Online apparel retailing: roles of e-shopping quality and experiential e-shopping motives

Purpose - The objectives of this paper are to: examine e-shopping quality dimensions; explore how e-shopping quality factors influence consumer shopping outcomes (e-shopping satisfaction and e-shopping intention); and test the moderating effects of consumer experiential e-shopping motives on the e-shopping quality e-shopping outcomes links within the context of online apparel retailing. Design/methodology/approach - Data were gathered from 298 college students in the USA using a self-administered online survey. Findings - Among four e-shopping quality factors identified (privacy/security, web site content/functionality, customer service, and experiential/atmospheric), web site content/functionality and atmospheric/experiential quality have significant impact on e-shopping satisfaction contributing to e-shopping intention, while privacy/security and customer service have significant impact on e-shopping intention but not on e-shopping satisfaction. Furthermore, this study provides some support for the moderating roles that experiential e-shopping motives plays in the e-shopping quality e-shopping outcomes links. Research limitation/implications - This paper shows that experiential e-shopping motives as an individual characteristic play a role in controlling the dynamics among e-shopping quality, e-shopping satisfaction, and e-shopping intention. However, the data consisting of self-reported measures from a single segment of online retail industry warrants caution in generalization in relation to common method bias. Practical implications - This paper entails useful implications for internet- and multichannel retail marketers delivering apparel/fashion goods to better understand the online consumer response process and determine effective e-store management strategies that reflect the differing customer evaluation processes. Originality/value - This study extends and complements the e-tail service literature by examining whether and how experiential e-shopping motives moderate the relationships among e-shopping quality dimensions, e-shopping satisfaction, and e-shopping intention.