Understanding click and brick shopping : development of consumer typology

Little previous research has been conducted concerning consumer shopping behaviors when dealing with stores that have both physical and online outlets where products can be browsed or bought, also known as "click and brick" retailers. This exploratory study seeks to determine if distinct "click and brick" consumer typologies can be formed according to consumers' preferred method of shopping. This study also examines the relationships between consumer's needs for convenience, product tangibility, social interaction and levels of trust and their preferred method of "click and brick" shopping. While significant differences were found between shopping preferences, results indicated that consumer preference significantly differs depending on the store or product type implying that an overall "click and brick" consumer typology cannot be formed. Also, results indicate that the two shopping preferences that significantly differ the most depending on motivations are still "browse and buy in store" and "browse and buy online," indicating that consumers do not heavily utilize multichannel shopping methods for purchases.