Who Are the Multichannel Shoppers and How Can Retailers Use Them? Evidence from the French apparel industry

Abstract

Purpose – This study aims to identify the characteristics of multichannel shoppers, that is, consumers who use more than one channel in a single shopping trip, in the context of fashion industry. In particular, we investigate whether consumers’ focus on quality vs. price affects the multichannel shopping tendency, as well as their flexibilities in shopping list (basket flexibility). • Design/methodology/approach – We surveyed a representative sample of 400 French shoppers regarding fashion apparel purchasing. We use logistic regression framework to measure the probability of one becoming a multichannel shopper based on the key constructs and a battery of control variables. • Findings – The analysis shows that, in fashion buying, shoppers who focus on quality have higher probability of becoming a multichannel shopper, as well as those with high basket flexibility. The probability becomes even greater when a shopper is both quality oriented and is flexible with the basket. • Research limitations/implications – We focus on the fashion apparel market, for deeper understanding of multichannel usage of products with both experience and search features. Future research can investigate other industries for higher generalizability. • Practical implications – The research provides insights to multichannel fashion companies who aim to effectively manage high-value customers who tend to use more channels when shopping. Specifically, omni-channel marketing strategy should focus on capturing the quality-oriented and highly basket-flexible segment. • Originality/value – This study provide evidence that, for products having high experiential as well as search features, quality-oriented and highly flexible shoppers engage more in multichannel shopping. Since these characteristics are related to long-term value of customers, we provide the link between multichannel marketing and firm profitability.