Table 1.
Studies comparing website and store service encounters
| Authors | Study Context | Sample | Theory | Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burke (2002) | Online panel | n = 2,120 | None mentioned | Frequencies and percentages of behaviors and opinions |
| Shankar et al. (2003) | Two studies of the lodging industry | n1 = 144; n2 = 272 | Prospect theory | Dependent variable: loyalty. The relationship between satisfaction and loyalty was stronger for the website than the store. In particular, easy-to-obtain information had a stronger effect on satisfaction for the website than the store |
| Noble et al. (2005) | Survey data from a nationwide random sample of consumers | n = 754 | Rational choice theory under uncertainty, whereby customers maximize subjective expected value (perceived benefits and costs) during goal-directed activities (Tellis & Gaeth, 1990) |
Dependent variable: self-reported channel utilization Main effects: Utilitarian values of information attainment, price comparison, possession, and assortment-seeking influence self-reported channel utilization across brick-and-mortar, catalog, and online retail channels |
| Frambach et al. (2007) | Face-to-face interviews with potential home mortgage purchasers | n = 300 | Rational choice theory under uncertainty, whereby customers maximize subjective expected value (perceived benefits and costs) during goal-directed activities |
Dependent variable: intention to use a website versus representative Moderating effect of purchase stage: Customers in pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase stages weighed perceptions of channel (e.g., ease-of-use) differently when formulating their intentions to use the website versus service representative (mortgage advisor) to obtain a mortgage |
| Van Birgelen et al. (2006) | Survey data from a retail bank | n = 1,966 | Use the appraisal-emotional response-coping framework (Bagozzi, 1992) | Dependent variable: business-to-business purchase intentions. It identified how satisfaction with employees and the website influence the behavioral intentions of firms and estimated the model for routine and non-routine services |
| Hammerschmidt et al. (2016) | Survey of store and website shoppers of a grocery retailer | n = 731 | Structural alignment of attributes theory from the judgment and decision-making literature |
Dependent variable: satisfaction with the touchpoint: store and website Main effects: The study identified five facets that are consistent across touchpoints: choice, charge, convenience, confidence, and care |
| Hult et al. (2019) | Survey data from ACSI on retailing | n = 913 | Utility functions that account for acquisition utility and transaction utility |
Dependent variable: customer satisfaction with purchases Moderator effect of touchpoint: perceived quality and expectations had a larger effect on satisfaction with in-store purchases; value had a larger effect on satisfaction with website purchases |
| Present Study | Online survey of consumers | n = 2,400,000 | Touchpoint, context, qualities (TCQ) framework and construal level theory | The results showed that, in evaluating service encounters, customers who visited the organization’s website weighed the cognitive and behavioral dimensions of customer experience more heavily than customers who visited the store. In contrast, customers who visited the organization’s stores weighed the sensorial and social dimensions of customer experience more heavily |