Understanding Customer Confusion in the Marketplace – A Systematic Literature Review

Purpose : Customers typically experience uncertainty, a lack of clarity, and confusion as a result of the exponential increase in information, products/services, and touchpoints in today’s quickly changing marketplace. The purchase experience of clients has been greatly impacted by customer confusion, so marketers must solve this issue. Therefore, this analysis offered a thorough grasp of the phenomena by methodically reviewing the body of literature already available on consumer uncertainty. Methodology : The study examined 110 research studies from 1966 (since its beginning) to July 2024 using Scopus and the Web of Science. It used a framework based on the antecedents, decisions, and outcomes — theories, contexts, and methods (ADO-TCM) to give a thorough knowledge of consumer uncertainty in the marketplace. Findings : The review presented the antecedents, decisions, outcomes, theories, contexts, and methods relevant to exploring customer confusion and proposed future research directions. Practical Implications : The literature review provided implications for marketers, brands, and retailers. It offered practical insights to reduce customer confusion in the marketplace. Originality/Value : The literature review adopted an ADO-TCM framework-based approach to structure the review findings.