Adapting a Comprehensive Physical Store Environmet and Patronage Model to Examine Online Store Environment and Patronge Intentions

Abstract

Consumers’ purchase process has changed with the introduction of the Internet as an alternative channel for shopping. Consumers now use retail websites to search for product information and/or make a purchase either from the website or another retail channel. The website interface represents the stimulus that influences consumers’ decision making. Accordingly, it is important to understand the website environment and the important cues that influence consumers’ choice of one website over another. The impact of traditional store environment on consumers’ evaluations of the store and ultimately their patronage intentions has been extensively examined. Studies of traditional stores have drawn important linkages among store environment cues, store choice criteria and patronage intentions on a piecemeal basis, but the Baker et al. (2002) study was the first to empirically examine a comprehensive store patronage model. We used Baker’s et al. (2002) model as a guide to examine the impact of website environmental cues on choice criteria and patronage intentions modifying the model to fit the online retailing context. It was important to use a well founded comprehensive model of traditional retailing, because online retailing is still a relatively new channel of distribution and there are few theoretical models to guide research on online retailing. The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of website environmental cues (search/navigation, purchase/checkout and aesthetics) on consumers’ choice criteria (customer service quality, merchandise quality, monetary price, time/effort cost and psychic cost perceptions) and patronage intentions with merchandise value perceptions as a mediating factor. A conceptual framework was developed based on Baker’s et al. (2002) model and a quantitative research method was used to test the proposed conceptual model. Three stimulus websites were selected to represent slightly different website design quality levels. We used scale items from Baker et al. (2002) and other studies to develop the survey instrument. Seven-point Likert-type scale items were used to measure each construct included in the model. A web survey was developed with hot links to the stimulus websites. The survey instrument was pre-tested with 176 students recruited from a major southeastern university. Study participants were selected using a national panel representing typical US online shoppers. Two hundred sixty nine online shoppers participated in this study. The sample was comprised of 53% women. With respect to age distribution, 26% between the age of (19–29), 30% (30–39) and 44% were 40 years of age or more. Respondents’ household annual income distribution was 18% at $25,000 or less, 26% between $26,000 and $45,000, 22% between $46,000 and $65,000 and 34% were at $66,000 or more. The hypothesized relationships in the model were tested using maximum likelihood estimations. Testing the proposed model indicated a good fit for the online retailing context, as nineteen of twenty five research hypotheses were supported. Search/navigation perceptions had significant paths with all choice criteria constructs, suggesting that consumers are influenced by choice criteria when searching for a product to purchase. Purchase/Checkout perceptions impacted monetary price perceptions, time/effort cost perceptions and psychic cost perceptions. Insignificant paths between purchase/checkout and (1) customer service quality and (2) merchandise quality perceptions may be a result of the fact that participants were not performing an actual purchase but only completing part of the process for a simulated purchase. Aesthetics (visual appearance of the website) had significant paths with customer service quality perceptions, merchandise quality perceptions, and psychic cost perceptions, suggesting that consumers perceive the aesthetically appealing website to provide good customer service, good merchandise quality and a more pleasurable experience, but did not necessarily relate aesthetics to acceptable prices or less time/effort cost. Choice Criteria Perceptions influenced merchandise value perceptions providing evidence that the choice criteria model fits the online retailing context. Patronage intentions were directly influenced by monetary price perceptions, time/effort cost perceptions, and psychic cost perceptions. The significant path between merchandise value perceptions and patronage intentions shows that patronage intentions were directly influenced by merchandise value perceptions and indirectly by choice criteria through merchandise value. So, even though there was no significant direct path from merchandise quality perceptions to patronage intentions, merchandise quality nevertheless influenced patronage intentions through merchandise value. Online stores, though growing more rapidly than traditional stores, still render a relatively small portion of sales and profits for multichannel retailers (Eroglu et al. 2003). This research provides in-depth information about the specific design features of online stores that influence online shoppers’ behavior towards the site and insights about the impact of environmental cues on consumers’ perceptions of customer service quality, merchandise quality, monetary price acceptability, time/effort cost and psychic cost incurred when interacting with the website.