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Effects of visit behavior on online store sales performance: personal computer (PC) versus mobile channels

Peng Luo (Sichuan University, Chengdu, China)
Eric W.T. Ngai (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China)
Yongli Li (Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China)
Xin Tian (University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China)

Internet Research

ISSN: 1066-2243

Article publication date: 31 August 2021

Issue publication date: 9 May 2022

845

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines the dynamic relationships of visit behavior in the multiple channels [personal computer (PC) and mobile channels] on online store sales performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical data were from an online store for the period between August 14, 2015 and May 15, 2016. The data consisted of consumer visit behavior and online store sales performance. Vector autoregression with an exogenous variables model was adopted to investigate the dynamic relationships.

Findings

The empirical results show significant relationships between visit behavior metrics (number of visitors, average number of visits per visitor and average length of each visit) in the two channels and online store sales performance. The number of visitors through the PC and mobile channels strongly and positively affects online store sales performance both in the short term and in the longer term. Moreover, the number of visitors in the PC channel has the strongest influence on sales performance metrics, followed by the number of visitors and the average number of visits in the mobile channel. The PC channel's visit behavior metrics explain a larger proportion of the sales performance variance than that in the mobile channel.

Originality/value

The previous literature on consumer behavior in multichannel marketing mainly focuses on channel selection or migration, and examines the different factors affecting channel choice behavior. Little is known about the impacts of visit behavior in the multiple channels. This study adopts the heuristic-systematic information processing theory to unveil the impacts of visit behavior metrics in the PC and mobile channels on online store sales performance.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This study was supported in part by National Natural Science Foundation of China (71771041, 72101169, 72172145), Beijing Natural Science Foundation (9212020), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (YJ201950, E1E41501X2), and MOE (Ministry of Education in China) Project of Humanities and Social Sciences (20XJC630003).

Citation

Luo, P., Ngai, E.W.T., Li, Y. and Tian, X. (2022), "Effects of visit behavior on online store sales performance: personal computer (PC) versus mobile channels", Internet Research, Vol. 32 No. 3, pp. 728-767. https://doi.org/10.1108/INTR-11-2020-0655

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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