Online retailing, product classifications, and consumer preferences
Abstract
Purpose
To investigate if consumer online patronage is influenced by product category and online store type.
Design/methodology/approach
Building on the prior work in this area by the authors and other researchers the study collected data in two phases to investigate the study hypotheses.
Findings
The study results suggest that consumers' online patronage is differed based on product type. Interaction effects of the online stores and product type were significant too. Additionally, the rank order of importance of the Internet attribute varied among the three types of online retailers.
Research limitations/implications
The study results should be replicated in other markets. Future studies may also include a variety of different types of online outlets to improve the conclusiveness of the findings reported in this study.
Practical implications
The results should be of interest to the online retailers in choosing the types of merchandise and services to emphasis in the retailers marketing program.
Originality/value
The paper should be of interest to academicians as well as practitioners as it contributes to the small but growing literature in the area of online retailing. It adds to the literature on the product classification paradigm as well as offers practical guidelines for managers.
Keywords
Citation
Korgaonkar, P., Silverblatt, R. and Girard, T. (2006), "Online retailing, product classifications, and consumer preferences", Internet Research, Vol. 16 No. 3, pp. 267-288. https://doi.org/10.1108/10662240610673691
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2006, Emerald Group Publishing Limited