Distance to Market: Propinquity across In-store and Online Food Retailing

This qualitative research examines propinquityacross two grocery shopping situations– real (in-store) and virtual (online).Examining how the same consumers shopfor the same or similar commodities providesquasi-experimental conditions toexamine differences in shopping behaviour.Convergent interviews with 15 respondentsidentified that consumer reasons – expectationsof convenience, trust and satisfaction– for choosing online over in-store shoppingfall into three categories of propinquity:physical, temporal and relational. The mainreason consumers chose online shoppingwas convenience, to save time. To maximizetrust and satisfaction, consumers seldomchanged brand in online grocery shoppingsituations. The analysis also identified fourdistinct online shopper types – occasional,nasties, speciality and dependent – basedon perceptions of convenience and trustand satisfaction associated with virtualsituations.