Empirical Analysis of Brand Experience in the Ontact Era: A Touchpoint Strategy Framework for O2O Operations in the F&B Industry

Abstract

The public health security incident has accelerated the adoption of the O2O (Online-to-Offline) model in the F&B (Food and Beverage) industry, significantly increasing consumer demand for contactless services. Concurrently, brand experience management has progressively shifted toward digital touchpoints. This study selects three hamburger brands as case studies to analyze brand experience levels across various online and offline touchpoints. We examine differences between brand touchpoints in the Ontact (Connect On + Untact) era and traditional touchpoints, identifying which ones effectively enhance brand experience. Subsequently, we develop an O2O brand experience management framework, demonstrating that brand experience positively influences satisfaction and repurchase intention. Finally, we propose touchpoint design strategies for the Ontact era to guide businesses in leveraging experiential marketing, strengthening consumer engagement, and informing strategic decision-making.

1. Introduction

We are in an era of profound transformation driven by Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and the Internet of Things. This revolution has reshaped production methods and fundamentally altered market operations and consumer behavior paradigms. Philip Kotler’s Marketing 4.0 theory captures this shift, positing that contemporary marketing has moved from one-way communication to the deep integration of online and offline interactions. Within this framework, the “connection” between brands and customers has become central to value creation. Digital and traditional marketing are no longer siloed but form a synergistic whole throughout the customer journey [1]. One of the most significant manifestations of this convergence is the rise and mainstream adoption of the Online-to-Offline (O2O) model. Consumers nowadays are very demanding, regardless of the type of product or service to be purchased; they want brands to expand beyond a single channel, i.e., blurring the lines between online and physical points of sale [2,3].They expect to discover, research, and interact online, then experience, consume, and enjoy offline, seamlessly switching between these two worlds. This omnichannel experience has become a competitive cornerstone in the service industry, particularly in food and beverage (F&B) industry.

The pandemic acted as a catalyst for a global experiment, reshaping consumer perceptions and behaviors worldwide. Social isolation forced consumers to adopt digital platforms for shopping, entertainment, and communication [4]. As takeout options diversified, sales of traditional delivery items like chicken and burgers declined [5]. To adapt, many franchise brands developed their own delivery applications to enhance customer loyalty and franchisee profitability. However, high minimum order amounts and delivery fees pose barriers for individual consumers. Inadequacies in contactless service implementation and complex online purchasing processes further inconvenience consumers and contribute to negative brand perceptions, posing substantial challenges for the F&B industry. Driven by public health concerns, “contactless” shifted from an option to a necessity and even a preference. This “untact” demand, combined with the digital need for “connection,” gave rise to the “Ontact era”—a new normal where social and commercial interactions are maintained and strengthened through digital means despite physical isolation. This trend is especially pronounced in F&B, with models like food delivery, self-pickup, scan-to-order, and unmanned delivery proliferating rapidly [6].

Amid these shifts, “brand experience,” a core marketing concept, is evolving in meaning and implementation. Pine and Gilmore define an experience as occurring when a company intentionally uses services as the stage and goods as props to engage customers in a memorable event [7]. In a homogenized market, superior brand experience is critical for differentiation, loyalty, and brand equity. A successful brand consistently delivers positive, memorable experiences [8]. To convey these experiences effectively, brands must focus on touchpoints—actual interactions between consumers and the brand [9]. In the O2O and Ontact context, the locus of brand experience creation has shifted from physical spaces and face-to-face interactions to digital touchpoints. Smartphone applications, websites, social media, online customer service, digital coupons, and delivery personnel demeanor now shape consumer brand perception. These touchpoints are critical moments of interaction, serving as carriers and entry points for brand experience. Thus, managing “online brand experiences” through digital touchpoints is as important as offline experiences. Businesses must understand purchasing behaviors and attitudes by integrating and managing all consumer touchpoints [10]. Strategically designing and managing online and offline touchpoints to deliver consistent, coherent brand experiences presents both a challenge and an opportunity for F&B and broader retail sectors.

Despite consensus on the importance of brand experience and touchpoint management, existing research reveals gaps in addressing Ontact-era realities. First, research perspectives are compartmentalized. Many studies treat online and offline brand experience as independent domains, focusing either on in-store environmental psychology and service quality or on website usability and app interface design. However, in actual consumer journeys, the online and offline channels are intertwined and continuous. Research lacks systematic analysis of how cross-channel “connectivity” and “consistency” impact overall brand evaluation. Second, theoretical frameworks lag behind digital evolution. Foundational models like Schmitt’s [11] Strategic Experiential Modules (SEMs) and the experience matrix were conceived before the dominance of social media, mobile apps, and AI-driven interactions. Their applicability and effectiveness across today’s digital touchpoints, and their interplay with traditional physical ones, require contemporary validation and refinement. Finally, empirical evidence is scarce. While integrated O2O brand experience is logically inferred to enhance satisfaction and repurchase intention, specific causal pathways and mechanisms remain unclear. For instance, which online experience dimension (e.g., perceived convenience) contributes more to satisfaction? Which offline aspect (e.g., relational belonging) is more decisive for repurchase? Do experiential drivers vary by brand positioning and resources? Answers lack fine-grained empirical support, often forcing businesses to rely on intuition rather than scientific insight.

To address these gaps, this study examines the fast-changing F&B industry, focusing on the hamburger segment. Through a multi-level research design, we systematically explore Ontact-era brand experience management strategies. First, we analyze brand experience levels at key touchpoints of three hamburger brands via case study, identifying superior touchpoints and pain points. We comprehensively consider the “connectivity” and “continuity” of experience attributes, overcoming the limitation of attributing a single touchpoint to one experience dimension. Second, based on case analysis, we observe new characteristics of Ontact-era brand touchpoints versus traditional ones, comparing which types most effectively enhance overall brand experience using expert evaluations and customer journey mapping. While current research focuses on online or offline perspectives in isolation, we develop a unified theoretical and measurement framework for brand experience, aligning with Ontact-era characteristics. Third, we construct an O2O brand experience management framework and empirically test the impact of online and offline five-dimensional brand experiences on satisfaction and repurchase intention using survey data and statistical methods, as shown in Figure 1.

This research enriches academic literature on brand experience and touchpoint management in the digital age by updating and validating classical theories in a new context. It also offers practical implications, providing F&B and other service industries with a strategic blueprint and design strategies for deploying online and offline touchpoints, optimizing experiences, and achieving synergy in the Ontact era, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty and supporting business sustainability.

2. Literature Review

2.1. Brand Experience

Schmitt integrated experiential elements into brand building, defining experience as consumers’ subjective internal responses and behavioral reactions to brand-related stimuli (e.g., products, design, identity, packaging, communication, environments), as well as outcomes from direct participation in or observation of actual or imagined events [11]. Schmitt’s definition of experience marked a turning point in experiential research, elevating experience from a mere phenomenon or memory to a theoretical construct that examines experience from a holistic and organic perspective. Brand experience exhibits multifaceted connections with stimuli such as design, packaging, and messaging. It not only encompasses direct encounters consumers experience during product purchase or consumption, but also extends to a more comprehensive concept generated indirectly through advertising or marketing communications [12]. It originates from customer-brand interactions across all stages from awareness to repurchase [13]. Consumers actively construct brand experience by establishing relationships and networks with brands through consumption [14], making it a persistent focus in marketing and branding literature [15].

Based on this, Schmitt proposed Strategic Experiential Modules (SEMs) grounded in consumer psychological recognition processes [11]. These encompass five dimensions: Sense, Feel, Think, Act, and Relate. Brakus adapted Schmit’s classification into four dimensions—sensory, affective, behavioral, and cognitive experiences—developing a 12-item brand experience scale [16]. However, Merrilees notes that experience is co-created by consumers and businesses, making Relate experience gained through brand interactions important [17]. Nysveen demonstrated the effectiveness of the Relate dimension in service contexts [18], and Ngwira argued for including Relate dimensions in tourism brand experiences [19].

In summary, this study analyzes brand experience holistically, encompassing human rationality and emotion, defining it as the result of consumers’ direct participation or observation of brand-provided stimuli. We analyze brand experiences from online and offline perspectives of tangible products and intangible services, categorizing dimensions into Sense, Feel, Think, Act, and Relate experiences.

2.2. Brand Touchpoint and Experiential Matrix

To deliver effective brand experiences, it is necessary to coordinate and design various experience dimensions for an integrated overall experience. Understanding actual touchpoints that contribute to positive brand experiences is also paramount. As a key element of service design, touchpoints are specific elements shaping customer service experience. They encompass all elements encountered during customer-service interaction, including the product, service, interpersonal interactions, and communication channels.

Scott and Michael’s Brand Touchpoint Wheel categorizes touchpoints into pre-purchase (websites, advertising, promotions), during purchase (product/service composition, store display, salesperson), and post-purchase (product quality, loyalty programs, billing, customer service). The wheel can be tailored to industry characteristics and customer journey, evolving with technological advancements and societal trends [20].

Table 1. Brand Touchpoint Wheel Element of Prior Studies.

Author	Pre-Purchase Experience	Purchase Experience	Post-Purchase Experience
Davis [20]	Website, advertising, promotional materials	Products & Services, Store display, Salesman	Product Quality, Loyalty Programs, Payment, customer service
Byun [21]	Advertising, Websites, Promotions	Merchandise & Packaging, Store Decoration, POP display and merchandising, Online shopping malls	Brand Management, Loyalty Programs, Coupons & Benefits, Customer Service
XU [22]	Advertising, Websites, APP	Environment, Menus, Utensils, Lighting, Furniture	Information, Feedback systems, Packaging, Mobile payment page, Navigation system
Jeong [9]	Social Media, Magazines Customer service, Advertising, Promotion	Website, Mobile app, Product & Service Categories, Salesman.Store display, Product display	Information, Feedback systems, Packaging, Mobile payment page, Navigation system
Shin [23]	Portal lmage, Video and viral advertising content Press Release Content	Main homepage screen, Mailing image, Service User Screen	Mailing image, Feature Update Guide Content Customer Consultation Chat

summarizes brand touchpoint wheel elements from prior major studies [9,20,21,22,23].

Schmitt further elucidated the connection between brand experience and touchpoints through the “Experience Matrix” model, combining “Strategic Experiential Modules (SEMs)” and “Experience Providers (ExPro)” that deliver experiences at touchpoints. This matrix aligns touchpoints with consumer journeys, serving as a conceptual framework for strategically creating consumer experiences at key touchpoints.

However, the Experience Matrix was conceived in the 1990s. Over time, brand touchpoints have transitioned from tangible to intangible and from brand-dominated to customer-participatory [24]. New online touchpoints like social media, mobile applications, and chatbots have emerged. Setiawan emphasize the interaction between traditional and digital marketing, highlighting experiential connections for better customer experiences at touchpoints [1]. In the Ontact era, ExPro must be redefined to suit contemporary touchpoints. Therefore, it is essential to study touchpoints and brand experiences in online and offline environments holistically.

3. Method

This case study is structured in two parts. First, we introduce an analytical tool—the O2O Brand Experience Matrix—integrating F&B industry touchpoints in the Ontact era with the five SEMs dimensions to assess touchpoint experiential quality. Using this matrix and brand experience evaluation criteria, we evaluate experiential effectiveness of various brand touchpoints (Section 3.1, Section 3.2 and Section 3.3). Second, we investigate the relationship between O2O brand experiences and customer satisfaction/repurchase intention, identifying which experiential dimensions across channels influence these outcomes in the Ontact era (Section 3.4, Section 3.5 and Section 3.6).

3.1. Analysis of Existing Brand Touchpoints in the F&B Industry

Based on theoretical research, we analyze factors influencing hamburger brand experience across five experiential mediums: brand identity, product, service and staff, space environment, and brand communication, summarizing touchpoints for each medium. We observe touchpoints accessible in online and offline purchasing channels of three hamburger brands and propose influencing factors. As shown in Figure 2, through expert interviews, we discussed touchpoints and influencing factors for each brand’s experience, proposing 17 touchpoints for accuracy.

Brand Identity and Communication channels include seven touchpoints: promotional material, advertising, brand website, social media, mobile apps, coupons and benefits, and Creating Shared Values (CSV) events. Product includes three: packaging, product and service, and online store. Space environment includes two: interior style and store display. Service processes and staff include five: loyalty program, service equipment and system, staff, delivery services, and customer service.

3.2. Redefining the Evaluation Concept of Brand Experience Dimensions

Prior research predominantly used dimensions, evaluation concepts, and measurement items from Brakus’s brand experience model. To analyze experiences at emerging touchpoints, we referred to evaluation concepts and measurement items from relevant studies [9,16,25,26,27].

Previous evaluation programs analyzed brand experiences by different criteria from brand, product, design, and user perspectives. This study reconstitutes evaluation items based on prior analytical methods and items.

Table 2. The evaluation concept of brand experience dimensions in prior research.

Dimensions	Author	Evaluation Concept
SENSE	Jeong [9]	The expressiveness of the brand’s characteristics/the perceived diversity of content
	Brakus [16]	The intensity of the perceived stimulus, the degree of interest in the perception of the stimulus/Whether or not perception is stimulated
FEEL	Jeong [9]	Novelty and specificity of the content/Consumers’ emotional expression and sharing possibilities
	Yoon [25]	Special affection and emotional induction
	Brakus [16]	Whether it induces sensuality/The intensity of the perceptual stimulus
THINK	Yoon [25]	The novelty of information/Concerned about information/Motivation to search for information
	Brakus [16]	Diversity of thinking Whether it stimulates curiosity and problem-solving skills
ACT	Jeong [9]	Diversity of behavior Purchased connectivity
	Yoon [25]	Freedom and ease of information browsing Purchase intent and Purchase use intent
	Brakus [16]	Physical behavior, whether the action is involved The body experiences induced, the action induced
RELATE	Lee [27]	Build a customer-brand relationship and support the relationship between consumers
	Yoon [25]	Similar lifestyles, Feel ahead of others
	Tse [26]	Emphasize the socialization between tourists and the others

lists search items.

Unlike previous studies, we divide brand experience evaluation items into online and offline channels. To ensure objectivity, experiences were derived from user and brand perspectives. After setting online and offline touchpoints as analysis objects, objective evaluation was conducted through expert interviews.

The distinction from previous studies lies in the division of brand experience evaluation items into online and offline channels analyses. To guarantee the objectivity of the case analysis, experiences were derived from the perspectives of users and brands. After setting the touchpoint of online and offline channels as the object of analysis objects, a more objective evaluation was conducted through expert interviews.

Based on prior evaluation concepts and measurement factors, we derived evaluation items for analyzing touchpoint brand experience cases in the F&B industry suitable for the Ontact era, graphically illustrated in

Table 3. The evaluation concept of each dimension of F&B Industry brand experience.

Dimensions	Abbreviation	Evaluation Concept
SENSE	OFS	The sensory diversity and interest of the content
	ONS	The expressiveness of the brand’s personality/the simplicity of the content
FEEL	OFF	The novelty of the content and emotional induction
	ONF	Induce feelings/different feelings
THINK	OFT	Whether it stimulates curiosity and thinking to explore information
	ONT	Actively explore and pay attention to information/The impact of the delivery service and process
ACT	OFA	Inducing physical experiences
	ONA	Re-purchase Intent/Connectivity and convenience in the buying process
RELATE	OFR	Feel the intimacy with the brand and the similarity of lifestyle
	ONR	Forming the relationship between the customer and the brand/Support the relationship between consumers

. Based on Schmitt’s experiential matrix, we proposed the O2O experiential matrix analysis framework for the case study in Figure 3, with one axis representing touchpoints providing brand experience and the other representing brand experience dimensions. Touchpoints are classified by purchase stage, and brand experience comprises evaluation items from five dimensions.

3.3. Experience Analysis of the Burger Brand Touchpoint

According to the 2020 Korean Brand Diagnostic Quantitative Survey, the top three brands in brand preference are Mom’s Touch, Burger King, and McDonald’s. In customer experience ratio, the top three are McDonald’s, Mom’s Touch, and Burger King. Thus, we selected McDonald’s, Burger King, and Mom’s Touch as case studies. Using the F&B Industry Experiential Matrix and brand experience evaluation criteria, we interviewed three professors with over 15 years of design education experience and three design experts with at least 15 years in brand or service design to evaluate touchpoint effectiveness. All six experts hold doctoral degrees; interviews were anonymous with informed consent. Ethical approval was obtained from the Sangmyung University Research Ethics Committee, and procedures complied with Korean data protection regulations. No monetary incentives were provided to avoid bias. The survey was conducted from February to March 2021.

Touchpoint effectiveness evaluation encompasses two aspects: observing whether the touchpoint provides a problematic experience (effective vs. pain point) and evaluating experience connectivity—how touchpoints enhance experiences through technological connectivity and their role across multiple purchase stages. Results prioritize collective insights of the six experts, with evaluations converging through comprehensive discussion. Touchpoint effectiveness is categorized into three levels: low (), average (), and high (⏺).

3.3.1. Experience Analysis of McDonald’s Brand Touchpoints

We present a customer journey map combining all touchpoints consumers experience during online and offline purchase stages at McDonald’s, as shown in Figure 4. McDonald’s employs a multifaceted brand engagement approach, using offline channels like posters, bus ads, TV commercials, portal ads, and social media. It strategically leverages content from influencers like bloggers and YouTubers as key touchpoints. Creative advertising enhances consumer perception, eliciting strong emotional responses and cognitive engagement while driving behavior. The brand offers innovative content experiences through magazines, toys, social media interactions, and themed events.

McDonald’s interior style and spatial display create favorable touchpoints enhancing customer perception before and during purchase. The simple yet sophisticated decor distinguishes it from typical low-cost ambiance. Walls feature art posters and paintings, and a gift exchange counter is displayed. Store display perceptual diversity makes the experience more engaging. Distinct display designs reflect varying brand concepts, conveying novelty and delivering unique Feel experiences. Additionally, three self-service kiosks within the space significantly enhance mobile user experiences by reducing wait times for ordering while improving overall efficiency and convenience. Particularly during the pandemic, kiosks allowed independent ordering without staff interaction, bolstering security perceptions, Act experience, and satisfaction. A wall app download option with free coupons improves online-offline purchase connectivity and stimulates curiosity. Previously, salespeople were primary touchpoints, but now consumers can complete purchases without direct interaction, diminishing personal contact significance.

The emergence of sustainable development signifies a transformation in business paradigms, This transformation necessitates new business models that not only focus on profitability but also consider social inclusivity, address stakeholders’ needs, and extend the company’s values into broader sustainability realms [28]. CSV activities involve enterprises assuming social responsibilities while creating shared value. Since 2018, McDonald’s has implemented sustainability plans via Scale For Good, covering packaging/recycling, child nutrition, child welfare, youth employment, and more, collaborating with over 100 countries. CSV campaigns offer rare content not experienced elsewhere, providing special emotional experiences, easing brand-related information access, and increasing brand identity, thereby improving curiosity, Think, Act, and Relate experiences.

Websites and mobile applications as touchpoints usable across all purchase stages. While implementing uniform brand identity design, McDonald’s optimized image proportion and font readability for mobile device accessibility. However, the MC Delivery app fails in UI and design representation, with insufficient unity between brand website and design. To convey readability, design performance is lower than the website, reducing consumer sentiment impact. Poor operational experience due to complex login and manual address entry inconveniences consumers. Social media (Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube) serve as touchpoints in pre-purchase and post-purchase phases.

Figure 5 shows touchpoint experience level analysis results. McDonald’s has the highest offline brand experience among the three brands, with high connectivity. Offline stores provide free coupons via downloadable apps, enhancing online-offline connectivity. However, online platform brand identity is weak, with limitations in evoking feelings result in lower online brand experience.

3.3.2. Experience Analysis of Burger King’s Brand Touchpoints

Like Pepsi and Coca-Cola, the “Advertising Wars” between McDonald’s and Burger King capture consumer attention, bring pleasure, and enhance business profiles.

Similar to McDonald’s, we present a customer journey map integrating all touchpoints during Burger King’s online and offline purchase stages, as shown in Figure 6. Sense experience enhances perceived content diversity and interest; audiovisual video content conveys information vividly. Feel experience reflects Burger King’s creativity, making consumers feel refreshed. Think experience allows consumers to search keywords online, exploring brand and product information via keywords, images, and materials. Act experience involves high physical experience induction and purchase connectivity.

Most Burger King stores are flagship or roadside stores. Flagship stores promote Burger King’s quality through new logos, packaging, derivatives, menu design, and staff uniforms. Conversely, roadside stores lack consistency with brand identity design, reducing readability and design performance.

CSV activities offer novel content difficult to experience elsewhere, delivering special emotional experiences. After acquisition by TPG in 2002, Burger King promoted the “Have it your way” campaign to renew its image. It released a limited “Pride Whopper” and a new “Be Your Way” advertising phrase in 2014 honoring San Francisco Pride parade. Burger King’s culture of respecting customer lifestyles promotes Feel, Think, Act, and Relate experiences.

Burger King’s website engagingly represents the brand through features and stories, enhancing consumer goodwill. Sense experience includes logo, font compliance, image performance guidelines, and visual image use on platforms. Feel experience adds activity pages with atmosphere and images stimulating perceptual diversity. Think experience involves interesting brand stories improving brand intimacy. Compared to McDonald’s, Burger King offers multiple login channels improving purchase connectivity, Act, and Relate experience.

Mobile apps feature better UI/design alignment with the branded website, more readable information conveyance, and greater expressiveness and fun. Burger King operates product sales detail pages, best-selling and discount product menus, provides brand/store introductions, product evaluations, nutrition tables, membership information queries, and various member activities. Post-login coupon counts display on the front end; coupon abundance improves emotional and physical experiences.

On social media, consumers can leave comments or feelings and share content. Particularly, sharing content or participating in activities via replies, with products given to participants, strengthens emotional input.

As shown in Figure 7, Burger King has the highest online-offline brand experience connectivity among the three brands.

3.3.3. Experience Analysis of Mom’s Touch Brand Touchpoints

Mom’s Touch, a local Korean hamburger brand, ranks high in brand preference and recommendation through high-quality taste and cost-effectiveness.

We present the customer journey map integrating all touchpoints during Mom’s Touch’s online and offline purchase stages, as shown in Figure 8. Mom’s Touch faces challenges in advertising and promotion versus McDonald’s and Burger King. Its marketing is straightforward and product-focused, lacking creativity or entertainment. Consequently, consumers’ perceptual diversity, content interest, novelty, emotion induction, curiosity, and information exploration stimulation were low.

In offline store experience, Mom’s Touch exhibits the lowest level among the three brands. Sense-wise, unlike McDonald’s clean glass exteriors, Mom’s Touch storefronts are overwhelmed with promotional materials. Cognitively, lacking professional staff uniforms reduces consumers’ professional feeling, security, and Act experience. Subpar service atmosphere with outdated facilities contributes to customer detachment. No self-service kiosks increase waiting times. Mom’s Touch’s offline model requires significant improvement.

Mom’s Touch’s web and mobile app touchpoints. Unlike McDonald’s and Burger King, Mom’s Touch’s brand website and app use a geographic information system to provide franchise store information within a 1-km radius based on customer location via online map, eliminating manual address entry. Consumers can order more easily in stores or online.

The brand website provides new product information and news via Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube links. Sense-wise, uncluttered website compositions and large product photos increase brand friendliness beyond appetite whetting. Feel-wise, the concept of proper cooking and fresh ingredients combined with the logo feels interesting, increasing trust and favorability, causing different feelings. Think-wise, clear menus improve user convenience.

Figure 9 shows Mom’s Touch touchpoint experience level analysis results. Offline, store display and interior style operations yield low consumer brand identity and limitations in evoking feelings, resulting in low offline experience. Conversely, Mom’s Touch reinforces Think experience at pre-purchase and purchase stages through mobile app touchpoints used online and offline. Online touchpoints like apps, social media, and brand websites offer perceptually diverse, interesting, novel content inducing emotions and curiosity, generating Act experiences. Among the three brands, online experience has the highest connectivity.

3.4. Research Framework and Hypothesis Development

Understanding consumer behavior is vital for companies and brands, with satisfaction being a key factor in fostering repeat behavior and loyalty [29], and serves as a key outcome that every business, brands, organization as well as destination success and resources allocations [30,31]. In general, the lower the consistency between the products and values experienced, the greater the dissatisfaction. In other words, consumer satisfaction is the final state of the consumer in the process of purchasing experience [32]. Therefore, Satisfaction is the central focus of marketing as it has a significant impact on the survival of any business. Trivastava and Kaul have shown through testing that emotional experiences significantly affect customer satisfaction [33]. Based on this, we propose Hypothesis 1.

Hypothesis 1 

(H1). Brand experience has a positive impact on consumer satisfaction.

Offline SENSE (H1-1), FEEL (H1-2), THINK (H1-3), ACT (H1-4), and RELATE experience (H1-5) have a positive impact on consumer satisfaction.

Online SENSE (H1-6), FEEL (H1-7), THINK (H1-8), ACT (H1-9), and RELATE experience (H1-10) have a positive impact on consumer satisfaction.

Repurchase intention refers to the consumer’s tendency to re-trade with a company that has already been purchased, and it is also the degree of psychological commitment of the consumer to the service [34]. Customers’ repurchase intention is a key driver of sustained profitability for companies [35]. Brakus showed that brand experience has a direct impact on consumer behavior intention, so consumption predictions can be made through brand experience [16]. Gabisch and Jason A validates the ability to increase people’s purchase intent through brand experience [36]. Utami validates that the content quality of healthy food s-commerce platforms and online shopping experiences could affect customer engagement and customers’ behavioural intention to purchase [37]. Thus, brand experience as consumers’ subjective internal response to brand-related stimuli impacts consumers differently. Repurchase intent as a key response variable is also affected. Based on this, we propose Hypothesis 2.

Hypothesis 2 

(H2). Brand experience has a positive impact on consumers’ repurchase intention.

Offline SENSE (H2-1), FEEL (H2-2), THINK (H2-3), ACT (H2-4), and RELATE experience (H2-5) have a positive impact on consumers’ repurchase intention.

Online SENSE (H2-6), FEEL (H2-7), THINK (H2-8), ACT (H2-9), and RELATE experience (H2-10) have a positive impact on consumers’ repurchase intention.

3.5. Measurement and Data Collection

Prior to the main data collection, a pilot test was conducted with 30 respondents to assess the validity and reliability of the instrument. The questionnaire was refined based on this feedback to ensure clarity and item appropriateness. We then evaluated the internal consistency of the constructs in the hypothesis model using Cronbach’s alpha in IBM SPSS 25. All constructs demonstrated satisfactory reliability, with threshold ranges from 0.711 to 0.849, that was considered acceptable for exploratory research, to evaluate the reliability. Furthermore, Pearson’s bivariate correlation analysis confirmed the validity of all items. These results collectively indicate that the measurement instrument is both valid and reliable for the subsequent analysis.

Based on literature review and expert consultations, a survey questionnaire was adapted from existing studies [9,16,21,25,27]. The first section was the introduction, including respondents’ consent to participate in the survey; the second section consisted of the screening questions to ensure the participating respondents were qualified for the study, and the third section questioned the respondents’ profiles. The following three sections covered online experiences, offline experiences, satisfaction, and repurchase intention. We proposed 12 constructs and 46 items to measure the relationship between online/offline brand experience and satisfaction/repurchase intention: offline brand experience when purchasing offline (offline Sense, Feel, Think, Act, Relate experience, 20 items); online brand experience when purchasing online (online Sense, Feel, Think, Act, Relate experience, 20 items); satisfaction and repurchase intention (6 items). All used a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree).

The survey was conducted from July to September 2021. Participants were individuals who had purchased hamburger brand products via both online and offline channels domestically. All surveys were anonymous with informed consent at the beginning. Ethical approval was obtained from the Sangmyung University Research Ethics Committee; procedures complied with Korean data protection regulations. No monetary incentives were provided to avoid bias.

3.6. Sampling and Respondent Demographics

We collected 411 questionnaires; after review, 385 were valid. Participants: 39.4% female, 60.6% male. Age distribution: 10–19 (24.1%), 20–29 (43.9%), 30–39 (20.0%), 40+ (12%). Occupation: company employees (30.6%), students (43.1%), professionals (10.4%), others (15.9%). Purchase frequency: more than once a month (44.4%), more than once every three months (21.6%), more than once a week (16.6%), others (17.4%).

Primary brand touchpoints encountered, in descending frequency: offline store layout and product display (83.3%), delivery applications (79.7%), coupons and promotions (42.6%), brand mobile applications (36.9%), advertisements (34.3%), social media (20%), delivery services (17.4%), websites (13%), store staff (11.7%). Purchase channels: offline stores (51.9%), online channels (48.1%).

For online purchasing channels specifically, food delivery applications dominated (67%), followed by brand-specific applications (25.7%), brand websites (4.7%), and social media (2.6%).

Brand-specific online purchase channel analysis revealed distinct patterns. For McDonald’s, Burger King, and Mom’s Touch, few consumers used social media and brand websites for ordering. Most Mom’s Touch consumers (n = 103, 82.4%) used third-party delivery apps; substantial portions of Burger King (n = 85, 61.6%) and McDonald’s (n = 69, 56.7%) also preferred this channel. Brand-specific application usage varied: McDonald’s (40 consumers, 32.7%), Burger King (42, 30.4%), and Mom’s Touch (18, 14.4%).

Results show primary online purchasing channels are third-party delivery apps (67%) and brand apps (25.7%). Channel selection drivers: delivery app preference due to overall convenience, brand comparison, wider food selection, and habitual usage; brand app choice due to discount coupons, better pricing, and frequent usage habits.

4. Analysis and Results

4.1. Structural Model Analysis

In order to confirm the impact of online and offline brand experience (Sense, Feel, Think, Act, Relate) on satisfaction and repurchase intention, statistical analysis was conducted across three brands, in Figure 10 and Figure 11.

McDonald’s: Offline Act experience (H1-4: $\beta$ = 0.409, t = 3.919, p < 0.001) and Relate experience (H1-5: $\beta$ = 0.245, t = 2.468, p < 0.05) positively influenced satisfaction. Online feel experience (H1-7: $\beta$ = 0.256, t = 2.474, p < 0.05) and Relate experience (H1-10: $\beta$ = 0.239, t = 2.249, p < 0.05) positively influenced satisfaction. Other dimensions were non-significant.

Burger King: Offline Act experience (H1-4: $\beta$ = 0.281, t = 3.251 p < 0.001) and Relate experience (H1-5: $\beta$ = 0.583, t = 7.481, p < 0.000) positively influenced satisfaction. Online Relate experience (H1-10: $\beta$ = 0.504, t = 5.015, p < 0.001) positively influenced satisfaction. Other dimensions were non-significant.

Mom’s Touch: Offline Relate experience (H1-5: $\beta$ = 0.51, t = 4.679, p < 0.001) positively influenced satisfaction. Online Think experience (H1-8: $\beta$ = 0.402, t = 3.904, p < 0.001) positively influenced satisfaction. Other experience dimensions were non-significant.

McDonald’s: Offline Sense experience (H2-1: $\beta$ = 0.226, t = 2.505, p < 0.05), Act experience (H2-4: $\beta$ = 0.366, t = 3.998, p < 0.001), and Relate experience (H2-5: $\beta$ = 0.412, t = 4.741, p < 0.001) positively influenced repurchase intention. Online feel experience (H2-7: $\beta$ = 0.334, t = 3.1, p < 0.01) and Relate experience (H2-10: $\beta$ = 0.312, t = 2.828, p < 0.01) positively influenced repurchase intention. Other experience dimensions were non-significant.

Burger King: Offline Relate experience (H2-5: $\beta$ = 0.732, t = 7.139, p < 0.001) positively influenced repurchase intention. Online Relate experience (H2-10: $\beta$ = 0.474, t = 4.141, p < 0.001) positively influenced repurchase intention. Other experience dimensions were non-significant.

Mom’s Touch: Offline Think experience (H2-3: t = −1.976, p < 0.05) and Relate experience (H2-5: $\beta$ = 0.675, t = 6.548, p < 0.001) positively influenced repurchase intention. Online Relate experience (H2-10: $\beta$ = 0.657, t = 6.365, p < 0.001) positively influenced repurchase intention. Other experience dimensions were non-significant.

This study reveals significant differences in how brand experience dimensions impact satisfaction and repurchase intent, aligning with each brand’s touchpoint operations. First, offline Act and Relate experiences are core drivers of satisfaction, supported by McDonald’s and Burger King data. This corresponds with their touchpoint strategies: McDonald’s self-service kiosks enhance efficiency and action experiences; both brands strengthen connection through CSV activities and social media. Second, online Relate experiences demonstrate widespread, powerful influence. All three brands’ online Relate experiences significantly positively impact satisfaction or repurchase intentions, confirming that in the Ontact era, building emotional and social connections via digital touchpoints like app communities, social media co-creation, and membership programs is crucial for loyalty.

Furthermore, different brands’ touchpoint strategies led to differentiated drivers: McDonald’s offline Sense experiences significantly influenced repurchase intent ($\beta$ = 0.226), thanks to creative advertising and artistic store displays. Mom’s Touch’s online Think experience most impacted satisfaction ($\beta$ = 0.402), demonstrating its effectiveness as a new brand in reducing “decision risk” through clear online menus and convenient location services. Burger King’s online and offline interactions had the highest impact.

For non-significant dimensions, reasons relate to touchpoint practices: the same dimension affects outcome variables differently. For example, McDonald’s offline Sense experiences drive repurchase intentions but not current satisfaction, indicating sensory stimuli influence long-term behavior more than immediate evaluation. Mom’s Touch lacks self-service kiosks, so its offline action experience impacts neither outcome; Burger King’s online action experience is non-significant, indicating its app process may only achieve basic functionality without creating unique interactive memory points.

4.2. The Results of Touchpoint Operations and Experience Level Analysis

According to the survey, McDonald’s, Burger King, and Mom’s Touch operate online and offline touchpoints, but each brand’s touchpoints create different brand experience levels. McDonald’s provides high offline brand experience, offering more diverse content and services than Burger King and Mom’s Touch, building connections between brand experiences. Burger King’s online and offline experiences are relatively high, with few pain points, providing continuous experiences through multiple active touchpoints online and offline. Additionally, multiple touchpoints like social media, coupons/benefits, customer service, and delivery service play important roles across all purchase stages, continuously providing brand experience. Mom’s Touch has many offline pain points, resulting in low brand experience; conversely, online touchpoints create higher brand experience through connections to Application Programming Interface (API) maps, social media, and various login channels.

4.3. Touchpoint Experience Level Analysis Results for Each Purchase Stage

First, experience level results verify that touchpoints providing high brand experience in the pre-purchase stage are advertising/promotions, brand websites, mobile apps, and social media. Advertising/promotions have the highest Sense and Feel experience levels in terms of sensory diversity and feeling induction; websites and mobile apps effectively improve Think and Act experiences via active information exploration and purchase connectivity. Social media effectively improves Feel experiences via content novelty and emotional induction. During the purchase stage, touchpoint experience levels from high to low are: products/services, coupons/benefits, store displays, interior style, equipment/system, online store, mobile apps, employees/salesman. Coupons/benefits effectively improve active information exploration, emotion induction, and physical experiences, providing a high experience level. Store display and interior style effectively improve sensory diversity and emotional/physical experiences. Online store and mobile apps effectively improve Think and Act experiences via information exploration and purchase connectivity. Previously, a salesman was an important touchpoint, but with online touchpoint development, its effect weakened. Finally, touchpoints providing high experience in the post-purchase stage are mobile apps, coupons/benefits, loyalty program, social media, CSV activities, and delivery services, highly connected to the pre-purchase stage. Mobile apps and social media effectively improve Think and Feel experiences in information exploration and customer feeling/opinion expression.

On the Ontact-era brand touch wheel, some touchpoints based on connectivity play important roles across all purchase experience stages, as shown in Figure 12. For example, mobile applications, customer services, coupons/benefits provide continuous brand experience at multiple purchase stages. Based on high online-offline connectivity, touchpoint synergy is strengthened.

5. Discussion

This study investigated the evolving landscape of brand experience within the O2O F&B framework in the Ontact era. Analyzing brand touchpoints via a newly developed online-offline brand experience matrix revealed key transformations from isolated touchpoints to interconnected nodes in a seamless customer journey. The “experience connectivity” era has arrived; touchpoint value lies not only in isolated experience quality but also in its ability to connect with other journey moments through technology, context, and emotion. Touchpoints like mobile apps, social media, and coupons/benefits have evolved to play a “composite role,” engaging before, during, and after purchase. For example, mobile applications are not just trading tools; they serve as channels for exploring (thinking), engaging emotionally through content (feeling), and promoting community development (sharing) post-purchase. This underscores the importance of designing seamless shopping journeys through omnichannel integration [2].

Simultaneously, research shows offline brand experiences significantly impact satisfaction and repurchase intentions. Offline stores remain important for providing positive experiences and forming satisfaction in O2O environments [30,31]. Particularly, offline Act and Relate experiences significantly impacting satisfaction corroborate classical experiential marketing theories positing that fostering customer behavior and building deep relationships create lasting brand impressions [11]. For example, during public health incidents, McDonald’s self-service kiosks and other offline mobile experiences provided security and autonomy, a positive adaptation experience [7]. Offline stores remain invaluable for attracting customer interest and participation in products/promotions. Thus, service providers should deeply consider consumer store visit motivations and processes, developing tools and marketing methods providing positive experiences.

Online experiences significantly impact satisfaction and repurchase intentions. Mobile applications are widely regarded as important experience marketing and satisfaction generation channels in O2O business [2]. As consumer behavior evolves, online touchpoints have not only significantly increased but replaced offline touchpoints in certain scenarios [3]. Besides the mainstream 30–40 age group, users in their 20s and 50s have grown evenly, increasing online experience proportion in total consumer experiences, indicating online experiences play a core role [35,37,38]. Our empirical findings show all three brands’ online and offline Relate experiences significantly impact consumer satisfaction and repurchase intentions, strongly supporting the importance of relationship dimensions in experience research and confirming brand experiences directly influence behavioral intentions [16,19]. This also aligns with previous research arguing that consumers may not prioritise efficiency or system reliability as they would in more formal e-commerce platforms. Instead, the emotional and social connection with the online food seller may outweigh the functional value [39,40]. Thus, brands should not only establish one-way consumer connections but also foster connections between consumers, friends, family, and the broader brand community. For example, consumer engagement experiences can be shaped through collaboration, brand community building, user-generated brand-related content, and stimulating interpersonal interactions, enhancing overall brand value [15,37]. Our research concretizes this by identifying specific touchpoints—social media comments, shared CSV activities, interactive applications—as engines for fostering this crucial relational bond.

Our results provide several theoretical and managerial implications. Theoretically, we confirm satisfaction and repurchase intent as core outcome variables. Various experience dimensions’ positive impact on satisfaction confirms it remains central to marketing, which is crucial for business survival and resource allocation [30,31,33]. Experiences’ significant impact on repurchase intention highlights experiential marketing’s economic value. We specifically identify which touchpoints and brand experiences (varying by brand/channel) contribute to O2O satisfaction. Broader, this study responds to calls for more empirical research on online-offline touch synergies. While prior studies highlighted traditional-digital marketing interaction and pandemic-driven digital platform shift [1,7], our research provides a structured framework (O2O experience matrix) and empirical evidence demonstrating how these synergies work and their behavioral consequences, helping enterprises strategically manage integrated touchpoint ecosystems for competitive advantage and F&B industry sustainability.

6. Conclusions

This study used F&B hamburger brands as cases to redefine experience dimensions as Sense, Feel, Think, Act, Relate, analyzing brand experience status and levels in touchpoint operations via service design customer journey maps, providing analysis methods and processes for design’s strategic role in brand management.

Statistical analysis confirmed brand experience’s positive impact on satisfaction and repurchase intentions and, more importantly, empirically revealed brand touchpoint operation effectiveness. Online and offline touchpoints do not exist in isolation but work together to enhance specific experience dimensions and influence consumer decision-making.

To increase total consumer experiences, it is important to simultaneously manage touchpoints enhancing brand experiences like offline stores and online channels. The present era has shifted from “Technological connectivity” to “Experiential connectivity.” Brand experience connectivity can be divided into technical connectivity, online-offline connectivity, inter-experience connectivity, and connectivity across all purchase stages. Touchpoints have evolved from traditional single-stage roles to composite roles across multiple online-offline purchase stages. Thus, when designing and managing touchpoints, brands/designers should, via touchpoint order arrangement, role strengthening, multi-touchpoint linkage, etc., reasonably and effectively configure all touchpoints, enabling function across multiple purchase phases and creating continuous consumer experiences.

The research proposes a design thought system process for creating brand experience and insights into designers’ strategic actions. It also examined the relationship between brand experience, satisfaction, and repurchase intent. Companies can use satisfaction and repurchase intent as brand metrics to evaluate experience marketing effectiveness, optimize touchpoints, enhance brand experiences, and gain sustained online-offline competitive advantages.

7. Limitations and Further Research

This study contributes to evolving s-commerce and F&B literature, particularly in the Ontact era, examining touchpoints’ pivotal role in enhancing brand experiences and various online-offline experience dimensions’ impact on satisfaction and repurchase intentions. While providing valuable insights, several limitations exist for future research.

A limitation of this research lies in its regional scope, which does not ensure the representativeness of the findings for the broader consumer population. To address this constraint and validate the model across diverse markets, subsequent studies are recommended to employ extensive samples from multiple countries, facilitating a comparative analysis of regional disparities in O2O integration. Although the study’s sample reflects the core demographic of fast-food s-commerce users in South Korea, its generalisability is limited. The predominance of young participants means that the findings may not extend to older demographics or other cultural contexts. Future research should employ more diverse and representative sampling strategies—such as stratified or quota-based methods—to examine potential variations across age, gender, income, and geographic location.

In some models, certain dimensions’ impact is non-significant, possibly not because they are unimportant but because their influence is “hidden” by more powerful dimensions or indirectly influenced by others. A key discovery is that the same experience dimension may differentially impact satisfaction and repurchase intentions. McDonald’s offline Sense experiences significantly positively impact repurchase intentions, confirming creative advertising and artistic store displays stimulate repeat purchasing behavior. However, this dimension’s impact on satisfaction is non-significant, suggesting impressive sensory stimuli directly drive “behavioral intentions” but may not directly assess cognitive/emotional “satisfaction” responses post-purchase.

The biggest challenge was classifying touchpoints triggering consumer brand experience and service design as experience design. From the “connectivity” and “persistence” of experiential attributes created by touchpoints, it is difficult to confine a single touchpoint to one experience dimension. We can only define relevant experience factors based on main brand experience touchpoints and propose design considerations/directions. Additionally, as most prior experiential design research is conceptual rather than substantive, identifying various substantive touchpoints and experience factors is difficult.

This research explores mutual influences between brand experience, repurchase intent, and satisfaction in F&B empirically. But brand-related factors like brand assets, trust, and loyalty are not included. Thus, more brand element relationships can be explored subsequently, continuously improving mutual influence systems. Despite this, this study proposes brand evaluation projects and design strategies for F&B based on extensive consumer brand experience, touchpoint, and satisfaction theories/references, considering industry characteristics. But with rapid internet development and changing market environments, new models may undergo various changes. Thus, continuously improving this study’s research model in future studies is necessary.