Spatial impacts of online retailing - Store choice in the multi-channel context with regard to shopping transaction costs, effects of the spatial retail store configuration and shopping attitudes

零售地理学提出了在线零售对商店零售及其位置的影响的问题，例如城市的中央商务区和城市中心区。不幸的是，人们很少关注真实的消费者行为。在零售商业经济学中，可以确定四个研究领域，涉及消费者在在线零售和实体零售之间的选择：1）购物交易成本（例如商店的可达性，在线零售的交付时间），2）消费者居住地的零售竞争格局，3）对网上零售持积极态度（“网上亲和力”）; 4）在互联网作为信息媒介的背景下，消费市场的透明度。但是，大多数情况下，这些研究只关注其中一个方面，并且通常基于在线调查，并明确排除非在线买家。此外，几个重要的结果是基于调查实验，并没有经验检验使用真实的购物行为。此外，在线零售在商店选择模型中的整合迄今被忽视。考虑到这些研究空白，本研究项目的前期工作有四个目标：a）整合上述多渠道消费者行为解释方法的ONE研究：B）整合顾客“在线亲和力”特征作为交易成本感知和空间零售竞争格局的影响因素; c）在给出关于所有消费者类型（包括非在线购买者）的代表性的条件下的真实的购物行为的经验收集; d）商店选择模型中的统计分析。本研究提出以下问题：1）交易成本如何影响商店选择？2)消费者居住地零售商店的空间配置如何影响商店选择？3)消费者的“网路亲和力”如何影响商店选择？4)消费者的“线上亲和力”如何影响交易成本感知和零售供给配置？为了从经验上研究这些问题，进行了一项标准化的消费者调查，包括真实的购物行为（在几个零售部门），一个项目目录，以衡量“在线亲和力”和社会人口特征。为了达到具有代表性的目的，本数据收集是在两个不同的德国调查地区（南部-下萨克森萨克森，中部-上莱茵河地区）进行的书面邮政调查，这两个地区或多或少代表了德国的“平均”状况。运用微观计量经济学商店选择模型（栅栏模型）分析了上述因素对商店选择的影响。在项目更新中，项目范围将扩大，纳入第三个勘查区（哈雷地区规划）。此外，还研究了实体店的跨渠道整合。

Retail geography raises the question of the impacts of online retailing on store retailing and its locations, such as central business districts in cities and urban district centers. Unfortunately, little attention has been paid to the real consumer behavior. In retail business economics, four fields of research that deal with consumer choice between online and store retailing can be identified: 1) shopping transactions costs (e.g. accessibility of stores, delivery time in online retailing), 2) retail competitive landscape at the consumers’ place of residence, 3) a positive attitude towards online retailing (“online affinity”) and 4) consumer market transparency in the context of the internet as an information medium. But, mostly, these studies only focus one of these aspects and are often based on online surveys and exclude non-online buyers explicitly. Furthermore, several essential results are based on survey experiments and have not been empirically examined using real shopping behavior. Moreover, the integration of online retailing in store choice models has been neglected so far. Taking consideration of these research gaps, the previous work in the research project had four goals: a) Integration of the mentioned approaches of explaining multi-channel consumer behavior in ONE study; b) integration of the customer characteristic of “online affinity” as influencing factor of perception of transaction costs and the spatial retail competitive landscape; c) empirical collection of real shopping behavior on condition that representativeness with regard to all consumer types (including non-online buyers) is given; d) statistical analysis in a store choice model. The project in progress raises the following research questions: 1) How do the transaction costs affect store choice?; 2) How does the spatial configuration of retail stores at the consumers’ place of residence affect store choice?; 3) How does the consumers’ “online affinity” affect store choice?; 4) How does the consumers’ “online affinity” affect the perception of transaction costs and retail supply configuration? To examine these questions empirically, a standardized consumer survey was conducted including real shopping behavior (in several retail sectors), an item catalogue to measure “online affinity” and socio-demographic characteristics. To achieve to aim of representativeness, this data collection was conducted as a written postal survey in two heterogeneous German survey areas (South-Lower Saxony, Middle Upper Rhine Region), both more or less representing German “average” conditions. The impacts of the mentioned factors on store choice are analyzed using a micro-econometric store choice model (hurdle model). In a project renewal, the scope of the project will be extended by incorporating a third survey area (Regionale Planungsgemeinschaft Halle). Furthermore, also the cross-channel integration of physical stores is investigated.