Consumer confusion in the multimedia, multichannel scenario: Construct definition and research agenda

Abstract

The increasing availability of choice in the consumption universe can result in consumer confusion. Facing the lack of a generally accepted definition of the construct, we conducted a systematic literature review in a selection of 93 papers published within the last decade. As a result, we identified six distinct understandings and a trend for a broad comprehension of consumer confusion associated with the path to purchase as a whole; however, there seems to be missing an increased focus on the phenomenon related to the consumer conectivity given the multimedia and multichannel scenario. Therefore, the present paper postulates a new definition of the construct and raises questions to be further explored in future studies.