The Versatile Touchpoint : User-Generated Content Reshaping the Customer Journey

Abstract (Swedish)

The Versatile Touchpoint: User-Generated Content Reshaping the
Customer Journey
AUTHORS
1, Affiliation; 2, Affiliation; 3, Affiliation; 4. Affiliation
Keywords
Introduction
Customer Journey; User Generated Content; Social Media; Touchpoint; Brand Publics
In this study we seek to unravel the emergence of a touchpoint that has become ubiquitous
throughout the customer journey due to social media. We are especially interested in so called
user-generated content (UGC) that is actively shared on social media by consumers to guide
and inspire other consumers in their own decision making or exploration of offerings. In this
study we specifically focus on the platform TikTok and the lifestyle retailer Miniso. Miniso and
TikTok presents as a fruitful case of a retailer who has seen its customers actively engage in
extensive practices to promote both the retailer as a destination, as well as its products.
Traditional customer journey models, often linear and retailer-centric (Lemon and Verhoef,
2016), struggle to capture this dynamic and multifaceted nature of contemporary consumer
experiences, particularly the impact of peer-to-peer influence in the digital sphere (Hamilton
and Price, 2019). While we in principle agree with this critique, we adopt the notion of a linear
process of the customer journey as a working definition. The preliminary result in this study
shows that user-generated content is fruitful to frame as “brand public” (Arvidsson and
Caliandro, 2016), as it allows us to better understand how managers in retail can and should
approach this specific type of versatile touchpoint.
The concept of the “touchpoint” has evolved significantly within the customer journey
literature. With Dhebar (2013), and further developed by Lemon and Verhoef (2016), it now
constitutes a key area of inquiry. Omnichannel research emphasizes the touchpoint’s critical
influence on both consumer attitudes and behaviors (Salvietti et al., 2021), necessitating careful
design to foster seamless experiences (Ieva et al., 2019). However, a persistent challenge for
retailers lies in identifying and understanding the relative influence of different touchpoints
throughout the customer journey (Zimmermann et al., 2021), leading to the development of
attribution modeling as a dedicated field of study (Alexandrovskiy and Trundova, 2022).
Customer journey mapping offers an alternative approach, positioning the touchpoint as central
to understanding consumer responses and identifying areas for improvement within the
customer journey design (Rosenbaum et al., 2017). This mapping process, particularly across
categories such as social/cultural, brand-owned, and partner-owned touchpoints (Lemon and
Verhoef, 2016), facilitates touchpoint identification and prioritization for managerial decision-
making. While extant research predominantly adopts a managerial perspective on touchpoints,
a crucial avenue for future research involves exploring touchpoints from the consumer
perspective (Towers and Towers, 2022), specifically examining how online consumer practices
and social media platforms contribute to the emergence of novel, managerially-uncontrolled
touchpoints.
This study addresses this gap by examining how consumers’ shared retail experiences on
TikTok transform into a versatile touchpoint, shaping other consumers’ linear journeys and
challenging conventional notions of touchpoint ownership and control.
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Purpose
Existing literature highlights the increasing importance of social media in the customer journey,
often emphasizing firm-generated content (Demmers et al., 2020). However, the proliferation
of consumer-created videos, reviews, and discussions necessitates a shift in focus. The purpose
of this research is to gain deeper understanding of how consumer practices on social media
becomes a touchpoint. While studies have explored the touchpoint through a managerial
viewpoint, there’s a gap in understanding how UGC specifically is produced, shared and
consumed and spread into other customer journeys.
To understand UGC as a touchpoint we need a theoretical framework that explores the
intricacies of online consumer behavior, how content is shared, interpretated and mimicked.
Therefore. this study utilizes a theoretical framework drawing on concepts and ideas from
“brand publics” (Arvidsson and Caliandro, 2016) “the social customer journey” (Hamilton et
al., 2021) and “the consumer production journey” (Dellaert, 2019).
Methodology
A netnographic approach was employed, analyzing 412 user-generated TikTok videos and their
associated comments related to Miniso, posted over a nine-month period in 2023. This method,
also inspired by Arvidsson and Caliandro’s (2016) research on brand publics, provided rich
qualitative data, capturing the nuances of consumer behavior on this video-centric platform.
The collected data was compiled and structured to enable an inductive approach; the data was
coded and clustered into themes. The analysis revealed two overarching main themes: pre-
purchase experiences within the physical store and post-purchase engagement with the
purchased products.
Findings
Within the pre-purchase stage, three distinct practices emerged. Firstly, consumers documented
“new in-store” products, effectively providing real-time product updates and recommendations
typically associated with the post-purchase stage. This behavior suggests a blurring of
traditional journey stages as proposed previously (Lemon and Verhoef, 2016), where
consumers engage in post-purchase activities before completing a purchase. Secondly,
“reviewing in-store” practices emerged, where consumers shared their opinions and
experiences with products before purchasing them, even broadcasting reviews from within the
physical boundaries of a Miniso store. This behavior, driven by the desire for publicity and
affiliation with the brand public, functions as a form of pre-purchase consumer-driven
advertising, influencing other consumers’ journeys. Thirdly, these videos function as a form of
“customer-driven marketing,” where user-generated stories and reviews, often mimicking each
other within the brand public, contribute to brand awareness and value creation. This challenges
the traditional retailer-centric view of marketing, highlighting the power of independent
consumer-generated narratives.
The post-purchase stage revealed four distinct practices. Firstly, traditional “reviewing”
practices, such as makeup tutorials and product hauls, emerged as a form of post-decision
sharing and value co-creation for other consumers. Secondly, the “excitement and feelings”
practice, often involving blind box openings, showcased the emotional engagement with the
brand and product, potentially motivating other consumers to initiate their own journeys.
Thirdly, the “validating” practice, where consumers simply showcased their purchases,
highlighted the desire for social approval and reinforcement of purchasing decisions. Finally,
the “entertainment” practice, including influencer-style vlogs and relatable memes, leveraged
the brand to create engaging content, potentially attracting new customers to the brand.
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Regarding touchpoint ownership, the pre-purchase stage activities constitute a consumer-
owned touchpoint, where they control the narrative and leverage the brand for personal
publicity. However, the post-purchase activities transition towards a social/external touchpoint,
where user-generated content influences other consumers’ journeys through social support,
reviews, and recommendations. This versatile ownership reflects the dynamic nature of brand
publics in shaping the customer journey.
Contributions
This research contributes to existing literature by highlighting the versatility and evolving
nature of touchpoints in the digital age. It demonstrates how UGC on platforms like TikTok
transcends traditional customer journey stages and ownership models, empowering consumers
to shape their own and others’ journeys. The findings suggest that retailers need to adapt their
strategies to acknowledge and leverage the power of consumer-generated narratives and the
evolving role of brand publics in driving customer engagement and shaping brand perceptions.
Practical implications
The findings of this study suggest that managers need to develop a touchpoint strategy that
considers that consumers today engage in creating content and use retailers’ resources to
create their own following. This should not be confused with influencer management, in
which the retailer contracts a content creator for advertising. Instead, the trend of UGC and
the active utilization of a retailer, in this case Miniso, as a base for brand public dynamics,
calls for a different approach. Such a strategic approach will enable managers to approach,
understand and harness the influencing power of the brand public as touchpoint; ultimately to
create continuous improvement that will drive business success and operational efficiency.
Research limitations and outlook
Future research could dynamics across different platforms, brands, and cultural contexts,
employing a multi-method approach to gain a more comprehensive understanding of this
evolving landscape. Specifically, incorporating quantitative methods could provide a broader
perspective on the impact of UGC on purchasing behavior and brand performance. Examining
the purchasing stage in greater detail would further enrich the understanding of this versatile
touchpoint.
Furthermore, future research should also explore the possible managerial response to the
findings in this study. Our findings raise critical questions in connection to co-creation with
consumers and the brand public as a touchpoint. Specifically, future research should explore
risks and possibilities for a retailer who sees a brand public emerge in connection to the brand
and the in-store environment and in what ways retailers can engage them for the benefit of
commercial performance.
References
Arvidsson A and Caliandro A (2016) Brand Public. The Journal of consumer research 42(5):
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Alexandrovskiy S and Trundova O (2022) Attribution modelling in digital advertising for e-
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Dhebar, A. (2013). Toward a compelling customer touchpoint architecture. Business Horizons,
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Dellaert BGC (2019) The consumer production journey: marketing to consumers as co-
producers in the sharing economy. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
47(2): 238-254.
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Declaration of Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process
During the preparation of this work the author(s) used LLM Gemini 1.5 PRO via you.com in
order to enhance readability and clarity of the final version of the text. After using this tool, the
author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility for the
content of the publication.
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• author: Stoopendahl, Patrik ; De Leon, Valeria ; Ånäs, Miranda and Johansson, Ulf
• organization: Marketing; Centre for Retail Research at Lund University
• publishing date: 2025-06-25
• type: Contribution to conference
• publication status: unpublished
• subject: Business Administration
• conference name: 9TH COLLOQUIUM ON EUROPEAN RESEARCH IN RETAILING 2025
• conference location: Jönköping, Sweden
• conference dates: 2025-06-25 - 2025-06-26
• language: English
• LU publication?: yes
• id: d07344af-b049-439a-9acb-8ff9b23170ef
• date added to LUP: 2025-05-23 10:15:14
• date last changed: 2025-05-26 13:20:51