Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 66 (2022) 102950

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Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jretconser

Customer engagement in the context of retail mobile apps: A contingency

model integrating spatial presence experience and its drivers
Xuan Huong Ho a, Dong Phong Nguyen a, Julian Ming Sung Cheng b, Angelina Nhat Hanh Le c, *
a
School of International Business and Marketing, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH), 59C Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
b
Business Administration Department, National Central University, No. 300, Chung-Ta Rd, Chung Li District, Taoyuan City, 32001, Taiwan, ROC
c
School of Management, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH), 59C Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This study develops and investigates the mechanisms through which retail mobile-app cognitions—i.e., inter­
Customer engagement activity and vividness—are translated into spatial presence experience and subsequently result in customer
Spatial presence experience engagement under the parasol of the hierarchy-of-effects model and the situated cognition theory. The contin­
Hierarchy-of-effects model
gency roles of need for cognition and domain-specific interest as individual intrinsic tendencies and issue-specific
Situated cognition theory
motivations, respectively, are also scrutinized. A dataset obtained from a survey of 558 customers is employed to
estimate the proposed research model. The results indicate that interactivity and vividness significantly stimulate
the spatial presence experience, i.e., feelings of “being there” in the mobile-app environment; in turn, this drives
customers to become more engaged and contribute to retailers that provide such experiences. The moderating
roles of the two motivations are also identified.

1. Introduction contributions to a particular firm/retailer (Kumar et al., 2019). In this

Shopping on mobile apps has grown exponentially because of the
proliferation of smart mobile devices that is symbiotic with the
increasing tendency of on-the-go consumers requesting “anytime, any­
where, and anything” services (Fang, 2017; McLean et al., 2018, 2020;
Yang et al., 2021). In a retailing context, a large proportion of marketing
budgets has been allocated to mobile apps as a strategic way to enhance
the customer experience and to enable retailers to remain competitive
(Dacko, 2017; Van Heerde et al., 2019); as such, retail mobile apps are
becoming a powerful, ubiquitous, and timely service delivery channel
(Iyer et al., 2018; McLean et al., 2020). However, given the easily
installed/uninstalled nature of mobile apps, the extensive competitive­
ness within retailing markets, and the limited internal phone storage
that consumers typically face (Grewal et al., 2017a), attaining customer
stickiness to those particular mobile apps that facilitate their engage­
ment is regarded as the biggest challenge for contemporary retailers
(Molinillo et al., 2020; Tarute et al., 2017). Thus, an understanding of
how retail mobile apps could enhance the online shopping experience of
customers and then facilitate customer engagement is of prime impor­
tance for such retailers.
Customer engagement refers to the level of customer value
regard, direct contributions are manifested as customers making pur­
chases from the retailer, whereas non-purchase behaviors such as
customer referrals, customer influences, and customer feedbacks/sug­
gestions reflect indirect contributions from customers to the retailer
(Harman and Porter, 2021; Harmeling et al., 2017; Kumar and Pansari,
2016). As of late, the rapid advancement of mobile technologies such as
smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices has enabled retailers to
develop interactive and inclusive mobile apps that substantively enrich
the online experience of customers (Dacko, 2017; Heller et al., 2019;
Kim and Baek, 2018; Molinillo et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2015). For
instance, retail mobile apps allow customers to leave reviews, star rat­
ings, recommendations, or add photos/videos, and even interact and
post follow-up questions directly to retailers and other customers
throughout the pre-, during-, and post-purchase stages (Grewal et al.,
2017a; Inman and Nikolova, 2017). According to Hilken et al. (2018), in
order to engage customers successfully, the experience within a virtual
service channel (i.e., retail mobile-app) should mimic “real” shopping.
The spatial presence experience (SPE hereafter), which is defined as the
feeling of realism or “being there” (Hilken et al., 2017; Lee, 2004), is
therefore a crucial factor in explaining consumers’ active engagement to
retailers through mobile apps. When customers sense a spatial presence,

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: hoxuanhuong@qnu.edu.vn, huonghx@ueh.edu.vn (X.H. Ho), phongnd@ueh.edu.vn (D.P. Nguyen), mingsungcheng@yahoo.com
(J.M.S. Cheng), lenhathanh@yahoo.com, hanhln@ueh.edu.vn (A.N.H. Le).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2022.102950
Received 6 April 2021; Received in revised form 31 December 2021; Accepted 28 January 2022
Available online 5 February 2022
0969-6989/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
X.H. Ho et al.
the technology-mediated nature of the virtual environment is neglected
(Wirth et al., 2007) and their online shopping experience becomes as
authentic and real as it is in physical stores (Hilken et al., 2017).
Although the existing literature advocates that customer experience and
customer engagement are strongly related in both physical and online
environments (Carlson et al., 2019; Grewal et al., 2017b; Zhang et al.,
2017), the literature has not specifically identified the essence of SPE in
retail mobile apps, nor has it empirically examined how this experience
enhances customer engagement.
Recently, virtual shopping environments have become increasingly
augmented by a number of smart technologies with immersive capa­
bilities (Arghashi and Yuksel, 2022; Hollebeek et al., 2020), and a new
mode of experience has materialized where consumers believe that they
are spatially present within virtual environments (Pleyers and Poncin,
2020; Yim et al., 2017). However, the existing literature examining the
mechanisms which formulate such experiences in virtual retailing con­
texts remains sparse (Hilken et al., 2017, 2018). A review of the litera­
ture on general online shopping environments suggests that two major
media attributes, namely interactivity and vividness, determine
customer evaluation and experience with those environments (Coyle
and Thorson, 2001; Hilken et al., 2018; Jiang and Benbasat, 2007).
Drawing upon the theory of situated cognition (Robbins and Aydede,
2009), interactivity and vividness can be argued as representatives for
the respective embodied and embedded cognition of consumers within
their online information processing (Carassa et al., 2005; Hilken et al.,
2018). When consumers are embodied through the simulation of phys­
ical interaction (e.g., touching screens, rotating 360-degree products)
and embedded in a sensory-rich environment (e.g., graphic images,
background music) (Kim et al., 2015; Yim et al., 2017), they become
immersed in virtual shopping environments, experiencing something
akin to “real” physical stores. Despite the noted driving roles of inter­
activity and vividness, to the best of our knowledge, research on the
specific experience of the feeling of “being there” in the context of retail
mobile-apps with varying levels of these two attributes is still
underexplored.
In line with Zhu et al. (2019), it is arguable that the mechanism
through which retail mobile-app cognitions—i.e., interactivity and
vividness—are translated into a feeling of spatial presence leading to
customer engagement is equivalent to the hierarchy of three sequential
stages (i.e., cognition, affect, and conation); thus, the
hierarchy-of-effects (HOE) model (Lavidge and Steiner, 1961) can serve
as the theoretical foundation for the phenomenon at the heart of the
current study. The HOE model has been frequently applied to system­
atically explain consumers’ sequentially hierarchical responses in
several contexts such as e-commerce platforms (Zhu et al., 2019),
website aesthetics (Wang et al., 2011), and social media advertising
(Johnston et al., 2018). Moreover, several contingent factors such as
consumers’ individual tendencies (e.g., personalities/personal traits,
Laroche et al., 2003) and motivational orientations (e.g., platform
involvement, Zhu et al., 2019) have been heralded as impacting such
hierarchical response processes. According to Van Heerde et al. (2019),
customer heterogeneity is an important boundary condition that can
explain why the same environment or domain (i.e., retail mobile apps)
may generate different cognitions/perceptions, affective experiences,
and behavioral reactions. Individuals’ intrinsic tendencies (e.g., need for
cognition) (Cacioppo et al., 1996; Priluck and Till, 2004) and
issue-specific motivations (e.g., domain-specific interest) (Hofer et al.,
2012; Liu and Shrum, 2009) modulate customers’ cognitions as well as
affective evaluations that are then followed by their actions. Therefore,
the contingency roles of these conditional variables on the linkages from
mobile-app cognitions to SPE and then to customer engagement should
be scrutinized.
Our study makes crucial contributions to the field of retail marketing
by developing and investigating a theory-driven dynamic and contin­
gent model of customer engagement in the context of retail mobile apps.
Specifically, drawing on the HOE model, we deepen the theoretical
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Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 66 (2022) 102950
understanding of the sequential effects of mobile app cognitions on SPE,
which in turn leads to customer engagement under the conditional im­
pacts of need for cognition and domain-specific interest. The situated
cognition theory complements the HOE model by disentangling the two
categories of embodied and embedded cognitions (i.e., interactivity and
vividness, respectively) to explain SPE. As such, we advance the
knowledge pertaining to enablers that generate a specific experience,
that feeling of “being there”, in virtual environments. In general terms,
we add to the development of foundation theories in the realms of SPE
and engagement behaviours in virtual retailing environments. In addi­
tion, by empirically validating the proposed dynamic model, we not only
support the applicability of the two theories in the context of the specific
study, but also offer practical knowledge for retailers to design mobile
apps that foster consumers’ interactive and vividness cognitions, facili­
tate the feeling of a “real” shopping experience and ultimately
encourage customers to actively engage and effectively contribute to
participating retailers.
2. Theoretical background
2.1. Customer engagement
Customer engagement has been emerging as a significant concept in
marketing, with its potential to generate favourable value and financial
outcomes for businesses (Kumar et al., 2019). The literature indicates
different perspectives of customer engagement such as psychological
(Brodie et al., 2011), behavioral (Roy et al., 2018; Van Doorn et al.,
2010), and S-D logic-informed perspectives (Behnam et al., 2021; Hol­
lebeek et al., 2019) through which customer engagement is articulated
as either a state of mind or an activity existing beyond transactions
(Kumar and Pansari, 2016; Kumar et al., 2019). A few measures have
been deployed to exemplify customer engagement, for instance
customer purchase (e.g., McLean et al., 2020; Van Heerde et al., 2019),
word of mouth (e.g., Bitrián et al., 2021; Itani et al., 2020), customer
recommendation (e.g., Fang et al., 2017; Newman et al., 2018),
customer feedback (e.g., Bitrián et al., 2021; Wang, 2020), and customer
cross-platform digital interaction (e.g., Itani et al., 2020; Wang, 2020).
Such idiosyncratic conceptualizations and discrete operationalizations
reveal incomplete and ambiguous ways customers can add value to a
firm/retailer which might hinder both scholarly and practical ad­
vancements in the studied matter. Against this backdrop, Pansari and
Kumar (2017) attempted to provide a holistic approach of customer
engagement, defining it as “the mechanics of a customer’s value addi­
tions to the firm, either through direct contributions (i.e., customer
purchases) and/or indirect contributions (i.e., customer referrals, online
influences, and feedbacks)” (p. 295). They have also urged further
empirical research to contribute to the emerging theory of customer
engagement.
Directly responding to such a call, in this studied context, we adapt
Pansari and Kumar’s (2017) holistic perspective to conceptualize and
investigate customer engagement that encompasses all customer activ­
ities towards a retailer through their mobile apps. In particular,
customer purchase behaviours refer to repeating or making additional
purchases via mobile-apps that can directly contribute to the retailer’s
value (Iyer et al., 2018; Kim et al., 2017; Kumar et al., 2010; Pansari and
Kumar, 2017). With respect to indirect contributions, customer referrals
allude to the willingness and the extent to which current customers
advise potential customers to do transactions with the retailer through
mobile apps. Customer online influence is described as spreading posi­
tive word of mouth and sharing satisfactory experiences with particular
mobile apps in online/social media environments. Moreover, feedbacks
denote consumers’ suggestions or sharing of knowledge to the retailer
through mobile apps (c.f., Kumar et al., 2010; 2019; Pansari and Kumar,
2017).
Our comprehensive literature review reveals that customer experi­
ence has been heralded as an important factor urging customers to make
X.H. Ho et al.
proactive contributions to firms/retailers as a kind of reciprocity (Har­
man and Porter, 2021; Kuppelwieser and Klaus, 2020a; Manthiou et al.,
2020; Pansari and Kumar 2017). Several affective and cognitive aspects
of customer experience in service settings have been studied, such as the
mixture of both negative and positive emotions which occur during a
customer experience (e.g., Manthiou et al., 2020), affective and cogni­
tive experiences while using retailers’ mobile apps (e.g., Molinillo et al.,
2020), positive emotions and level of satisfaction among consumers
within the retailers’ m-commerce apps experience (e.g., Iyer et al., 2018;
McLean et al., 2018), as well as entertaining and informative experi­
ences with branded apps (e.g., Qing and Haiying, 2021; Van Noort and
Van Reijmersdal, 2019). However, the literature has not specifically
identified how a specific type of customer experience in virtual envi­
ronments—spatial presence experience—can enhance customer
engagement in the context of retail mobile apps. App-design features
(Fang et al., 2017; Hsieh et al., 2021; Tarute et al., 2017),
app-performance attributes (Fang et al., 2017; McLean et al., 2018;
Shaikh et al., 2020), and perceived values (Iyer et al., 2018) are the
frequently studied antecedents of customer experience. To date, limited
efforts have been devoted to the effects of interactivity and vividness on
the specific experience of spatial presence when shopping on retail
mobile apps. Indeed, there remains a severe lack of studies that cohe­
sively incorporate and thoroughly investigate the mechanisms of inter­
activity/vividness–SPE–customer engagement; therefore, this research
will address such literature gaps. Furthermore, in order to provide
greater insight into the process of keeping customers engaged with retail
mobile apps in a beneficial manner so as to harvest their lifetime value,
key contingency factors of individuals’ intrinsic tendencies (e.g., need
for cognition) (Cacioppo et al., 1996; Priluck and Till, 2004) and
issue-specific motivations (e.g., domain-specific interest) (Hofer et al.,
2012; Liu and Shrum, 2009) are integrated in our proposed research
model.
2.2. The hierarchy of effects (HOE) model and situated cognition theory
The HOE model (Lavidge and Steiner, 1961) elucidates how cus­
tomers’ cognition (thinking) contributes to the development of their
affect (feeling) and then leads to their conation (acting) (Zhu et al.,
2019). This model has demonstrated its robustness and flexibility in
systematically understanding and linking consumers’ sequential stages
of cognitive-affective-conative responses towards an object (Johnston
et al., 2018); as such, the cognitive-affective-conative framework has
been frequently deployed in connecting consumer perceptions/cogni­
tions, affective experiences, and subsequent behaviours in a variety of
marketing contexts such as e-commerce platforms (Zhu et al., 2019),
mobile AR apps (Qin et al., 2021), website aesthetics (Wang et al.,
2011), and social media advertising (Johnston et al., 2018). The
cognitive stage refers to the thinking and mental processes that make
consumers aware and knowledgeable about a particular object (e.g.,
mobile app) (Davis-Sramek et al., 2009; Kim et al., 2013a; Mishra et al.,
2021; Qin et al., 2021). Interactivity and vividness present the pre­
dominant angles of the cognitive landscape of mobile-app attributes
(Kim et al., 2015; Van Noort and Van Reijmersdal, 2019), and thus can
be considered as cognitive factors. The affective stage represents
emotional feelings that are internally developed during consumers’
encounters with an object (Davis-Sramek et al., 2009; Kim et al., 2013a;
Mishra et al., 2021; Qin et al., 2021); SPE is viewed as the affective
component, as it refers to the personal feelings of realism or “being
there” that consumers experience while shopping on retail mobile apps
(c.f., Hilken et al., 2017; Lee, 2004). Regarding the conative stage, the
subsequential effect of affective factors in facilitating certain behaviours
such as decision-making or taking corresponding actions has come to
light (Davis-Sramek et al., 2009; Kim et al., 2013a; Mishra et al., 2021;
Qin et al., 2021). Customer engagement refers to purchase behaviours
and other value-added activities toward retail mobile apps (Iyer et al.,
2018; Kim et al., 2017; Kumar et al., 2010, 2019; Pansari and Kumar,
3
Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 66 (2022) 102950
2017), thus reflecting the conative factors in the three-stage HOE model.
The situated cognition theory highlights how an individual’s infor­
mation processing is based on their situated cognitive activities covering
both embodied and embedded cognition processes (Hilken et al., 2017;
Krishna and Schwarz, 2014; Robbins and Aydede, 2009). Embodied
cognition reflects how individuals process information about an object
(i.e., a product or service in mobile apps) using both the body and the
mind which are manifested through dynamic interactions (e.g., click,
zoom, rotate) with the object (Garbarini and Adenzato, 2004; Robbins
and Aydede, 2009). Meanwhile, embedded cognition psychology con­
siders how individuals improve their cognitive abilities through the
deployment of sensory-enriched features (e.g., vivid graphics, back­
ground sounds) of the environment (e.g., mobile apps) (Semin and
Smith, 2013). These two situated cognitions present two angles of the
conceptual landscape of mobile-app attributes, namely interactivity and
vividness, that can be used to explain the information processing of
consumers during their experience using mobile apps. In marketing, the
situated cognition theory has been adopted to explain how simulated
physical control and environmental embedding of AR-based services can
explain consumers’ feelings of “authentic” or “real” online shopping as
captured within the concept of SPE (Carassa et al., 2005; Hilken et al.,
2017; Krishna and Schwarz, 2014; Schubert, 2009). This theory, there­
fore, is relevant to explain the impacts of two predominant mobile-app
cognitions (i.e., interactivity and vividness) in establishing the feeling of
spatial presence that supports an extension of the cognitive stage of the
HOE model.
In addition to the flexibility of being extended, the HOE model has
been advocated to be contingent, as consumer responses to an object are
largely on their individual tendencies (e.g., need for cognition) and
motivational orientations (e.g., domain-specific interest) (also see,
Wang et al., 2011; Zhu et al., 2019). Thus, we can propose the
theory-driven dynamic and contingency model, presented in Fig. 1, as a
foundation for the development of direct, mediating, and moderating
hypotheses.
3. Hypothesis development
3.1. Effects of interactivity and vividness on spatial presence experience
(SPE)
Grounded in the situated cognition theory, two functional attributes
(i.e., interactivity and vividness) of retail mobile apps are closely asso­
ciated with the embodied and embedded cognition processes (Hilken
et al., 2018). Thus, interactivity and vividness are proposed as key
drivers of the specific experience of spatial presence that, in our study, is
captured as the affective factor of the HOE model.
Interactivity is defined as the degree to which users can interact with
virtual contents or/and objects and can modify the format or content of
the mediated environment (Arghashi and Yuksel, 2022; Fang, 2017; Liu
and Shrum, 2009). In this research context, high interactivity implies
that when consumers use retail mobile apps, although their body is in a
physical environment, their mind is located in a ‘virtual space’ and the
apps provide consumers with the ability to actively control (e.g., touch,
zoom, rotate) virtual products in a way similar to that of actual products
(Brasel and Gips, 2014; Hilken et al., 2018; Kim and Baek, 2018; Yim
et al., 2017). In particular, the inclusion of interactive design features
such as layouts, styles, icons, and buttons (Kim and Baek, 2018; Kim
et al., 2013b; Tarute et al., 2017) allows consumers to navigate within
such mobile apps through a smartphone touch screen, thus stimulating
their senses, perceptions/cognitions, and imaginations during explora­
tions of the virtual retail world (Arghashi and Yuksel, 2022; Petit et al.,
2019). By rotating, zooming, or pinching virtual products, the imagi­
nations of consumers are facilitated or even intensified during careful
scrutiny of the product. In addition, consumers can communicate with
located-service providers and other consumers via “chat boxes” or on­
line reviews, receiving immediate responses (i.e., synchronicity) from
X.H. Ho et al.
Fig. 1. Research model and proposed hypotheses.
the relevant retail mobile apps (Van Noort et al., 2012). In short, the
interactive design functions enable consumers to undergo a situated
embodied cognition process in which they perceive themselves to be
located within the virtual mobile apps and also take possible actions;
they thereafter experience a sense of spatial presence—being there
within the virtual retail mobile app—as a consequence (Lee, 2004; Yim
et al., 2017). This assertion is consistent with Hilken et al.’s (2017)
argument regarding the embodied cognition process, where simulated
physical control can lead to consumer feelings of spatial presence in an
AR-based online service context. Existing empirical evidence has also
demonstrated that consumers who ascertain more interactive functions
seem to experience a greater feeling of “real” being in the context of
websites (Coyle and Thorson, 2001; Mollen and Wilson, 2010) as well as
in virtual tours (Spielmann and Mantonakis, 2018). Thus, taken
together, we postulate the following hypothesis:
H1. Interactivity positively influences SPE during usage of retail mo­
bile apps.
With respect to vividness, it reflects the ability of technologies to
produce a sensory-rich mediated environment (Coyle and Thorson,
2001; Yim et al., 2017) and represents the richness/realness of the
manner in which information is presented and delivered to media users
(Hwang and Oh, 2020; Klein, 2003; Zhang et al., 2018). In the context of
retail mobile apps, vividness is conceptualized as the aesthetic appeal
and representational quality of products and information that are pro­
duced by technological capabilities (Yim et al., 2017). Drawing upon the
technological affordances perspective (Ng and Yee, 2020; Sun et al.,
2019), vividness is stimulus-driven by enriching its breadth, including a
number of sensory dimensions (e.g., visual, tactile, and auditory sen­
sory) that retail mobile apps can provide to consumers. The vivid mobile
apps operate in concert with a sensory depth that reflects the quality of
the represented graphic images, visual content, and background sound
(Hsieh et al., 2021; Klein, 2003; Kim et al., 2017; McLean and Wilson,
2019).
The breadth and depth of vividness facilitate embedded cognition
processes which help improve consumer’s cognitive abilities (Orús et al.,
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Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 66 (2022) 102950
2017). The display of products with vivid portrayal reduces consumers’
mental burden and enhances their information cognitive elaboration
processes (Jiang and Benbasat, 2007; Klein, 2003; Sun et al., 2022; Yim
et al., 2017). Retail mobile apps that provide detailed information and
visually vivid product images are likely to evoke the sensory (actual) and
non-sensory (imaginary) experience; thus, a clear image of virtual
products is generated in the minds of consumers (Hsieh et al., 2021; Kim
et al., 2017; Lee, 2004). In addition, vividness facilitates and allows
consumers to integrate virtual objects (i.e., products) into an in­
dividual’s real-world environment (Hilken et al., 2017; 2018). For
example, visually vivid product presentations stimulate consumers’
imaginations as to how kitchen utensils/furniture fit with their kitch­
en/home or how clothing/cosmetics match them personally. Like
interactivity, retail mobile apps delivering stimuli with a higher level of
vividness will stimulate embedded cognitive processes, which in turn
would elicit stronger feelings of being located within a real environment
and taking potential actions.
Regarding the empirical perspectives, Coyle and Thorson (2001)
indicated that the greater the level of media vividness, the higher the
likelihood of neglecting the role of technology in the experience, and the
more genuine the feeling of being present within that virtual environ­
ment. Similarly, in an online shopping context, Yim et al. (2017) found
that immersion technologies that offer more vivid product visualizations
are more likely to improve the real experiences of consumers. Based on
the above contention, we hypothesize:
H2. Vividness positively influences SPE during usage of retail mobile
apps.
3.2. Impact of SPE on customer engagement
In line with the HOE model, we argue that the conative factor, in our
research, is represented by customer engagement that can be stimulated
by SPE (i.e., consumers’ affective feeling of authentic and real experi­
ence in virtual environments; Hilken et al., 2017). Recently, the
customer engagement theory (Pansari and Kumar, 2017) has suggested
X.H. Ho et al.
that customer experience influences the nature of their engagement with
the firm (Kumar et al., 2019; Meire et al., 2019). SPE is considered in the
digital business literature to be a specific and unique customer experi­
ence (de Ruyter et al., 2020; Heller et al., 2020; Hilken et al., 2017);
thus, customer engagement is expected to be stimulated by this specific
experience.
For retail mobile apps, SPE plays the crucial role in driving customer
engagement because the experience of “real” virtual shopping can exert
not only informative value and intrinsic enjoyment (Schubert, 2009;
Wirth et al., 2007) but also the authenticity of the situated information
in the minds of consumers (Hilken et al., 2017). According to Inman and
Nikolova (2017) and Petit et al. (2019), when customers derive more
benefits from experiences in interactive digital technologies (e.g., mo­
bile apps), they tend to reciprocate for the received benefits, which in
turn leads to their willingness to favorably contribute to the retailers
through several routes. These routes are manifested by repeating pur­
chases, contributing positive word of mouth on social network sites,
recommending such services to other customers, and developing a
relationship with the retailer by providing constructive feedback/sug­
gestions (Kumar et al., 2019; Kumar and Reinartz, 2016). Thus, we posit
that a higher sense of spatial presence will result in a higher level of
customer engagement. Formally, we propose H3:
H3. SPE positively influences customer engagement.
3.3. Mediating effect of SPE
The HOE model shows that affect is the transitional stage between
cognition and conation (Lavidge and Steiner, 1961). It therefore sup­
ports a ground to hypothesize that SPE, the affective factor, intervenes
the nexus between the two cognitive factors (i.e., interactivity and
vividness) and the behavioral factor (i.e., customer engagement) in our
conceptual framework. Also, as explained earlier, technology-enabled
experiences are formed by embodied and embedded cognitions of con­
sumers during their online information processing (Petit et al., 2019;
Hilken et al., 2018; Yim et al., 2017). A focal insight of the situated
cognition theory is the supposition that consumers discover the domi­
nant affordances of interactive technologies to adapt to cognitive ex­
pectations (de Ruyter et al., 2020; Hilken et al., 2017). Accordingly,
research shows that the cognitions of interactivity and vividness of
interactive technologies facilitate consumers’ situated cognition pro­
cesses in which they perceive themselves as located within and possibly
taking actions within the virtual environment (Hilken et al., 2018).
Further, several studies have indicated that the levels of interactivity
and sensory-enriched mediated environment can affect customer
engagement directly (e.g., Kim and Baek, 2018; Kim et al., 2013b;
Tarute et al., 2017). However, drawing on the HOE model (Lavidge and
Steiner, 1961) and also as suggested by Hilken et al. (2017, 2018), these
effects should go through the mediating mechanism of mobile
app-enabled experiences. Stated differently, the specific experience of
spatial presence can serve as an important underlying mechanism for the
influences of interactivity and vividness on customers’ proactive con­
tributions (i.e., engagement) in the context of online retailing. Thus, the
mediating role of SPE on the linkages from two functional cognitions of
retail mobile-apps and customer engagement is proposed as follows:
H4a. The impact of interactivity on customer engagement is mediated
by SPE.
H4b. The impact of vividness on customer engagement is mediated by
SPE.
3.4. Need for cognition (NFC) as a moderator on the formation of SPE
NFC reflects the personal tendency in which an individual enjoys
thinking, and as such frequently engages in thought (Cacioppo and
Petty, 1982). The extensive literature has indicated that NFC is usually
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Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 66 (2022) 102950
studied as a boundary condition that influences a number of consumer
processes pertaining to psychological persuasion (Kulkarni et al., 2020),
decision making (Haugtvedt et al., 1992; Priluck and Till, 2004; Putrevu,
2008), and consumption (Richard and Chebat, 2016; Sheng et al., 2020).
Research has reported that the intrinsic motivations of consumers such
as NFC moderates the effectiveness of interactivity on web-based in­
formation processing (Sicilia et al., 2005). Along this line, in the context
of apparel e-retailing, NFC has been found to strengthen the impact of
product presentation (i.e., verbal and visual stimuli) on information
processing (Kim, 2019). In their study of the effects of visual saliency
and motivations on attention to privacy policy text and icons, Sheng
et al. (2020) found that these relationships differ between individuals
with high vs low NFC. Compared to low-NFC individuals, those with
high NFC are more attentive to product presentations and showing more
elaborate efforts in both top-down and bottom-up processes. In the same
vein, we take it a step further to expect that the effects of interactivity
and vividness on spatial presence are moderated by NFC.
According to Cacioppo et al. (1996), individuals with a high level of
NFC tend to derive intrinsic enjoyment from engaging in complicated
thinking such as solving complex problems, extensive deliberation, and
thinking abstractly, whereas low-NFC individuals avoid effortful
cognitive works (Haugtvedt et al., 1992; Kulkarni et al., 2020; Putrevu,
2008; Sheng et al., 2020; Vanwesenbeeck et al., 2017). In the retail
mobile-app context, NFC has been shown to influence the degree of
attention to interactivity features, virtual objects, and product contents
(Fortin and Dholakia, 2005; Kim, 2019). In particular, when compared
to low-NFC consumers, high-NFC ones are more likely to operate the
elaboration likelihood model’s central route of cognitive processing by
forming experiences, beliefs, and attitudes on the basis of the interactive
functions, in-depth processing information, and careful evaluation of
product-relevant information (Haugtvedt et al., 1992; Vanwesenbeeck
et al., 2017). Moreover, consumers high in NFC enjoy mentally stimu­
lating imaginations and perceptions, thus being more receptive to the
complex virtual retailing world (Kim, 2019; Sheng et al., 2020; Xu and
Huang, 2019). Such consumers possess better-developed cognitive
structures to handle the embodied information processing in the medi­
ated environment, conduct more abstract elaboration, and then expe­
rience a higher sensing level of “real” being there as well as perceptions
of “para-authentic” virtual products in the retail world (c.f., Heckler and
Childers, 1992). Therefore, in the context of retailing mobile apps,
consumers who are high in NFC focus on interactive features and derive
stronger feelings that virtual products are situated in reality and avail­
able for interaction, thus experiencing a clearer sense of spatial pres­
ence, whereas that is not the case for low-NFC consumers. Consequently,
the following hypothesis is proposed:
H5a. The positive relationship between interactivity and SPE in retail
mobile apps is stronger for consumers who are high in NFC than for
those with low NFC.
In contrast to consumers who have a high level of NFC, low-NFC ones
exert fewer cognitive endeavors and potentially suffer from information
overload (Putrevu, 2008). As a result, they seem to pay attention to
external cues such as the aesthetic appeal and the representational
quality of products and information (i.e., vividness) (Fortin and Dhola­
kia, 2005; Richard and Chebat, 2016) when using retail mobile apps.
This assertion is consistent with the elaboration likelihood model’s pe­
ripheral route of information processing (Fortin and Dholakia, 2005) in
which low-NFC consumers are influenced by peripheral cues included in
the online service environment and are more susceptible to heuristic
information processing to form beliefs and attitudes (Richard and Che­
bat, 2016). Such consumers might use visual cues embedded in the
online service environment to engage their attention (Kim, 2019; Xu and
Huang, 2019), achieving a stronger level of spatial presence as a
consequence (Sacau et al., 2008; Wirth et al., 2007). In other words,
low-NFC consumers are expected to be more attentive and show more
sensory stimulus in embedded cognition processes; thus, the effect of
X.H. Ho et al. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 66 (2022) 102950

vividness on stimulating SPE is stronger among these consumers. For the precursor variables, interactivity was operationalized as a
reflective-formative, second-order construct and measured by Liu’s
H5b. The positive relationship between vividness and SPE in retail
(2003) three-dimensional scale (i.e. active control, two-way communi­
mobile apps is stronger for consumers who are low in NFC than for those
cation, and synchronicity). Vividness was assessed by six items adapted
with high NFC.
from Yim et al. (2017). SPE was comprised of eight items drawn from
Hilken et al.’s (2017) scale. Regarding the moderators, NFC and DSI
3.5. The moderating role of domain-specific interest (DSI) on the
were measured by eleven and eight items borrowed from Vanwe­
relationship between SPE and customer engagement
senbeeck et al. (2017) and Hartmann et al. (2016), respectively. The
measurement for customer engagement was derived from Kumar and
DSI is a motivational orientation factor reflecting an individual’s
Pansari’s (2016) reflective-reflective, second-order construct with the
voluntary allocation of his/her attention towards a specific domain (i.e.,
four dimensions of customer purchases, referrals, influences, and feed­
retailing mobile apps) (Hartmann et al., 2016; Wirth et al., 2007). It is
back. In order to minimize any compounding effects, five control vari­
defined as the connection between an individual’s motivational dispo­
ables—i.e., frequency of use, gender, age, education, and income—were
sitions and the content or issue of a domain (Hofer et al., 2012). Ac­
also introduced due to their influence on mobile shopping decisions
cording to Sacau et al. (2008), DSI is strongly associated with an
(Wang et al., 2015). All of them were measured by one item each.
individual’s perceived relevance of a domain to their personal interests
As the field study was conducted in Vietnam, where the official
as derived from their needs, excitement, values, and appeals and being
language is Vietnamese, and the measurement scales originated from
captured within the concept of customer involvement (Zaichkowsky,
English-language literature, a back-translation technique was deployed
1985). Previous studies have demonstrated the moderating role of
to make sure that each of the scale items in the Vietnamese version
involvement in influencing customer perceptions and evaluations of
accurately conveyed their corresponding meanings in English. An in-
service/product experiences and behavioural formation processes in
depth discussion with three marketing professors having extensive
various contexts such as e-commerce (Priluck and Till, 2004), adver­
knowledge regarding mobile commerce and a pretest with nine con­
tising (Putrevu, 2008), and service consumption (Krishnamurthy and
sumers who had experience with retail mobile apps were conducted to
Kumar, 2018). In the current study context, when consumers find a retail
ensure there were no unambiguous phrases or illogical flows in the
mobile app interesting, they tend to become deeply involved in the
questionnaire draft. Based on their remarks and suggestions, the final
content and/or activities provided by the app (Kim et al., 2015); as such,
questionnaire was refined and used for data collection.
DSI is expected to moderate the linkage between SPE and customer
engagement.
4.2. Environmental setting and data collection process
Often consumers who are highly interested in general retailing mo­
bile apps spend time in seeking out and acquiring knowledge and in­
The field study was conducted in Vietnam from early May until mid-
formation on content or issues through multiple formats, and in
July 2020. According to Statista (2020), about 97% of the adult popu­
maintaining contact with other customers as well as app providers.
lation have a smartphone, with Vietnamese among the most avid mobile
Among those high in DSI, the matching of personal interests and a
shoppers globally. More than four-fifths (85%) of internet users aged
particular virtual retailing app might drive/direct their tendency toward
between 15 and 49 regularly browse the internet and/or conduct online
deeply exploring the full potential of on-screen features in the virtual
purchases through their smartphones (eMarketer, 2016). Additionally,
environment, leading to their focused attention allocation on the prod­
Vietnam enjoys a high e-commerce growth rate (30% in 2018) (VECOM,
ucts/services offered by the app (Hartmann et al., 2016; Wirth et al.,
2019) and the majority (e.g., 53% in 2018) of online transactions are
2007). According to Garbarini and Adenzato (2004), during such an
conducted through smartphones (Appota, 2018). Within Vietnam, three
intensively located attention, the neuromotor system activates an
major cities (i.e., Hanoi, Danang, and Ho-Chi-Minh) hold leading posi­
intensive feeling within consumers of “being there” or having a “real”
tions in the Vietnamese eBusiness index (VECOM, 2019); as such, they
presence inside the virtual shopping environment. In contrast, con­
were deemed suitable for an investigation of the phenomenon of
sumers with low DSI allocate limited mental capacity toward exploring
customer engagement with retail mobile apps.
retail mobile apps; therefore, their sense of spatial presence is inhib­
The targeted survey participants were comprised of mobile app
ited/constrained. Accordingly, compared to low-DSI consumers, those
shoppers who were residents of these three cities. Residential status and
with high DSI enjoy higher informative value from the mobile app,
age quota were used to assure an adequate representation of population
acquiring more intrinsic enjoyment, and experiencing more authentic
characteristics in accordance with Appota’s (2018) Vietnam Mobile App
virtual shopping, all of which in turn facilitates their propensity to
Market Report figure (see Table 1). In each city, two trained in­
actively reciprocate and contribute back to the retailer. In other words,
terviewers were recruited and assigned to various supermarkets that
high-DSI consumers find SPE as more valuable in motivating them to
have become popular shopping avenues for Vietnamese in order to
exhibit engagement behaviours such as making purchases, providing
collect data. Interviewers invited those who had free time in the su­
feedback, and influencing other customers. Thus, the following hy­
permarkets to take part in the research. Two filter questions were used to
pothesis is proposed:
verify if the participants had installed at least one retail mobile app for a
H6. The positive relationship between SPE and customer engagement minimum of six months and had made relatively frequent purchases
is stronger for consumers that are high in DSI. using the app, thus ensuring eligible responses. After completing the
questionnaire, a tiny gift (e.g., notepad or keychain) was offered in
4. Research method appreciation of their participation.
A total of 580 questionnaires were successfully collected. After the
4.1. Scale operationalization, questionnaire design, and pilot-testing data cleaning process and removing the incomplete or irrelevant ones, a
final sample of 558 questionnaires was identified as useable. The de­
The research framework includes four uni-dimensional and two mographic characteristics of the participants are shown in Table 1. The
multi-dimensional (second-order) constructs, plus five control variable resident status and age ranges were relatively equivalent to the planned
constructs (see Fig. 1). The construct measurements were derived from quota. The majority of respondents were located in Ho-Chi-Minh City
prior validated scales and then adapted to fit the studied retail mobile- (62.0%) and were aged from 18 to 25 (34.1%). In addition, most of them
app context. A seven-point Likert metric was employed, with 1 and 7 were female (68.1%) with a monthly disposable income of less than US
denoted for “strongly disagree” and “strongly agree”, respectively. The $387 (61.7%), held an undergraduate degree (77.6%), had more than
related scale items for all constructs are shown in the Appendix. two years of experience using retail mobile apps (52.9%), and had a

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X.H. Ho et al. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 66 (2022) 102950

Table 1
Describing sample characteristics.
City Freq. Planned % Realized % Gender Freq. %

Male 178 31.9

Hanoi 160 29.0 29.0 Female 380 68.1

Danang 50 6.0 9.0 Total 558 100.0
Ho-Chi-Minh 348 65.0 62.0 Education Freq. %
Total 558 100.0 100.0 High school 34 6.1
Age Freq. Planned % Realized % Undergraduate 433 77.6
Post-graduate or higher 91 16.3
<18 17 3.0 3.0 Total 558 100.0
18–25 190 34.0 34.1 Retail mobile-app usage experience Freq. %
26–30 168 30.0 30.1 6–12 months 106 19.0
31–35 100 18.0 17.9 1–2 years 157 28.1
>35 83 15.0 14.9 >2 years 295 52.9
Total 558 100.0 100.0 Total 558 100.0
Income* Freq. Planned % Realized % Frequency of use Freq. %
<5 million 122 – 21.9 Daily 156 28.0
5-9 million 222 – 39.8 Weekly 186 33.3
9-15 million 135 – 24.2 Monthly 109 19.5
>15 million 79 – 14.2 A few times per year 79 14.2
Total 558 100.0 Less often 28 5.0
* Monthly disposable income, based on Vietnamese Dong (VND); exchange rate at 1 VND = 0.000043 USD Total 558 100.0

weekly mobile-app usage frequency (33.3%).
5. Analysis results
Partial least squares (PLS) approach was used to test both the mea­
surement and structural models. The software package of SmartPLS
(Ringle et al., 2015) was used. PLS is suitable for the analysis given the
current research included both reflective-reflective and
reflective-formative measurement modes and the studied moderators
applied non-nominal scales (Henseler et al., 2009).
5.1. Scale accuracy analysis
A disjointed two-stage approach was deployed so as to simulta­
neously test the reflective-reflective and reflective-formative types of
second-order constructs in the measurement models (see Sarstedt et al.,
2019). In Step I, the latent variable scores of the dimensions of the
second-order constructs were estimated. The scale accuracy of the uni­
dimensional constructs and the included dimensions were assessed in
this step. In Step II, while reflective items of unidimensional constructs
remained, the second-order constructs were formed by the estimated
latent variable scores of their corresponding dimensions. The scale
reliability and validity of the second-order constructs were assessed in
this step.
Reflective scales/dimensions Item loading, Cronbach’s α, CR (com­
posite reliability), and AVE (average variance extracted) were deployed
to evaluate the reliability and convergent validity of the reflective scales;
their respective benchmarks were 0.50, 0.70, 0.70, and 0.50. As
observed in Table 2, several items were removed because they failed to
pass the item-loading assessments. Finally, the remaining index values
were greater than the thresholds. These provided the evidence for
acceptable reliability and convergent validity of all reflective scales.
Moreover, discriminant validity was assessed by the three benchmarks
of Fornell-Larker criterion, Heterotrait-Monotrait (HTMT) ratios, and
factor structures. The squared root of AVE values for each construct/
dimension were all larger than their largest correlations with other
constructs/dimensions (see Table 3). In addition, the HTMT ratios were
less than the critical value of 0.85, and the loading values on the

Table 2
Assessing reliability and convergent validity.
Unidimensional constructs Number of Step I (reflective scale) Step II (reflective scale)
(reflective) Items

Initial Final Alpha CRn AVEm Item Alpha CRn AVEm Item
Loading Loading

Vividness 6 6 .896 .920 .658 .775–.844 .896 .920 .658 .775–.844

Spatial Presence Experience 8 7 .848 .885 .524 .674–.759 .848 .885 .524 .674–.759
(SPE)
Need for Cognition 11 9 .897 .917 .553 .559–.823 .897 .917 .553 .559–.823
Domain-Specific Interest 8 6 .912 .931 .694 .804–.857 .912 .931 .694 .804–.857
Customer Engagement Number of Step I (reflective scale) Step II (reflective scale)
(reflective-reflective second- Items
order construct)
First- Customer Purchases 4 4 .864 .908 .712 .795–.869 .763 .851 .591 .835
order Customer Referrals 4 4 .842 .894 .678 .800–.856 .629
Customer Influences 4 4 .879 .917 .734 .826–.889 .831
Customer Feedbacks 4 4 .803 .872 .631 .714–.858 .762
Interactivity (reflective- Number of Step I (reflective scale) Step II (formative scale)
formative second-order Items Weight Dimension-to-construct Highest cross-dimension Highest
construct) correlation correlation VIF
First- Active Control 4 4 .775 .854 .594 .747–.811 .185** .627*** .415 1.324
order Two-way 4 4 .793 .866 .617 .766–.810 .452*** .846*** .457 1.545
Communication
Synchronicity 4 4 .816 .878 .644 .727–.878 .558*** .899*** .568 1.616
n m
Notes: Significant: ***p < .001, **p < .010, *p < .050; n.a. not applicable; Composite Reliability; Average Variance Extracted; VIF: Variance Inflation Factor.

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X.H. Ho et al. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 66 (2022) 102950

Table 3
Discriminant validity assessment: Fornell-Larker Criterion.
Constructs/Dimensions Interactivity Vividness SPE Customer Engagement NFC DSI

Act Two Syn Pur Ref Inf Fed

Interactivity* n.a. .682 .611 .523 .635 .369

Active Control (Act) (.771)
Two-way Communication (Two) .415 (.786)
Synchronicity (Syn) .457 .568 (.803)
Vividness .454 .512 .657 (.811)
Spatial Presence Experience (SPE) .381 .515 .546 .616 (.724)
Customer Engagement* .523 .467 .592 (.768) .692 .595
Customer Purchases (Pur) .297 .413 .444 .410 .502 (.844)
Customer Referrals (Ref) .425 .339 .424 .427 .410 .415 (.824)
Customer Influences (Inf) .199 .322 .312 .290 .476 .640 .272 (.857)
Customer Feedbacks (Feb) .147 .273 .233 .304 .428 .457 .282 .604 (.794)
Need for Cognition (NFC) .462 .496 .583 .554 .679 .646 .515 .524 .422 (.744)
Domain-Specific Interest (DSI) .226 .331 .319 .378 .449 .479 .437 .453 .452 .425 (.833)

Notes: The square root of AVE values are in parentheses; the others are correlations values; *values for second-order constructs obtained from Step II; n.a.: not
applicable.

corresponding constructs/dimensions were greater than their respective
highest cross-loadings. The series of statistical tests, therefore,
confirmed discriminant validity for all reflective scales.
Formative scale In Step II, the three formative dimensions/indicators
of interactivity were assessed using the procedure derived from prior
studies (e.g., Luo et al., 2012; Sarstedt et al., 2019). First of all, a
weighted score for each dimension/indicator was calculated by multi­
plying its latent score. The weighted scores were then summed to
generate a composite score for the formative construct. Then, the three
weighted scores were correlated against the composite score to produce
dimension-to-construct correlations. The results in the lower part of
Table 2 indicate that all dimension-to-construct correlations were sig­
nificant, thus providing evidence for convergent validity. Furthermore,
the VIF values of the three dimensions (i.e., active control, two-way
communication, synchronicity) were between 1.324 and 1.616, far
below the stringent threshold of 3.0, thus demonstrating that multi­
collinearity was not a threat to the formative measurement of
interactivity.
5.2. Common method bias (CMB)
CMB may exist with self-reported data and can lead to erroneous
findings (Podsakoff et al., 2003). However, the current study investi­
gated two moderators and so, according to Dayan and Di Benedetto
(2010), CMB was unlikely to be a major problem since survey re­
spondents probably would not be able to manage/manipulate consis­
tency in their responses related to interaction effects. Despite this, we
still checked the severity/seriousness of CMB through two statistical
techniques. Firstly, Harman’s single-factor test was deployed, the results
showing that the largest factor explained 29.55 percent of the covari­
ance, which indicated that no single factor accounted for the majority of
the covariance. Secondly, the PLS model supplemented by a common
method factor was estimated (see Liang et al., 2007). The results
revealed that 69.64 percent of the method factor loadings were not
significant, while all items had significant substantive loadings on their
corresponding theoretical constructs/dimensions. Moreover, the
average-method-factor variance was much lower than the
average-substantively-explained variance (0.015 vs. 0.563). It was thus
concluded that the theoretical constructs, rather than the method factor,
substantively explained the variance of the used items, and CMB was not
a serious issue in this study.
5.3. Assessing the structural model
To assess the quality of the research model, we deployed coefficient
of determinant (R2) and predictive relevance (Q2) that demonstrated the
explanatory and in-sample predictive powers of endogenous constructs,
respectively (Hair et al., 2020). As indicated in Table 4, the R2 values for
SPE and customer engagement were 0.453 and 0.367, respectively; all
were higher than 0.26, thus demonstrating a substantial level of
explanatory power (Cohen, 1988). The Q2 values of both endogenous
constructs—SPE and customer engagement—were higher than the
stipulated standards of zero (0.233 and 0.209, respectively) (Henseler
et al., 2009), thus suggesting a satisfactory relevance for the research
model. Further, the SRMR fit index for the estimated model was 0.066,
well below the suggested threshold of 0.08, indicating that the model fit
was adequate (Henseler et al., 2016).
In order to further evaluate the out-of-sample predictive validity of
the model, following Shmueli et al.’s (2019) guidelines, the PLSpredict
procedure with 10 folds and 10 repetitions focusing on the model’s two
key target constructs—SPE and customer engagement—was employed.
It was found that Q2predict values for SPE (0.442) and customer
engagement (0.264) lent support to the model’s predictive capacity
(Table 4). Moreover, all Q2predict values of the endogenous constructs’
indicators were higher than zero, while the majority of indicators in the
PLS-SEM estimation produced lower RMSE and MAE values (PLS-SEM <
LM) compared to the naïve LM benchmark. Therefore, PLSpredict
revealed that the model had a medium level of out-of-sample predictive
power (Shmueli et al., 2019).
We conducted multicollinearity diagnostics through the inner VIF of
each path. As shown in Table 4, all the VIF values were well below the
stringent threshold of 3.0 (Hair et al., 2020). Therefore, multi­
collinearity was not a problem in this study. In addition, given that
unobserved heterogeneity in the structural model might exist,
FIMIX-PLS analysis was conducted (Hair et al., 2016). The analysis
result did not reveal any evidence for the heterogeneity, thus our esti­
mated PLS-SEM results were consistent.
5.4. Hypothesis testing results
5.4.1. Direct effects
A bootstrapping re-sampling procedure (5000 samples) was
deployed to evaluate the significance of the hypotheses using t-tests,
while the effect sizes of the studied relationships were measured by
Cohen’s (1988) indicator (f 2 ). As shown in Table 4, all three direct re­
lationships exerted significant positive effects; thus, H1, H2, and H3
were all supported. The f 2 values ranged from 0.123 to 0.514, denoting
that the strengths of the direct effects were from medium-to-large effect
sizes (Henseler et al., 2009). As for the analysis results of the control
variables, frequency of use had a significant positive impact on the
outcome variable, revealing that the higher the frequency of mobile app
usage, the higher the level of customer engagement with retailers
through mobile apps. In addition, gender had a significant negative
impact on the outcome variable, showing that when men experience a

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X.H. Ho et al. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 66 (2022) 102950

Table 4
Assessment of direct, mediating and moderating effects.
Hypotheses Path Relationships Std. Std. t-value p- Bias Corrected Confidence VIF f2
Beta Error value Interval (CI)

Lower Upper
Bound Bound

Direct effects
H1: supported Interactivity → SPE .355a .044 8.046 .000 .268 .438 1.871 .123
H2: supported Vividness → SPE .379a .050 7.523 .000 .274 .471 1.871 .140
H3: supported SPE → Customer Engagement .581a .030 19.142 .000 .516 .635 1.036 .514
Mediating effects
H4a: Interactivity → SPE → Customer Engagement (VAF: 40.36%; Z .210a .030 6.890 .000 .151 .268
supported score: 13.65)
H4b: Vividness → SPE → Customer Engagement (VAF: 43.51%; Z .223a .031 7.109 .000 .161 .285
supported score: 13.31)
Moderating effects
H5a: Interactivity * NFC → SPE .075c .039 1.943 .050 .002 .154 .008
supported
b
H5b: Vividness * NFC → SPE -.138 .045 3.096 .002 -.227 -.051 .025
supported
H6: supported SPE * DSI → Customer Engagement .058c .027 2.106 .031 .001 .106 .011
Control variables
Frequency of Use .077c .034 2.226 .026 .010 .141
Gender -.091c .036 2.524 .012 -.162 -.021
ns
Age -.014 .043 0.335 .738 -.103 .065
ns
Education -.012 .042 0.289 .772 -.088 .072
ns
Income .047 .042 1.113 .266 -.037 .126
Endogenous constructs Coefficient of Determination, Predictive Relevance, Q2 Q2predict
R2
Spatial Presence Experience .453 .233 .442
Customer Engagement .367 .209 .264
Model fit
SRMR .066

Notes: SPE: Spatial Presence Experience; NFC: Need for Cognition; DIS: Domain-Specific Interest; Significant: a p < .001, b p < .010, c p < .050, ns non-significant; VAF:
Variance Accounted For; VIF: Variance Inflation Factor; ƒ2: Effect Size; SRMR: The Standardized Root Mean Square Residual.

sense of spatial presence, compared to women, they are more likely to 6. Discussions and conclusions
engage with retailers via mobile apps. In contrast, age, education, and
income had nonsignificant effects on the outcome variable. 6.1. Findings and discussions

5.4.2. Mediating effects
The four-step procedure of Baron and Kenny (1986) was applied to
assess the mediating hypotheses, with the analysis disclosing spatial
presence to be partial and full mediations in H4a and H4b, respectively.
Moreover, several tests were supplemented to reinforce the significance
of, and to specify better insight into, the mediating effects (Table 4).
Firstly, Preacher and Hayes’s (2004) approach was applied to attain the
bootstrap confidence intervals (CIs) for the two indirect effects, with the
results revealing that zero was not included in those CIs. Thus, we could
conclude that spatial presence was a mediator in our model. Moreover,
the Variance-Accounted-For (VAF) and z-statistic scores values, ac­
cording to Vinzi et al. (2010), were computed to quantify the size and
significance of the indirect effects, respectively. The calculation indi­
cated that VAF numbers and z-statistic scores were all greater than the
recommended values of 20% and 1.96, respectively. In summary, all the
mediating effect tests jointly demonstrated the mediating role of spatial
presence, thus providing confirmative support for H4a and H4b.
5.4.3. Moderating effects testing
The analysis results of the proposed moderating hypotheses (H5a,
H5b, and H6) are presented in Table 4. As observed, support for H5a,
H5b, and H6 was established. To evaluate the f2 effect size of the
interaction effects, we used Kenny’s standards of 0.005, 0.01, and 0.025
for small, medium, and large effect sizes, respectively (Hair et al., 2017).
In the current study, the f2 values of the moderating effects were from
0.008 to 0.025, thus indicating that the magnitude of the studied
moderating effects had medium-to-large effect sizes.
Attaining value from customers via a variety of engagement behav­
iours (i.e., customer purchases, referrals, influences, and feedbacks/
suggestions) has widely been recognized as an imperative factor in
driving the success of firms/retailers (Kumar et al., 2019). Primarily
based on the HOE model (Lavidge and Steiner, 1961; Zhu et al., 2019)
and the situated cognition theory (Hilken et al., 2017, 2018; Robbins
and Aydede, 2009), this study develops and empirically tests a contin­
gency model of driving factors of customer engagement in the context of
retail mobile apps. Our findings enhance the extant literature of
customer engagement management that has been gaining traction
recently within the domain of online service research (Carlson et al.,
2019; Heller et al., 2020; Kumar et al., 2019). We also demonstrate the
relevance of multidimensional nature of customer engagement that
thoroughly captures both their direct and indirect contributions to a
particular firm/retailer through technology-enabled channels/services
(Harman and Porter, 2021; Kumar and Pansari, 2016; Roy et al., 2018),
thus rightly responding to a recent call for further studies to profoundly
comprehend the emerging theory of customer engagement (Harmeling
et al., 2017; Meire et al., 2019; Pansari and Kumar, 2017).
Dovetailing with previous studies such as Heller et al. (2020), Hilken
et al. (2017, 2018), Pansari and Kumar (2017) and Zhu et al. (2019), our
research anticipates the effects of mobile-app attributes/cognitions (i.e.,
interactivity and vividness) on spatial presence experience and then
customer engagement. The finding that mobile apps with high inter­
activity and distinct vividness significantly stimulate the experience of
spatial presence resonates with the existing literature on situated
cognition theory (Hilken et al., 2017, 2018; Krishna and Schwarz, 2014;
Robbins and Aydede, 2009) in which the information processing of
consumers during their experience with mobile apps can be explained
from two situated cognitive processes: embodied and embedded

9
X.H. Ho et al.
cognitions. Our findings also reveal that, compared to interactivity,
vividness cognition has a stronger positive impact on spatial presence
experience. This finding is compatible with previous research suggesting
that the embedded cognition process generates a stronger level of spatial
sense/feeling in virtual environments than the embodied cognition
process does (Hilken et al., 2017). By discovering such, our study
empirically verifies and offers novel insight into the application of
contemporary theorising over situated cognitions in the context of retail
mobile apps.
Our analysis findings particularly shine a light on the crucial role of
the feeling of spatial presence—a specific experience of “being there” in
the online service environment—in promoting customer engagement.
The extant literature of online customer behaviour has advocated the
determinant roles of several emerging consumer feelings/affective ex­
periences such as flow experience (Arghashi and Yuksel, 2022; Hyun
et al., 2021), immersive experience (Yim et al., 2017), and social pres­
ence (Jiang et al., 2019) in different contexts of advanced
technology-mediated mediums. Our findings document a specific
experience of spatial presence in retail mobile-apps and thus help
expand the theoretical domain of online customer experience.
The intervening mechanism from mobile-app cognitions/attributes
to customer engagement via spatial presence experience is supported by
our empirical testing results. This finding is aligned with the HOE model
suggesting the influence of customers’ cognition (thinking) on their
affect towards the platform (feeling), and then stimulates them to un­
dertake conation (acting) (Lavidge and Steiner, 1961; Qin et al., 2021;
Zhu et al., 2019). In addition, several previous studies (e.g., Arghashi
and Yuksel, 2022; Heller et al., 2020; Hilken et al., 2017, 2018; Holle­
beek et al., 2020; Qing and Haiying, 2021) have also demonstrated an
equivalent mechanism responsible for translating customer perceptions
of technology-enabled functionalities/qualities into actions/behaviours
through facilitating positive experiences.
Regarding the moderating roles of NFC and DSI, the analysis results
provide support for our argument which posits that the process of
forming SPE is contingent upon individuals’ intrinsic tendencies (i.e.,
NFC). Specifically, high- and low-NFC individuals are more attentive to
the respective interactivity and vividness features of mobile retail apps;
as a result, SPE is intensified and engagement behaviours are fostered.
These results are in line with the empirical findings of prior studies
pertaining to the differences between high- and low-NFC individuals in
their thinking processes during information cognitions and evaluations
(Kim, 2019; Putrevu, 2008; Sheng et al., 2020; Xu and Huang, 2019). In
particular, high-NFC individuals tend to enjoy the process of evaluating
larger amounts of information and stimulating their imaginations that
reflects the central routes of information processing. Conversely,
low-NFC individuals tend to avoid effortful cognitive endeavors and rely
on peripheral cues in their information processing (Kim, 2019; Kulkarni
et al., 2020; Putrevu, 2008; Sheng et al., 2020; Vanwesenbeeck et al.,
2017; Xu and Huang, 2019). Therefore, mobile apps with interactive
design features that possess high levels of control, two-way communi­
cation, and synchronicity enable high-NFC customers to develop a
stronger feeling of being there in the virtual environment. In contrast,
sensory-rich mobile-apps that have aesthetic appeals and vivid display
resolutions allow low-NFC consumers to derive a clearer sense of spatial
presence.
We also find empirical support for our contention that the impact of
spatial presence experience on customer engagement is more pro­
nounced and attenuated for consumers who have a high and low DSI,
respectively. Little is known about this important boundary condition,
as limited attention has been devoted to it. However, since DSI expli­
cates a deep involvement and focused attention allocation on the con­
tents and/or activities provided by retail mobile-apps, our moderating
finding can be considered as being in line with previous evidence sup­
porting that consumer involvement moderates the relationships be­
tween customer perceptions and behavioural responses (Krishnamurthy
and Kumar, 2018; Sun et al., 2022).
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Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 66 (2022) 102950
6.2. Theoretical contributions
This research contributes to the growing literature regarding
customer engagement and retail mobile apps in several ways. First of all,
our research is among the pioneers in adopting Pansari and Kumar’s
(2017) holistic viewpoint pertaining to the conceptualization and
operationalization of customer engagement. By empirically validating
such encompassing measurement of customer engagement and investi­
gating its driving as well as contingency forces in the context of retail
mobile apps, we have genuinely and directly replied to the call for
further inquiries/research on such a comprehensively proposed
construct (Kumar and Pansari, 2016). Thus, we advance the theory on
customer engagement in the understanding of the nature and mechanics
leading to a range of value-added activities through which customers
contribute to retailers.
The proposed dynamic research model in this study is derived from
the HOE theory in conjunction with the situated cognition theory; as
such, we add to the theoretical development of the underlying sequen­
tial processes that lead to customer engagement. The modeling of the
mediating role of a specific experience of spatial presence on the link­
ages from interactivity and vividness cognitions to customer engage­
ment sheds new insight into the centrality of the increasingly-
emphasized mode of online experience—consumers feel themselves to
be authentically located and taking possible actions in retail mobile-
apps—in the era of virtual environments augmented by immersively-
enabled technologies. This is a significant contribution, as it has al­
ways been a dream for online businesses to provide customers with
“authentic” and “real” experiences like those in physical stores (Heller
et al., 2019; Hilken et al., 2018). The empirical findings not only validate
the application of the HOE model and the situated cognition theory to an
important fast-developing domain of retail customer management, but
also contribute to a deeper understanding of the process of formulating
SPE. In the context of retail mobile apps, two major cognitions, i.e.,
embodied and embedded cognitions, that are manifested through
interactivity and vividness significantly influence the online experience
of customers, making them feel the authenticity of really being there,
just like in physical stores. These in turn enable retailers to gain value
from customer engagement behaviours.
Furthermore, by incorporating the contingency variables of need for
cognition and domain-specific interest as a conditional mechanism of
the formation of SPE and an explanation of customer engagement in
retail mobile apps, this research demonstrates the ground for applying
both HOE and situated cognition theories under the contingent roles of
consumers’ personal tendencies and issue-specific motivations. So far,
the marketing literature in the online service context has demonstrated
several boundary conditions for the effectiveness of factors formulating
customer experience and then fostering engagement such as customer
involvement, product value (Pansari and Kumar, 2017), user-generated
content/volume (Meire et al., 2019), and/or customer traits (e.g., age
construct; Kuppelwieser and Klaus, 2020b). Our focus findings of the
two moderators increase the explained variance of the studied matter
while providing a novel understanding of the contingency regarding the
sequential processes of formulating SPE and then fostering customers’
engaged activities.
6.3. Practical implications
The research findings provide important recommendations for retail
managers. First of all, as customer engagement has become a profound
metric in measuring marketing and business performance for many
firms (Kumar and Reinartz, 2016), our adopted and validated mea­
surement scale of customer engagement can provide insights into
actionable activities for retailers who would like to develop customer
management strategies that aim at raising and harvesting customer
lifetime value. In addition, our research provides important recom­
mendations to stimulate such customer engagement activities through
X.H. Ho et al.
the provision of the experience of spatial presence during their shopping
journey on retail mobile apps. While retailers have focused their efforts
and marketing budget on enhancing customer experience and on
reducing decision-making uncertainty (Kuppelwieser and Klaus, 2020a),
the benefits of retail mobile-apps in simulating “real” shopping experi­
ences should get more attention in contemporary marketing. Within this
managerial frame, our findings also imply that interactivity and vivid­
ness play an important role in shaping SPE. Therefore, to ultimately
boost customer engagement, we suggest retailers design mobile apps
with interactivity and vividness features that simulate customers’ feel­
ings of “really being there”.
In order to incorporate app-design features that can increase con­
sumers’ interactivity perceptions, retailers should consider enhancing
the responsiveness of their mobile apps to provide quick navigation (i.e.,
a small number of clicks) and fast responses and transmissions of related
messages such as real-time hotlines or chat boxes. Also, active control
features of mobile apps should be enhanced, as competency in cus­
tomers’ touching, zooming, and rotating stimulates their senses and
perceptions of realism in the digital marketplace. In addition, retail
mobile apps should incorporate vividness features that are multisensory
and congruent through the senses (e.g., visual, tactile, and auditory
sensory) and are rich in up-to-date information/products to increase the
situated online experience of their customers.
Our results for the mediating effects of SPE also provide relevant
managerial implications for retail mobile app development strategies.
Retailers need to keep in mind that creating personalized, authentic and
realistic experiences within retail mobile apps can bridge the gap be­
tween physical and virtual stores. Depending on corporate capabilities
as well as the advancement of applied technologies, retailers might
consider how different design features in mobile apps can be reconfig­
ured and augmented to enhance customers’ participation intensity and
shopping experiences. According to Georgiou and Kyza (2017), to reach
the sense of “being there” in a virtual store, consumers often undergo a
gradually immersive process, starting from usability perceptions, time
investment and interest, to developing emotional attachment and focus
of attention, and finally to encompassing full absorption and feelings of
spatial presence in the virtual store. Thus, retailers could consider
including content-related features incorporated into mobile app design
that not only match consumers’ interests but also create emotional
attachment and feelings of excitement. Importantly, to stimulate feel­
ings of physically situated locations and possible actions in mobile apps,
retailers should be directed towards continuous improvements in tech­
nologically advanced features in mobile apps that enable both
embedded and embodied online service experience for consumers.
Accordingly, consumers can experience authentic and realistic situated
online services that then translate into their engagement activities in the
virtual retail world.
Regarding the moderating results, high-NFC consumers are found to
be more likely to focus on interactive features and information, whereas
those with low NFC are more likely to count on vividness during the
purchase process. Therefore, managers could consider developing
different sorts of apps that are tailored to customers’ diverse needs or
segments so as to maximize the overall benefit from customer engage­
ment. This insight is consistent with previous arguments that suggest
information/entertainment-driven apps stimulate consumers’ cognitive
and affective elaborations of information processing, respectively (e.g.,
Van Noort and Van Reijmersdal, 2019). Our findings also imply that
retailers should incorporate content and features in mobile apps that are
specific for each consumer group (i.e., high vs. low-NFC users). Specif­
ically, since high-NFC customers adopt central cues to process infor­
mation more thoroughly, every function of mobile apps should be made
as clear, detailed, and easy as possible—from the seeking of pro­
ducts/services and promotional information to comparing pro­
ducts/services, and ultimately to purchasing. Retailers should
continuously collect feedback/suggestions from customers’ experiences
via regular operative testing or functional reviewing to ensure that users
11
Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 66 (2022) 102950
of mobile apps are able to shop in a productive, timely, and trouble-free
manner. In contrast, as low-NFC consumers often rely on peripheral cues
in their information processing, mobile app designers might consider
enriching vivid features such as graphics, images, visual content, music
background, and instructional videos that would enhance the online
experience with mobile apps. Also, retailers need to apply
sensory-enabling technologies to develop novel multisensory mediums
(including olfactory and even taste stimulation, Petit et al., 2019) that
can deliver the types of sensations which have been absent in the online
environment (i.e., those that only function via mental imagery) to create
effective online service experiences.
The finding that, compared to low-DSI consumers, those with a high
level of DSI find SPE to be more valuable, and subsequently engage more
strongly with retail mobile apps, demonstrates the significance of pro­
moting affective stimuli associated with retail mobile-apps in the minds
of low-DSI consumers. This implies that marketers could encourage low-
DSI customers to engage in retail mobile-app usage through proposi­
tioning mobile apps as instruments to “make the right decision”,
providing promotions, and/or utilizing idols and testimonials to influ­
ence consumers’ affections toward retail mobile apps and ultimately
improve consumer engagement. Retailers should apply new
immersively-enabled technologies such as those based on artificial in­
telligence (AI) and machine learning to advance their mobile apps so as
to predict customer behaviours accurately and identify patterns unique
to each customer. With AI and machine learning, mobile apps can be
programmed to have human-like abilities (Huang and Rust, 2021) that
allow retailers to identify individual customers’ needs and wants based
on their preference patterns and successively provide them with mass
customized and personalized experiences.
7. Limitations and future research directions
This research has a few limitations that serve as avenues for future
studies. First of all, customer engagement is broadly defined and oper­
ationalized as a general construct that encompasses several dimensions
of customer contributions to firms; however, future research can
investigate those dimensions as separate constructs to gain additional
insights into the different types of customer contributions to firms/re­
tailers. Another interesting question that is unresolved by our study is
whether (and how) users experience other forms of presence such as
social presence or self-presence (Lee, 2004) in either sensory or
non-sensory manners within mobile apps; in this regard, further
research is promising. Next, a fruitful avenue for future research is to
incorporate other antecedents of spatial presence such as interactive
qualities (e.g., visual appeal, information fit-to-task; Heller et al., 2020)
or other motivation moderators (e.g., need for touch, need for unique­
ness, or style of processing) to the current model. Moreover, the research
relies on data obtained from three selected cities dominating positions in
the Vietnamese eBusiness index, namely, Hanoi, Danang and
Ho-Chi-Minh; however, this may inhibit the generalizability of our
findings. Thus, future attempts can extend the data collection to more
cities/provinces to achieve a more general result. In addition, the cur­
rent study takes into account only residential status and age quota to
assure an adequate representation of population characteristics, an
approach which might lead to sample bias; thus, this limitation should
be addressed in future research. Finally, we study only a single country
and use cross-sectional data; thus, richer data, including information
from multiple countries and using longitudinal data, can be useful to
ensure the generalizability of our findings.
Acknowledgement
This research is funded by Vietnam National Foundation for Science
and Technology Development (NAFOSTED) under grant number
502.02–2020.30.
X.H. Ho et al. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 66 (2022) 102950

Appendix. Measurement scales

Construct Dimensions Items (R Reverse-coded items; * Item removed during accuracy analysis)

Interactivity Active control I felt that I had a lot of control over my experience with the retail mobile app.
While I used the retail mobile app, I could freely choose what I wanted to see.
While I used the retail mobile app, I had absolutely no control over what I could do on the retail mobile appR.
While I used the retail mobile app, my actions decided which kind of experiences I had.
Two-way The retail mobile app facilitated two-way communication between the retailer and their consumers.
Communication The retail mobile app gave consumers the opportunity to talk to the retailer.
The retail mobile app did not at all encourage visitors to talk backR.
The retail mobile app made me feel the retailer wants to listen to their customers.
Synchronicity The retail mobile app processed my input very quickly.
I was able to get information from the retail mobile app very rapidly.
When I clicked on the retail mobile app, I felt I was getting the instantaneous information I expected.
The retail mobile app was very slow in responding to my requestsR.
Vividness The retail mobile app was very clear.
The retail mobile app was very detailed.
The retail mobile app was very vagueR.
The retail mobile app was very vivid.
The retail mobile app was very sharp.
The retail mobile app was very well-defined.
Spatial Presence I felt like the products were “actually there” in the retail mobile app.
It was as though the true location of the products had shifted into the retail mobile app.
I felt like the product meshed with the retail mobile app.
It seemed as if the products actually took part in the action in the retail mobile app*.
I had the impression that I could be active with the products in the retail mobile app.
I felt like I could move the products around in the retail mobile app.
The products in the retail mobile app gave me the feeling I could do things with them.
It seemed to me that I could do whatever I wanted with the products in the retail mobile app.
Customer Customer Purchases I would consider the retail mobile app as one of my first choices for buying products/services online.
Engagement I will continue to buy products/services with the retail mobile app in the next few years.
I would do more business with the retail mobile app in the next few years.
My purchases with the retail mobile app make me content.
Customer Referrals I promote the retail mobile app because of the monetary referral benefits provided by the retailer.
In addition to the value derived from the products/services, the monetary referral incentives also encourage me to refer the retail
mobile app to my friends and relatives.
I enjoy referring the retail mobile app to my friends and relatives because of the monetary referral incentives.
Given that I already use the retail mobile app, I refer my friends and relatives to the retail mobile app because of the monetary
referral incentives.
Customer Influences I intend to share my ideas about the retail mobile app with other community users.
I love talking about my retail mobile app experience.
I discuss the benefits that I get from the retail mobile app with others.
I often mention the retail mobile app in my conversations.
Customer Feedbacks When I experience a problem with the retail mobile app, I provide feedback about my experiences to the retailer.
I provide suggestions/complete surveys for improving the performance of the retail mobile app.
I provide feedback/suggestions about the new facets of the retail mobile app.
I provide feedback/suggestions for developing new facets for the retail mobile app.
Need for Cognition I enjoy thinking of solutions to problems.
I prefer solving a complex question that is difficult and requires thought, compared to a question that is important but does not
require thought.*
I like situations where I can achieve something by thoroughly thinking things through.
I love it when my life is full of difficult tasks that I have to solve.*
It is especially fun for me if I have completed an important task that requires a lot of thinking.
I prefer complex problems over simple problems.
I like to do tasks in which one has to think a great deal.
I often say to myself that people should think long and carefully to find the best solution to a problem.
I am someone who enjoys thinking.
I like to think about a problem, even when I know that my thinking will change nothing about the problem.
When I put my mind to solving a difficult problem, I usually succeed.
Domain-Specific I am generally interested in the topic of retail mobile apps.
Interest Retail mobile apps corresponded very well with what I normally prefer.
I have felt a strong affinity to the theme of retail mobile apps for a long time.
There was already a fondness in me for the topic of retail mobile apps before I was exposed to them.
Whenever I made a purchase, I would decide to deal with it via retail mobile apps.*
Things like those in retail mobile apps have often attracted my attention in the past.
I just love to think about the topic of retail mobile apps.
In the past, I have spent a lot of time dealing with the topic of retail mobile apps.*
Note: Values are based on a seven-point Likert scale ranging from “strongly disagree” (1) to “strongly agree” (7).

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