Figure 1 about here
Wolfinbarger and Gilly suggested that site content is more important for experiential shoppers, whereas goal-oriented shoppers are more interested in ease of access and easy to use information about the products, variety and customer service. Goal oriented shoppers are busy and are not likely to make the effort to switch or look for lower price alternatives as long as their needs are satisfied. Thus, “…offering goal oriented consumers what they want, when they want it and answering inquiries in a timely fashion creates loyalty.” (p.51). It can therefore be inferred that convenience (in the sense that information is easily accessible and in a meaningful format on a site designed to reduce shopper effort and to facilitate fast completion) will generate more satisfaction and loyalty to goal oriented shoppers. Roberts et al 34 found that convenience (followed with a substantial distance by time saving, better prices and more variety) was the most important reason for online grocery shopping in Britain.
Customer care has a similar effect in minimising shopping effort. Care covers all the pre- and post- sale efforts of a retailer that facilitate transactions and help to build long-term relationships. Specifically, customer care encompasses the extent to which information is made available to customers about their desired products, order tracking and everything else that the organisation does to minimise service failure and to provide the expected level of service. Service failures and disruption have a negative effect on both satisfaction and loyalty. Both types of shoppers desire certain levels of customer service, but goal-oriented shoppers would be more likely to appreciate the hassle-minimising properties of customer care than would experiential shoppers.
Customization is the tailoring of products, services, and customer service processes and experiences to the needs of individual customers. Customization increases the chances that customers will find what they want to buy and also minimises the search efforts of the shopper. Consumers can complete shopping faster and more effectively when the site is customised, as they will not have to look at a whole range of available products and services. As such, customisation will be more appreciated by goal-oriented shoppers and is likely to increase their satisfaction and loyalty.
Value is the benefit that the customer perceives he/she gets for the price he/she paid. It involves a comparison between money paid and benefits or quality received. Perceived value gains importance when consumers tend to have an acceptable price range for different goods outside which products may not be considered. 35 The link between value and satisfaction and loyalty is well documented. 36 Research on conventional retailing environments supports the view that goal-oriented consumers are more likely to analyse the trade-offs between benefits and price than experiential shoppers and will try to optimise their choices. 37 Thus, value for money will increase the satisfaction and loyalty of goal-oriented shoppers.
Bellenger and Korgaonkar37 hypothesized that experiential shoppers will attach more importance to product quality, but their findings failed to empirically confirm this hypothesis. In our view, product quality may increase utility for goal-oriented shoppers because it can lead to substantial time savings (i.e., time spent returning or repurchasing products of poor quality) and less shopping effort (products of known quality provide some assurance to shoppers and reduce searching time and effort).
On the basis of the above arguments, the following hypotheses are formulated:
Hypothesis 1: Online grocery retailers who use differentiation strategies based on the following five dimensions will gain higher levels of satisfaction in the “goal- oriented shoppers” segment of the market:
Hypothesis 2: Online grocery retailers who use differentiation strategies based on the following five dimensions will gain higher levels of loyalty in the “goal-oriented shoppers” segment of the market:
H2a. Convenience
H2b Customer care
H2c Customisation/ personalisation
H2d Perceived value for money
H2e Quality of products offered
Some web site characteristics can satisfy both goal-oriented and experiential shoppers at the same time. For example, interactivity can offer goal oriented shoppers the opportunity to gain as much information as possible, yet at the same time will satisfy the experiential shoppers’ need for surprise and novelty. Interactivity involves the availability and effectiveness of customer support tools on a website, and the degree to which two-way communication with customers is facilitated. Srinivasan et al argued that interactivity increases the amount of information presented to a customer by exposing him/her to product reviews and the opinions of other customers. Information tailored to the needs of the shopper increases freedom of choice. Increased information content and facilitation of communication are features that will increase the satisfaction of experiential consumers. At the same time, interactivity will facilitate the shopping process by directing shoppers to the right choice and economising their search time and efforts. It appears that interactivity will appeal to goal-oriented shoppers as well. Thus:
Hypothesis 3a. Differentiation in the level of interactivity provided will lead to higher levels of satisfaction for both the goal-oriented and experiential shopper segments of the market
Hypothesis 3b. Differentiation in the level of interactivity provided will lead to higher levels of loyalty for both goal-oriented and experiential shopper segments of the market
Both Wolfinbarger & Gilly and Bellenger & Korgaonkar suggested that experiential shoppers will attach more importance to variety and visual stimuli (i.e. store décor). Website design is instrumental to building a reputation. Shrinivasan et al used the term character to describe website design features such as text, style, graphics, colours, logos, slogans and themes. Character can help e-tailers to overcome the inherently impersonal and cold nature of the virtual stores, compared to that of conventional stores where personal contact is possible. Character seems to be important for the image of an e-tailer, and can create associations in the minds of the customers towards the site. It corresponds with one of Mathwicka et al’s experiential value dimensions (aesthetics), which is more appreciated by experiential shoppers due to its recreational properties. 38
Assortment offered by an e-store would be more attractive to experiential shoppers, as they have the opportunity for exploration and satisfaction of their curiosity. According to Wolfinbarger and Gilly, variety-seeking is one of the main characteristics of experiential shoppers. Therefore we propose:
Hypothesis 4: Online grocery retailers’ differentiation strategies, based on the following five dimensions, will lead to higher levels of satisfaction in the “experiential shoppers” segment of the market:
H4a. web site character
H4b assortment of products offered
Hypothesis 5: Online grocery retailers’ differentiation strategies, which are based on the following five dimensions, will lead to higher levels of loyalty in the “experiential shoppers” segment of the market:
H5a. website character
H5b assortment of products offered
Methodology
Since one of the main criticisms of web surveys is self-selection bias, we preferred the mall intercept method. Given the nature of the study and low incident rates of online grocery shoppers, the collection took place in two different supermarkets, which are the most powerful players in the British online grocery market. Specifically, data were collected from 204 respondents using the mall intercept interview method in two large stores located in a major metropolitan area. To avoid selection bias, data was collected during different days of the week and at different times of the day. One out of every five passers by was stopped and asked if he or she had used or were using the online service offered by the supermarket. This allowed us to control for the website stimuli respondents who were exposed. After screening out the shoppers who did not use the online service, and upon consent, the respondent was asked to fill out a questionnaire. Response rate reached 23% of all people contacted. Effective response rate (respondents as the percentage of those who actually shop online) was difficult to estimate, as most of the non-participants did not stop to answer the screening question (whether they shop for groceries online). Only 6% of those who answered the question positively declined to participate. The demographic composition of the sample can be seen in the fifth (labelled total) column of Table 2. The measures of the study’s variables (developed or adopted) were rigorously tested for validity and reliability (the measures and procedures are described in detail in the appendix)
Findings
|
