Consumer need for tactile input An internet retailing challenge Alka Varma Citrin a, * , Donald E. Stem b , Eric R. Spangenberg b , Michael J. Clark b a DuPree College of Management, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA b Department of Marketing, College of Business and Economics, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4730, USA Abstract A shortcoming of Internet-based retailing efforts is consumers’ inability to touch products during their purchase decision-making processes. This research is a preliminary effort to examine the construct of need for tactile input by consumers and its impact on the likelihood to purchase products over the Internet. Initial measurement of the construct is developed through a survey of 272 respondents. This consumer characteristic is then shown to impact negatively the purchase of products on the Internet, particularly those requiring more tactile cues for their evaluation. Further, women showed a higher need for tactile input compared to men in making product evaluations. Strategic implications of the importance of considering consumers’ need for tactile input for Internet retailers are provided. D 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) are predicted to become the center of the commercial universe. Many credible estimates suggest that Internet buying and selling (including business-to-business segments) will account for close to US$2 trillion of annual economic activity by 2004 (Fry, 2000). While the promise of the Internet has become a reality that few businesses feel they can afford to ignore, use of this medium for communication and information (Peterson et al., 1997; Quelch and Klein, 1996) has not been matched by its equivalent use for shopping. This is evidenced by a lack of major growth for Internet firms catering to retail consumers (Zuckerman, 2000). At the end of the year 1999, web shopping accounted for 1% to 3% of the total US shoppers’ spending of US$185 billion. Experts estimate that up to 12% of online purchases will be returned due to inaccurate, incom- plete, or unsatisfactory product information resulting in incorrect product selection and purchase (Quick, 1999). The future commercial success of the Internet depends, to some extent, upon whether current and future users (e.g., those who access information and/or communicate electron- ically) will continue and increase their use of this medium for shopping activity. Past research has theorized that product, situation, and consumer characteristics all influence the relative benefits of shopping in different retail formats (e.g., department store, catalogs, Internet, etc.) and ultimately influence a consumer’s choice of shopping format (Alba et al., 1997; Fry, 2000; Quelch and Klein, 1996). As the Internet develops into a robust channel for commerce, it is import- ant to understand both the characteristics of electronic markets and the factors influencing consumers’ utilization of the Internet for commercial activities. Phillips et al. (1997) found that one deterrence to consumers’ use of the Internet for product purchase was the lack of a range of sensory experiences attendant to this medium. Intuitively, it has been suggested that goods requiring multisensory input in reaching product choice decisions will be less likely to be purchased over the Internet. Given the relative lack of prior theoretical research examining the role of tactility in making product choices on the Internet, our primary research objective is to explore this relationship. In order to evaluate this relationship, we develop and validate a scale to measure need for tactile input in product/brand evaluations (NTI). Fig. 1 presents the conceptualized relationship between Internet usage for informational shopping and its use for product purchase and the moderating role of consumer need for tactile input in this relationship. 0148-2963/02/$ – see front matter D 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0148-2963(01)00278-8 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-404-894-3999; fax: +1-404-894- 6030. E-mail address: alka.citrin@mgt.galech.edu (A.V. Citrin). Journal of Business Research 56 (2003) 915 – 922