Bricks and Clicks

Bricks or Clicks? Consumer Attitudes Toward Traditional Stores and Online Stores

Jacqueline J. Kacen James D. Hess Wei-yu Kevin Chiang

JACQUELINE J. KACEN is a Lecturer in Business Administration, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois. JAMES D. HESS is a Professor of Business Administration, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois. WEI-YU KEVIN CHIANG is an Assistant Professor of Information Systems, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland

Authors’ names appear in reverse alphabetical order and do not indicate any ranking of contributions to this research.

Bricks or Clicks? Consumer Attitudes Toward Traditional Stores and Online Stores

Abstract Do consumers prefer to buy from traditional retail stores (bricks), or do they prefer to shop online (clicks)? Determining what consumers value, and how online stores compare to traditional stores on valued attributes is a necessary first step in understanding the relative benefits of ecommerce. In this paper, we measure consumers’ valuation of online stores compared to traditional stores by measuring their perceptions of the performance of online stores on 18 attributes, as well as the importance of each of those attributes. These individual perceptions and preferences from a survey (both web- and paper-based) of 224 shoppers are combined in a selfexplicated multiattribute attitude model. We find that all product categories in our survey of online stores are less acceptable overall than traditional stores. Online stores are perceived to have competitive disadvantages with respect to shipping and handling charges, exchange-refund policy for returns, providing an interesting social or family experience, helpfulness of salespeople, post-purchase service, and uncertainty about getting the right item. These disadvantages are not entirely overcome by online stores’ advantages in brand-selection/variety and ease of browsing.

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