Channels for search and purchase: Does mobile Internet matter?

Abstract

Recent industry reports indicate that consumers own four digital devices on an average, and switching devices during shopping is the "new normal." The addition of mobile Internet as a new channel of search and purchase has spurred the adoption of the digital medium, and easy accessibility of the Internet on multiple devices is influencing shopping patterns. A consumer may prefer some channels for search and others for purchase or use a combination of channels to search and purchase simultaneously. As a new channel, it is unclear 1) whether mobile Internet offers greater search or purchase benefits and 2) what type of products are more suitable for mobile Internet search and purchase. In this study, we develop a framework that describes the factors that drive the use of mobile Internet in a multi-channel environment. We test the framework using survey data from a sample of U.S consumers. The main findings from our study indicate that 1) the choice of channel combinations that include mobile relative to other channel combinations increases with an increase in perceived search convenience of mobile channel. 2) in the digital channel, mobile and desktop differ in their utility along search dimensions. The probability of choosing channel combinations that include mobile increases due to search convenience whereas desktop is attractive due to perceived gains of price comparison search; and 3) mobile Internet search increases for consumers searching for utilitarian products.

Does Mobile Phone Penetration Affect Divorce Rate? Evidence from China

“…In the past, the main function of mobile phones was communication (i.e., voice calls and text messages). However, more and more mobile phone users have conducted information searches, online shopping, social entertainment, and other activities through the mobile Internet in the last few years [46]. According to the 41st China Internet Development Statistics Report, as of December 2017, the number of mobile Internet users in China reached 753 million, and the proportion of netizens using mobile phones to surf the Internet increased from 95.1% in 2016 to 97.5% [47].…”

“…On the other hand, the impact of mobile phones or mobile Internet on social development or individual well-being has also received extensive attention from scholars [19]. There is quite an extensive amount of literature showing that mobile phone and/or mobile Internet use can reduce corruption [54,55], improve institutional quality [56], affect individual social networks [57], increase search convenience [46,58], etc. However, other studies have also found that excessive use of mobile phones can cause "technostress", which has negative effects on users' mental and physical health and work efficiency [59][60][61].…”

Omnichannel experience: Towards successful channel integration in retail

“…Consumers are spending more and more time on smartphones relative to other devices. Typically, they conduct searches on mobile devices and make purchase in physical stores (Singh and Swait, 2017). Today, 8% of time spent online is related to shopping (Mander and Jason, 2017).…”

Análisis de las variables de influencia en la preferencia de uso de canal por parte de los consumidores españoles en entornos de múltiples canales

“…En general, estos costes están asociados con la etapa de precompra, en la que los consumidores tienen que invertir tiempo y esfuerzo en el proceso de recogida de información que les permita conocer las opciones disponibles, evaluar alternativas y, posteriormente, seleccionar la opción que mejor se adapte a sus necesidades (Singh & Swait, 2017;Verhoef et al, 2007;Wang et al, 2016).…”

“…Fuente: Elaboración propia Aunque la mayoría de los trabajos analizados coinciden en establecer una relación negativa -y significativa-entre el riesgo percibido y la intención de uso de canal, es posible encontrar algunas excepciones. Entre las razones que explican esta relación no significativa entre ambas variables se encuentran las siguientes: tipologías de producto donde el riesgo asociado es muy bajo -por ejemplo, discos compactos, libros y viajes (Jarvenpaa et al, 1999;Kim & Gupta, 2009); o la generalización de los medios de pago electrónicos que reducen la percepción del riesgo financiero, independientemente del canal utilizado (Singh & Swait, 2017)-.…”