Online retailing, product classifications, and consumer preferences

Purpose - To investigate if consumer online patronage is influenced by product category and online store type. Design/methodology/approach - Building on the prior work in this area by the authors and other researchers the study collected data in two phases to investigate the study hypotheses. Findings - The study results suggest that consumers' online patronage is differed based on product type. Interaction effects of the online stores and product type were significant too. Additionally, the rank order of importance of the Internet attribute varied among the three types of online retailers. Research limitations/implications - The study results should be replicated in other markets. Future studies may also include a variety of different types of online outlets to improve the conclusiveness of the findings reported in this study. Practical implications - The results should be of interest to the online retailers in choosing the types of merchandise and services to emphasis in the retailers marketing program. Originality/value - The paper should be of interest to academicians as well as practitioners as it contributes to the small but growing literature in the area of online retailing. It adds to the literature on the product classification paradigm as well as offers practical guidelines for managers.