In the past, companies push forward channel diversification to secure their consumers and effective management. These supplier-centered viewpoint showed limits to effectively deal with consumers, thereby a multi-channel strategy which aims at consumer...
In the past, companies push forward channel diversification to secure their consumers and effective management. These supplier-centered viewpoint showed limits to effectively deal with consumers, thereby a multi-channel strategy which aims at consumers’ cross channel behaviors is a must.
Current study suggested four different multichannels: reverse-showrooming, showrooming, channel retention in online, and channel retention in offline to understand consumers’ buying process on consumer goods: clothing and mobile phone, in this case. This is to explore consumer characteristics and motives between channel retention in offline and remaining three types. Five shopping motives and two consumer characteristics are chosen as independent variables, and time pressure and product knowledge are tested to see the moderating relationship.
Two rounds of pilot tests are conducted to enhance understandability of the question wordings in questionnaire. The total of 600 buyers: 300 clothing, and 300 mobile phone buyers are participated through online survey. The collected data are analyzed for exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis, and binary logit regression to test hypotheses. The results are as follows.
For clothing purchase, the need-for-touch and self efficacy significanly influenced showrooming type buying behavior compared to channel retention in online. The price consciousness orientation significantly influenced channel retention in online over showrooming type buying behavior. Normally, it is known as showrooming type consumers go for quality and low price. However, when consumers whose purchase occurred only in online are compared, the channel retention in online type is much more price-driven compared to that of showrooming type.
Meanwhile, in situation where mobile phone is purchased in online, the variety seeking orientation significantly influenced showrooming type buying behavior compared to channel retention in online type. And the price consciousness orientation significantly influenced channel retention in online type over showrooming type.
For clothing purchase, the convenience orientation, recreational orientation, and indecisiveness significantly supported channel retention in online type over reverse-showrooming type.
For mobile phone purchase, the price consciousness orientation, and indecisiveness supported reverse-showrooming type over channel retention in online, while the need-for-touch supported the channel retention in online type over reverse-showrooming type.
When purchase occurred in online, the nee-for-touch supported for showrooming type over channel retention in online type, when the time pressure is low and the product knowledge is high in clothing.
Finally, when purchase occurred in online, the indecisiveness supported for reverse-showrooming type over the channel retention in online type, when the time pressure is low.
The differentiation factor of the current study lies in consumers’ viewpoint of multichannel purchase while prior studies focused on the supplier’s point of view. The study not only considered the final purchase channel but also searching process to draw different channel types and focused the showrooming and reverse-showrooming types as reference points for comparison with remaining types of consumer behaviors.
The outcome of the study can offer help in market segmentation strategies in terms of log data in consumers’ purchase behavior. Companies using the date can better effectively manage and retain existing consumers and attract new ones at the same time.