Why do people search online but purchase at offline stores? A focus on mobile versus PC devices as searching information tools

In this multichannel era consumers explore different channels and use the information collected from them to make final purchase decisions. This behavior is called the ‘research shopping phenomenon.’ This trend has been accelerated by the use of mobile devices, which presents features such as personalization and immediacy. Our paper investigates the role of shopping motives on consumer behavior, specifically on searching information online but purchasing at offline stores. In addition, our study examines the drivers that lead research shoppers to use mobile devices rather than PCs as searching tools. Our results suggest that convenience may negatively affect the probability that a consumer becomes a research shopper. However, a research shopper who is high on this motive is likely to use mobile Internet for searching information rather than PCs. Also, although impulsiveness has no relationship with the probability of becoming a research shopper, research shoppers with high levels of impulsiveness tend to use mobile devices for searching information. These findings provide offline stores with guidelines for developing new strategies.