Consumer Behaviour at Multi-channel Retailers

Consumer behaviour at pure Internet players has been analysed thoroughly in earlier work. When it comes to retailers with multiple distribution channels, however, new behaviour patterns can be observed. Given the fact that multi-channel retailing is much more common than Internet-only, the analysis of consumer behaviour in a multi-channel context constitutes a challenge for the deeper understanding of e-business. The contribution of this research is threefold: first, this study provides an overview of how the 50 largest e-retailers presently coordinate the interaction between sales on their web sites and in physical stores. Second, we present findings from a consumer survey suggesting what consumers like about multi-channel services on retail sites. Finally, user behaviour is empirically evaluated based on transaction and web log data from a large multi-channel retailer. The results indicate a strong demand for multi-channel services and suggest that retailers should expand their multi-channel service spectrum.