A comparison of cue utilization in online and offline environments and the moderating role of Web expertise

As Internet commerce continues to grow, there is an increasing need for a better understanding of electronic markets. An important question that remains to be answered is whether consumer choice behavior is different online when compared to offline. Building on previous literature, a conceptual framework has been developed to help us understand differential cue utilizations in online and offline environments. This study also examined the moderating role of web expertise in cue utilization in online markets.; The effect of price, brand name, store name, and intrinsic product attributes on consumers' perceived quality and willingness to buy were analyzed for scenario based online and offline purchase situations. Analysis of data from 507 respondents has revealed that the relative effect of intrinsic and extrinsic cues on consumers' perceived quality is not significantly different in online and offline purchase situations (H8a--H11a not supported). The effect of store name on consumers' willingness to buy was greater for online purchase situations (supporting H11b), and the effect of product attributes was greater in offline purchase situations. The effect of brand name and price on consumers' willingness to buy was not significantly different in online and offline purchases (H9b, H10b not supported).; The study also finds support for the moderating effect of web expertise on the effect of product attributes on consumers' perceived quality in online purchase situations (H13a). The effect of brand name, price, and store name in assessing product quality was not significantly different for web experts and novices (H14a, H15a, H16a not supported).; Findings also indicate that product attributes and price were more important determinants of purchase intent for web experts than for web novices (supporting H13b and H15b respectively). Also, a greater effect of store name on willingness to buy for web novices was found (supporting H16b). The hypothesized greater effect of brand image in online purchases for web novices only finds some directional support (H14b).; Overall, the willingness to buy offline was greater than online for identical purchase situations (supporting H12). The willingness to buy online was also found to be greater for web experts than novices (supporting H17). Further analysis revealed that greater perceived risk in online purchases plays an important role in explaining these observed differences.