Understanding channel purchase intentions: Measuring online and offline shopping value perceptions

This dissertation investigates consumers’ prepurchase evaluations of buying books offline and online. It synthesizes the E-Commerce and perceived value literature to develop a conceptual model that explains online and offline purchase intentions. Based on this literature review, it is proposed that online and offline purchase intentions are based on perceptions of service quality, merchandise quality, price and the shopping experience costs and benefits (i.e. time/effort costs, perceived risk, and enjoyment). The conceptual model is empirically tested in two studies by using structural equation modeling. Data are collected through a survey amongst 656 customers of a multichannel bookseller and 437 customers of a pure-play online bookseller. The relative importance of the predictors of perceived value and purchase intentions are first determined by investigating the direct and indirect effects. Next, based on conceptual and/or empirical support, it is hypothesized that certain factors play a more profound role in either context. To test for the differences in the strength of specific relationships between the online and offline context, structural invariance tests are performed. Additionally, the moderating influence of the degree of prior online shopping experience is investigated for specific relationships within the online context. This is determined by testing the differences in the strength of structural relationships between experienced and less experienced buyers.