Sustainable Consumer Behavior in Omnichannel Electronics Retailing: Evidence from a Pilot Study

Abstract

Purpose – Sustainability is becoming increasingly important in shaping consumer behavior in omnichannel retailing. The consumer electronics retail sector, which is characterized by a disproportionately high share of online sales compared other industries and a poor environmental performance, faces particular challenges in this regard. While numerous studies have investigated the relationship between individual consumer characteristics and organizational factors, there is a lack of integrated analyses in the omnichannel environment for consumer electronics. This pilot study seeks to address this gap by exploring how sustainability influences consumer behavior, with a specific focus on green purchase intention in an omnichannel setting.Design/methodology/approach – The pilot study focused on consumers who had purchased consumer electronics from omnichannel retailers within the past 24 months. Participants were recruited through a professional online panel in February 2025. A total of 125 valid responses were analyzed using structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) with the software SmartPLS 3, following a structured multi-step approach.Findings – The model examines the interplay between environmental awareness, shopping experience, brand identification, sustainable measures, and channel integration regarding purchase intention. The results indicate that brand identification directly affects purchase intention, while environmental awareness is significantly related to the perception of sustainable measures. Furthermore, the study confirms the positive impact of channel integration on the shopping experience; however, the shopping experience does not significantly affect purchase intention.Originality – The work provides new insights into the relationship between sustainability and consumer behavior in the electronics omnichannel retail sector and establishes a foundation for further research with the developed structural model.