An empirical analysis of shopping behavior across online and offline channels for grocery products: the moderating effects of household and product characteristics

We study the moderating effects of household (e.g., shopping frequency) and product (e.g., sensory nature) characteristics on household brand loyalty, size loyalty and price sensitivity across online and offline channels for grocery products. We analyze the shopping behavior of the same households that shop interchangeably in the online and offline stores of the same grocery chain in 93 categories of food, nonfood, sensory and nonsensory products. We find that households are more brand loyal, more size loyal but less price sensitive in the online channel than in the offline channel. Brand loyalty, size loyalty and price sensitivity are closely related to household and product characteristics. Light online shoppers exhibit the highest brand and size loyalties, but the lowest price sensitivity in the online channel. Heavy online shoppers display the lowest brand and size loyalties, but the highest price sensitivity in the online channel. Moderate online shoppers exhibit the highest price sensitivity in the offline channel. The online-offline differences in brand loyalty and price sensitivity are largest for light online shoppers and smallest for heavy online shoppers. The online-offline differences in brand loyalty, size loyalty and price sensitivity are larger for food products and for sensory products.