How phygital customers’ experience transforms the retail banking sector? Examining customer engagement and patronage intentions

Abstract Purpose Phygital emerges as a promising phenomenon, as it uses innovative technologies to connect digital spaces and physical places that provide customers with an interactive and unique experience. Drawing the stimuli–organism–response (S-O-R) framework, the study aims to examine the phygital customer experience by using key drivers and their effect on customer engagement (CE), trust (TRU) and patronage intentions (PI). Design/methodology/approach Data were obtained by using convenience sampling from 389 respondents from northern parts of India between December 2022 and February 2023. After checking reliability and validity, "variance-based structural equation modeling" has been applied to obtain results. Findings The outcomes reported that stimuli constructs such as customer brand experience (CBE), service quality (SQ) and emotions during the service (EDS) significantly influence organism (CE). However, pain points (PP) have a statistically insignificant impact on CE. Further, the outcomes also reveal a positive relation between organism and response variables (i.e. CE, TRU and PI). Practical implications This study's results offer strategic insights to enhance CE and PI, ultimately contributing to the advancement of the retail banking industry. The financial service provider must prudently interrelate digital and physical platforms to make the customer journey fruitful. Originality/value To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to look at the effect of key drivers on the PI of active retail banking customers in national capital region, India by using the S-O-R framework.