Luxury Shopper Webrooming Intention Scale

Abstract

The Luxury Shopper Webrooming Intention scale was developed to measure the propensity of consumers to research luxury products online before completing the purchase transaction in a physical, brick-and-mortar store. Developed by Akram and Lavuri (2024), this comprehensive instrument assesses several key psychological and behavioral dimensions hypothesized to drive the webrooming phenomenon within the high-end retail sector. These dimensions include the consumer’s need for physical touch, the desire for interpersonal interaction with sales personnel, the perceived ease and usefulness of online searching, and the intrinsic motivational values (hedonic value and utilitarian value) associated with luxury consumption. The scale is crucial for understanding the complex interplay between online information gathering and offline purchasing behavior in the context of luxury consumer behaviour.

Keywords

Luxury goods, Webrooming intention, Consumer behavior, Need for touch, Hedonic value, Utilitarian value, Perceived usefulness, Retail strategy, Omnichannel.

Authors

Umair Akram, Rambabu Lavuri

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Luxury Shopper Webrooming Intention scale is to quantify and predict the degree to which a consumer of luxury goods intends to use online channels for product investigation and comparison while reserving the final purchase for an offline, physical store setting. The scale aims to identify the specific antecedents—both experiential and cognitive—that significantly influence this cross-channel shopping behavior. By measuring these underlying drivers, the instrument provides researchers and luxury brand managers with a tool to segment consumers and tailor retail strategies to optimize the synergy between digital and physical retail environments.

Construct

The core construct measured is Luxury Webrooming Intention, defined as the likelihood of a luxury consumer engaging in the practice of researching products digitally (online search, reviewing specifications, reading reviews) but executing the final transaction in a traditional store. This central construct is supported by several sub-constructs:

• Need for Touch: Measures the consumer’s intrinsic desire for direct physical experience with the luxury item before commitment to purchase.
• Need for Interaction: Assesses the importance placed on personalized service and social interaction with expert sales associates during the shopping process.
• Perceived Ease of Use for Online Search: Reflects the degree to which the consumer believes that researching luxury products online is effortless and efficient.
• Perceived Usefulness of Online Search: Captures the consumer’s belief that online reviews and information enhance their decision-making and result in smarter purchases.
• Hedonic Value: Measures the pleasure, enjoyment, and emotional satisfaction derived from the act of purchasing luxury items.
• Utilitarian Value: Measures the functional, objective benefits perceived in luxury goods, such as quality, durability, and superior design.

Validity

In the original study (Akram & Lavuri, 2024), the scale’s validity was established through rigorous psychometric testing, including confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to ensure that the hypothesized seven-factor structure was accurately represented by the collected data. The study demonstrated strong construct validity, indicating that the individual items effectively loaded onto their respective latent variables (e.g., Need for Touch, Hedonic Value). Furthermore, adequate convergent and discriminant validity were reported, confirming that the constructs were distinct yet theoretically related, supporting the overall theoretical model predicting Webrooming Intention.

Reliability

Reliability of the Luxury Shopper Webrooming Intention scale was assessed using standard internal consistency measures. The authors utilized Cronbach’s alpha for all subscales to confirm their stability and coherence. High alpha coefficients across the seven dimensions (Need for Touch, Need for Interaction, Perceived Ease of Use, Perceived Usefulness, Hedonic Value, Utilitarian Value, and Webrooming Intention) indicated excellent internal reliability, suggesting that the items within each factor consistently measure the same underlying construct. This robust reliability ensures the scale’s utility for consistent measurement in future research.

Factor Analysis

The development of the scale was supported by both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) methods. The CFA confirmed the distinct, multi-dimensional structure of the scale, validating the separation of the seven key factors influencing luxury webrooming behavior. The factor loadings for all items were substantial and statistically significant on their intended factors, demonstrating a clean structure and minimal cross-loading. This rigorous factor analysis supports the scale’s ability to accurately differentiate between the various psychological and behavioral drivers of consumer intent within the luxury market.

Instrument

Test Type: Psychometric Scale; Self-Report Questionnaire

Format: Multi-item, reflective scale utilizing a Likert scale format.

Language Available: English (as published in the original study).

Population Group: Consumers of luxury goods.

Age Group: Typically adult consumers (details dependent on the specific sample of the original study).

Population Details: The original study targeted consumers who engage in luxury shopping behavior, defined as purchasing high-end products across various categories (e.g., fashion, electronics, accessories).

Test Methodology: Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (“strongly disagree”) to 5 (“strongly agree”). Scores are typically calculated by summing or averaging the responses for items belonging to each respective subscale.

Keywords

Luxury retail, Consumer psychology, Multi-channel shopping, Need for interaction, Perceived risk, Likert scale, Purchase intention, Consumer behaviour.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in the source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in the source material.

Correspondence Address: Details available through the corresponding author listed in the original publication (Akram & Lavuri, 2024).

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 2024 (Year of Publication).

Permissions & Fees: Permissions for commercial or non-academic use must be sought directly from the authors or the journal publisher (Wiley Periodicals LLC, publisher of the Journal of Consumer Behaviour). Academic research use typically follows standard fair use guidelines, but researchers should consult the original publication for specific terms.

Reference’s

• Akram, Umair, & Lavuri, Rambabu. (2024). Understanding the consumer’s luxury webrooming intention: Moderating role of perceived risk and review. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Vol 23(3), 1602-1619. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cb.2295

Items of the Luxury Shopper Webrooming Intention scale

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Need for touch

• After experiencing a luxury item in my hands, I feel more confident in making purchases.
• I would purchase a luxury item if I could personally touch it before purchasing it.
• If I cannot touch a luxury item in the shop, I’m reluctant to purchase it.

Need for interaction

• The interaction with sales people when buying luxury products is satisfying for the consumer.
• I enjoy interacting with those who sell luxury products.
• I place a lot of importance on receiving personalized service from luxury product salespeople.
• I would prefer to speak with a sales people than utilize a machine to purchase a luxury product.

Perceived ease of use for online search

• Online research regarding luxury products is more convenient than offline research.
• It is simple to find information about luxury products online.
• It is easy to get information about luxury things online.

Perceived usefulness of online search

• Online reviews of luxury items are helpful/useful to me.
• Online reviews of luxury items make luxury purchasing easier.
• Online reviews make me a smarter luxury shopper.

Hedonic value

• Buying luxury products makes me feel good.
• I enjoy buying luxury products.
• I usually like buying luxury products.

Utilitarian value

• In my opinion, luxury products are of higher quality.
• Luxury products have excellent designs.
• Luxury items have greater durability.

Webrooming intention

• I like to do initial research about luxury products online before making in-store purchases.
• If I want to buy a luxury item, I’ll probably look into it online first.
• I knew that before purchasing luxury items, I would research them online.

Note. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale, with answers ranging from 1 (“strongly disagree”) to 5 (“strongly agree”).