Multichannel Shopping Through Nontraditional Retail Formats: Variety-Seeking Behavior With Hedonic and Utilitarian Motivations

Abstract

Understanding motivations of multichannel shoppers is critical for retailers, especially in terms of how retailers can best attract shoppers to and orient shoppers across different channel options. Our study thus seeks to understand multichannel shopping through nontraditional retail formats by studying the effects of shoppers' hedonic and utilitarian motives. We used the theory of variety-seeking behavior for conceptualization, and analyzed data from a large-scale U.S. consumer survey. Our findings suggest that both hedonic and utilitarian factors are important predictors of multichannel shopping. Hedonic motivations have more explanatory power for high-level multichannel shopping than for moderate-level multichannel shopping, as compared to non-multichannel shopping.

Untangling the relationships between consumer characteristics, shopping values, and behavioral intention in online group buying

“…Variety-seeking behavior is the tendency of a consumer to seek change over time (Chryssochoidis, 2000;Fiore, Lee, & Kunz, 2004;Harris & ezeh, 2008) because of, for example, a desire to experience product and/or brand diversity (American Marketing Association, 2012) or to resolve the boredom associated with a product and/or brand (Kwon & Jain, 2009). Michaelidou, Arnott, and Dibb (2005) identify variety-seeking tendency as an important shopping motivation and an influential factor in shopping behavior.…”

Can Brick-and-Mortar Retailers Successfully Become Multichannel Retailers?

“…But, if the retailer develops appropriate capabilities, it can enhance the shopping experience for its multichannel customers as well, addressing their hedonic and utilitarian shopping motives (Kwon & Jain, 2009). But, if the retailer develops appropriate capabilities, it can enhance the shopping experience for its multichannel customers as well, addressing their hedonic and utilitarian shopping motives (Kwon & Jain, 2009).…”

Determinants of Shopping Behavior of Urban Consumers

“…There have been many empirical research studies contributing to the marketing literature that focus on shopping behavior of urban consumers (Fram, Le, and Reid 2005;Kwon and Jain 2009;McCabe, Rosenbaum, and Yurchisin 2007;Rajagopal 2009a;Roy and Tai 2003;Vianelli et al 2007). This literature can be categorized into two broad areas: multichannel retailing and shopping attractions that influence urban consumer behavior.…”