The Consumer Choice of E-Channels as a Purchasing Avenue: An Empirical Investigation of the Communicative Aspects of Information Quality

The vast majority of retail customers use electronic channels (e-channels) to search for product information, but do not complete the purchasing process online. This research investigates the role of information quality in transitioning retail consumers to complete the purchasing process online, thereby replacing physical channels with online channels. This research makes three contributions: 1) it highlights the importance of information quality and its influence on a consumer's choice to use e-channels to purchase online; 2) it supports the premise that high-quality information can convert experience attributes into search attributes; and 3) it identifies four antecedents that increase perceived information quality: higher telepresence, screening capability, channel trustworthiness, and lower cognitive overhead. Data from 309 consumers were analyzed using structural equation modeling and regression. Implications and future research avenues are discussed.