The Behavioral Implications of Consumer Trust Across Brick-and-Mortar and Online Retail Channels

Changes in the retail environment have stimulated retailers to develop strategies aimed at synchronizing multiple, complementary channels to service an increasingly diverse consumer marketplace. In this research, two studies are presented to test a model of the behavioral implications of trust in brick-and-mortar and online retail channels. Results from Study 1 indicate that trust was influenced primarily by channel interactivity, and that trust, in turn, influenced behavioral loyalty to the channel as well as intention to purchase from the channel in both brick-and-mortar and online retail channels. Results from Study 2 demonstrate carry-over effects from a retailer's online channel to its brick-and-mortar channel. Academic and practitioner implications related to multi-channel retailing are presented.