Perceived quality in a multi-channel environment : Impact of website visits on perceived in-storequality

A whole slew of companies have chosen to adopt multi-channel distribution strategies wherein a given customer induced to visit several channels simultaneously to derive the specific advantages that each channel offers at a different stage of the decision-making process. The present article examines the way in which visits to a retail chain's website affects actors' evaluations of perceived in-store quality; and variations in the relative importance of quality's different components. Empirical analysis of a convenience sample of 635 consumers, all customers of one specialist retail chain, reveals that whereas perceived quality levels are not affected by channels' visitor profile, visits to the chain's website do alterthe significance attributed to the various components constituting an in-store service's perceived quality.