The interaction effect on customer purchase intention in e-commerce : A comparison between substitute and complement

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the interaction effect of information richness, retailer brand, and extended offers on customer purchase intention in e-commerce. Design/methodology/approach – Hierarchical moderator regression analysis and simple slope analysis were used to test the hypotheses, also 356 savvy internet consumers in Taiwan were investigated. Findings – The findings revealed that information richness, retailer brand, and extended offers are positively related to customer purchase intention. However, the interaction effects may differ in these relationships. While information richness complements both retailer brand and extended offers on customer purchase intention, extended offers may substitute retailer brand for increase in purchase intention. Research limitations/implications – A bias may exist because of the sample from an online survey. The findings suggest that complements are actually synergistic strategies of factors, while substitution is a switching of the alternative. Practical implications – Practitioners shall utilize information richness to the complements, such as retailer brand and extended offers, to strengthen customer purchase intention. In contrast, they may provide extended offers for acquiring customers in the short-term period, when retailer brand is relatively low or unknown. Originality/value – The findings of the study provide a new marketing strategy: managing substitutes and complements in adequate factors can give rise to better results for purchase intention increases in e-commerce.