The effects of retail apps on shopping well-being and loyalty intention: A matter of competence more than autonomy

The literature on retail apps has overlooked i/their potential impact on shopping well-being, ii/the underlying mechanisms for this effect, and iii/how such shopping well-being can trigger loyalty in an omnichannel context. To fill this gap, we mobilize the self-determination theory and, in a first study, show that using a retail app does not increase consumers' sense of autonomy, but does increase that of competence, thereby enhancing their shopping well-being and loyalty intention. Using an experimental design, a second study replicates these findings and shows that the sense of competence triggered by app customization leads to greater shopping well-being among people with low technology expertise.