Consumer Attitudes Towards Multi-Channel Retailers' Web Sites: The Role of Involvement, Brand Attitude, Internet Knowledge, and Visit Duration

Abstract

The study examines how different consumers evaluate online shopping sites set upby bricks-and-mortar retailers. In particular, it examines how differences in consumers' informationprocessing abilities and motivation as well as in their predispositionstowards a site's material affect their attitudes towards that site and theamount of time they spend at the site. The postulated relationships are depicted in theform of a path diagram. The sites assessed were two electronic shopping sitesbelonging to well established casual wear multi-channel retailers. Findings suggestedthat attitudes towards a retailers brand (predisposition) transfers to attitudestowards the retailer's shopping site. The characteristics of the web site werefound to moderate the impact of involvement, Internet knowledge and Internetexperience, on both attitudes towards a site and the visit duration.