Impact of satisfaction with e-retailers' touch points on purchase behavior: the moderating effect of search and experience product type

• Published in: Marketing letters 2015-06, Vol.26 (2), p.225-235
• Main Authors: Lim, Jeen-Su, Al-Aali, Abdulrahman, Heinrichs, John H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Business and Management; Classification schemes; Consumer behavior; Consumers; Customer satisfaction; Electronic commerce; Influence; Internet; Loyalty; Marketing; Purchasing; Retail stores; Satisfaction; Shopping; Social media; Social networks; Social research; Studies
• ISSN: 0923-0645; 1573-059X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11002-014-9334-x

This study develops and tests a consumer touch-point satisfaction model of online purchase. The model captures the moderating effect of search and experience product type on the relationships among the satisfaction with two of the e-retailer's touch points (e-shopping site and social media sites), loyalty intention, and purchase. Analysis results show significant moderating effect of product type on these relationships. The results show that the effect of e-shopping site satisfaction on loyalty intention and the effects of social media site satisfaction as well as loyalty intention on purchase are stronger for search products than for experience products. However, the effect of social media sites' satisfaction on loyalty intention is stronger for experience products than that of search products. The paper concludes with a discussion of managerial implications, limitations, and future research directions.