Multi-channel consumer perceptions

We present a structural model of consumer trust in a multi-channel retailer. The model was developed on a sample of 1048 consumers who responded to a questionnaire linked to the website of a large German multi-channel retailer. The study identifies perceived privacy concerns as the strongest influence on trust in the e-shop, followed by perceived reputation and perceived size of the offline stores. We further differentiate between respondent groups based on their familiarity with the retailer’s e-shop and stores. In general, trust increases over familiarity with the retailer whereas the influence of perceived privacy has the same importance over different levels of familiarity. This research may be of interest to multi-channel retailers, who could use the findings to better align their offline and online marketing strategy. In particular, the results could be used to improve the website design and the delivery options of a multi-channel retailer. Internet-only retailers may consider an increase of marketing efforts in the offline domain.