Customer's Choice of Purchasing Channel: Do Channel Characteristic, Brand, and Loyalty Matter When Shopping in Hybrid Retailers?

Despite the increasing interest of researchers in the factors that lead customers to buy online, attention has not yet been paid to the factors in hybrid companies, where it is possible to choose both online and offline purchasing channels. Therefore, this paper is focused on investigating the importance of factors that affect customers in both environments. Data were obtained from 1021 respondents using an online panel from the IPSOS research company in Czechia in 2019. Two content analyses were used to obtain results. Attention was also focused on the perception of brand/loyalty in shifting retailers to the online environment or offline environment. The aim of the paper is to find out what factors and how they influence customers when deciding of purchasing channel. The results show the choice of channel is influenced by factors given by channel benefits, the product, brand perception, loyalty, and customer characteristics. Within hybrid retailers, the most preferred purchasing channel is still the offline channel. However, the results also show a significant impact of brand perception and loyalty in the transition of hybrid retailers to a purely online or offline environment, which significantly opens up opportunities for retailing management within sustainable brand management.

Automated summary

This paper investigates the factors influencing customers' choice of purchasing channels in hybrid companies, finding that factors such as channel benefits, product, brand perception, loyalty, and customer characteristics play a role in the decision-making process. The study also highlights the importance of brand perception and loyalty in potential transitions of hybrid retailers to purely online or offline environments, revealing opportunities for effective brand management strategies.