Purpose Omnichannel retail increases consumer cross-channel shopping, which heightens attrition risk for retailers. Prior research has largely overlooked channel harmonization strategies responsive to such behavior. This study aims to examine consumer cross-channel analysis to reveal omnichannel retail’s underlying logic. Design/methodology/approach This study used Latent Dirichlet Allocation and association rules to extract features, constructed a relation network using social network analysis and examined consumer cross-channel analysis behavior through network metrics and Feature Interaction Score. Findings This study identified four distinct patterns of consumer cross-channel analysis behavior: research-online, validate-offline; experience-verified price parity arbitration; experience-verified promotion maximization; and goal-oriented utility optimization. The feature variables within the same clique exhibit positive interactions, suggesting that shoppers evaluate online and offline purchase decision-making factors across channels. Online and offline marketing elements are interrelated in shaping consumer purchase decisions. Research limitations/implications In this study, online reviews are limited to products such as vegetables, fresh meat and other foods within China’s omnichannel retail market, restricting the generalizability of the findings. Practical implications This study offers actionable insights for omnichannel managers to optimize marketing element combinations and develop targeted strategies. Social implications The research findings serve as a theoretical reference for the development of omnichannel retail policies. Originality/value This study develops a consumer cross-channel information search and evaluation framework for omnichannel retail, thereby extending traditional consumer purchase decision theory beyond its traditional foundations. Furthermore, this study uncovers the cognitive processes through which consumers analyze and integrate cross-channel marketing elements.
Liu et al. (Tue,) studied this question.