This study addresses gaps in customer experience literature by examining how digital touchpoint experience influences customer loyalty on e-commerce platforms. Drawing on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework, we model digital touchpoint experience as the stimulus, digital engagement and customer satisfaction as organisms, and customer loyalty as the response within the context of Digikala. Methodologically, this applied, descriptive-survey research collected data from 188 active Digikala customers using convenience sampling and a standardized questionnaire by Nanta et al. (2025). Data analysis was performed using SPSS 28 and SmartPLS 3.

The findings revealed that digital touchpoint experience significantly and positively affects digital engagement (β=0.437), customer satisfaction (β=0.346), and customer loyalty (β=0.298). Additionally, digital engagement significantly predicted customer satisfaction (β=0.232) and customer loyalty (β=0.203), while customer satisfaction also positively influenced customer loyalty (β=0.213). The mediating roles of both digital engagement and customer satisfaction were supported, with customer satisfaction emerging as the stronger mediator. The structural model demonstrated acceptable fit (SRMR = 0.038; NFI = 0.891). Theoretically, this study contributes to the literature by validating the S-O-R framework and comparing alternative mediating pathways within an Iranian e-retail context. Practically, the findings offer actionable insights for online retail managers to design user experiences and loyalty strategies centered on digital engagement and customer satisfaction.