

Strategies that turn digital experiences into economic value

"Not everything digital generates value. Today, companies or brands with a digital presence invest heavily in online channels. However, they don't always know exactly which factors have the greatest potential to generate returns," explained Rodríguez-Ardura, lead author of the studies. "Our research shows that it's not enough to incorporate advanced technology or design eye-catching user experiences. It's essential to move beyond a purely operational approach towards a truly strategic one, focused on creating bidirectional value through strategies that benefit both the company and its potential customers", she added.

Her study, entitled Pumping up customer value with convenience and personalisation strategies in e-retailing: an analysis of the engagement connection, concludes that convenience and personalization strategies facilitate opportunities to co-create value. Convenience strategies are designed to reduce the time and effort consumers invest in their purchases, while personalization strategies rely on individually tailored recommendations and content.

When implemented effectively, consumers perceive that they have both the reasons and the opportunities to engage with the brand, provide useful information, participate and be taken into account. "This process leads to engagement, the main source of economic value for companies", said Rodríguez-Ardura.

Meanwhile, the study How hedonic strategies bring about customer engagement and value for e-retailers — A blended PLS-ANN analysis of the mediating effect of experiential value-in-use shows that hedonic strategies, which are designed to make online experiences entertaining or enjoyable through gamification or immersive digital environments, generate value-in-use, creating subjective experiences that consumers perceive as meaningful and worthwhile. This value-in-use, in turn, loops back to engagement.

"Engagement is a deep psychological bond through which consumers feel connected to the brand: they pay attention to it, take an interest in it, want to collaborate with it and sustain their involvement over time", explained Rodríguez-Ardura. "Therefore, the key is not only to use digital technology effectively, but to employ it within an effective strategy that activates psychological processes and engages consumers cognitively, emotionally and behaviourally. When an online brand or shop achieves this, it generates much more value: customers not only buy products, but also recommend, influence and collaborate."

"One particularly interesting finding is the case of a hedonic strategy that we call "local presence", which aims to make consumers feel that the product is physically present – for example, by virtually trying on glasses or using augmented reality to see how a piece of furniture would look in their home. This strategy has a particularly strong impact on engagement because it reduces the psychological distance from the product and makes the online shopping experience far more vivid and personal", said Rodríguez-Ardura, a researcher affiliated with the UOC-DIGIT centre.

AI to understand consumer behaviour

Understanding, quantifying and predicting the real impact of e-retailing strategies allows companies and brands to invest more effectively and build stronger, more profitable relationships with customers. To achieve this, the research team developed innovative analytical models to explain why and how certain digital strategies generate returns.

The PLS-ANN methodology combines advanced statistical techniques (partial least squares, PLS) with artificial neural networks (ANN), a type of artificial intelligence that detects non-linear patterns and relationships that often go unnoticed. This approach makes it possible to connect customer experience metrics to monetary outcomes.

"What's new is that we integrated both techniques not only to analyse causal dynamics, but also to measure the variables within those models. This provides a more realistic view of how e-retailing strategies operate in the digital ecosystem, a better ability to capture the complex dynamics of consumer behaviour and more reliable predictions of their impact", explained Rodríguez-Ardura.

From research to business

The research team hopes that the results of these studies will have an impact on both the academic and business spheres. "Firstly, we want to contribute to the development of an integrative framework that connects digital strategy, consumer psychology and business performance. Secondly, we provide managers and marketing professionals with a clear guide to identify which types of digital investment generate the greatest strategic return and to understand how and why that is", said Rodríguez-Ardura.

The next steps in this research will focus on analysing shops with an omnichannel strategy (i.e. those that integrate physical and digital channels into a seamless shopping experience) in the United States and China. This will help determine, among other things, whether the impact of digital strategies is universal or depends on the business model and cultural context.

This project is part of the Digital transition and sustainability research mission and supports UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 8, Decent Work and Economic Growth, and 12, Responsible Consumption and Production.

Reference articles

Rodríguez-Ardura, I., Meseguer-Artola, A., Herzallah, D., & Fu, Q. (2025). Pumping up customer value with convenience and personalisation strategies in e-retailing: an analysis of the engagement connection. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 19(1), 35–58. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIM-03-2023-0083

Rodríguez-Ardura, I., Meseguer-Artola, A., & García-Haro, M.A. (2025). How hedonic strategies bring about customer engagement and value for e-retailers — A blended PLS-ANN analysis of the mediating effect of experiential value-in-use. Electronic Markets, 35(97). ttps://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-025-00827-2

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