The Dynamics of Online Purchase Visits: Inertia or Switching?
Zelin Zhang , Xia Wang , Peter T. L. Popkowski Leszczyc , Xiao Zuo
Front. Bus. Res. China ›› 2016, Vol. 10 ›› Issue (1) : 1 -18.
This paper studies the dynamics of online purchase patterns, focusing on the impact of the channel used on conversion probability, as well as the transition of channel use over time. A novel data set from a major Chinese online travel agency is used for analysis, consisting of four months of data with 24,337 store visits through three types of channels: direct visit, search advertising and referral. Results of a Bayesian multinomial logit model show that the search channel significantly affects consumers’ conversion probability, and show a high degree of inertia in channel use. This finding contrasts sharply with suggestions of previous research that most future purchases will converge to the direct-visit channel.
conversion probability / direct visit / search engine / referral
Higher Education Press and Brill
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