Online service failure and propensity to suspend offline consumption

Many retailers have expanded their businesses by adding Internet sales channels. There are many advantages of such multi-channel business operation, however, these may be offset by an overlooked negative consequence of cross-channel shopper activity – poor service online may lead customers to suspend consumption in a company's offline channels. Support is found for this proposition, and an investigation into the influence of purchaser characteristics and purchase criticality on propensity to engage in such behavior is conducted. The study makes contributions to understanding cross-channel customer behavior and developing implications for future research as well as management practice.