Smart-Device Usage, Personalization, and IoT Integration as Correlates of Customer Engagement in Digital Marketing: Evidence from Greece

This cross-sectional survey examines the associations of smart-device usage, personalization, and IoT integration with perceived customer engagement among 392 Greek business and digital-marketing professionals. The leading reported functions were instant communication (35.2%), tailored recommendations (37.5%), and real-time data collection (30.6%); privacy concerns were the most frequently reported adoption barrier (34.2%). The three-predictor regression was statistically significant: F(3, 388) = 138.713, p < 0.001, with R2 = 0.517 and adjusted R2 = 0.514. The reported standardized coefficients were positive for smart-device usage (β = 0.381), personalization (β = 0.304), and IoT integration (β = 0.265). The estimates concern professional perceptions and remain provisional because sampling and measurement diagnostics are incompletely documented; they do not establish causal effects or actual consumer behavior. The implications concern relevant customer interactions, interoperable infrastructure, transparent data practices, and privacy-conscious personalization. Managers should evaluate connected-marketing investments alongside implementation cost and infrastructure readiness. Further research should document sampling and measurement procedures, reproduce the model with respondent-level data, and evaluate generalizability across countries and industries.