Exploring the dynamism of topics linking mobile apps and physical stores

In omni-channel strategies, mobile apps serve as crucial customer touchpoints for retailers. Their role extends beyond search and purchase functions to facilitate the integration of physical stores. Furthermore, their importance has increased after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to identify the topics linking mobile apps and physical stores and examine their dynamism before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the structural topic model, we analyzed app review data from 15 retailers, including those in apparel, consumer electronics, and general merchandise/furniture. The model identified 20 topics, including channel integration between apps and stores, information acquisition, mobile order efficiency, customer service, promotions, and system failures. Our analyses indicate that (1) the positive rating of apps is strongly related to the topics linking mobile apps and stores, rather than the performance of the mobile app features themselves (e.g., purchasing and information search), (2) in the early stages of COVID-19, the demand for some app features, such as product image verification and product returns, temporarily increased, (3) after the pandemic, continuous increases were observed in the topics of in-store pickups, stock checks, in-store searches, and product deliveries, indicating that these are established in consumers’ lives, and (4) the demand for in-store pickups and stock checks declined slightly after 2022, confirming a trend toward a return to physical stores. From a managerial perspective, the growing importance of the seamless channel integration between apps and stores has been emphasized.