Evaluating digital channel effectiveness in manufacturing omnichannel strategies: Evidence from Japanese consumer loyalty analysis

The omnichannel strategic approach integrates physical and digital channels to deliver seamless customer experiences. While it has been widely adopted in the retail industry, where digital channels play a key role in enhancing consumer loyalty, its effectiveness in manufacturing remains unclear. Because manufacturers face structural barriers in directly engaging with consumers, the consumer experience with digital channels in manufacturing is underexplored in the existing literature. To address this gap, this study investigates whether digital channels affect consumer loyalty in the manufacturing sector. An online survey of 1,500 Japanese consumers across electronics, fashion, and food industries was conducted, and the results were analysed using structural equation modelling. The findings show that digital channels alone do not significantly influence consumer loyalty across industries, age groups, or innovation tendencies ( β = 0.080, p = 0.127). However, for consumers with high product involvement, digital channels significantly enhance loyalty ( β = 0.154, p = 0.045). These findings suggest that targeting young or innovative consumers is insufficient. Rather, increasing product involvement through content marketing focused on product usability and functionality, and combining digital efforts with real-world experiences, is key. This study offers contextual knowledge on when digital channels work, contributing both theoretically and practically to the development of omnichannel strategies for businesses in the manufacturing sector.