Consumer Reliance on Alternative Digital Touchpoints

Research Methodology

Measurement and Research Instrument

To assess the perceived importance of alternative touchpoints in the consumers' buying process, the research instrument included a comprehensive list of digital touchpoints and buying stages. Based on a thorough review of existing literature, the study employed the digital touchpoints' typology introduced by Straker et al. Although the original list consists of thirty-four touchpoints, the present research included twenty-four that exceeded a minimum of 10% usage rate as per the Straker et al. study. The final list of twenty-five touchpoints included in the research instrument was compiled by adding 'text messaging' (e.g., SMS, Viber, Messenger and What's Up). It should be mentioned that the original groupings of individual touchpoints into functional, social, community and corporate was retained, and text messaging was considered to belong to the functional category due to its increased similarity with email.

Participants were asked to indicate, on a rate from one (not at all) to five (very much), the extent to which they rely on each of the twenty-five touchpoints to recognize a need, search for product information, evaluate alternative choices, make purchase decisions and evaluate their post-purchase level of satisfaction. Consumer reliance on individual touchpoints was measured for each of the five stages of the Engel, Kollat and Blackwell model, and the exact choice of words for each stage was derived from existing literature on the subject.

Lastly, the instrument included three questions measuring demographics (i.e., age, biological sex and level of education), one question measuring the frequency of internet usage and one question regarding the usage frequency of four popular types of digital devices (i.e., smartphones, desktops, laptops and tablets). Inclusion of such variables served the purpose of examining the potential impact of consumer demographics, internet usage and digital device preferences on consumers' reliance on digital touchpoints throughout the buying process.

Data Collection and Sample

The research instrument was distributed in electronic format during October 2021 and the final study sample consisted of 92 usable questionnaires, satisfying the minimum sample size for the methods of statistical analyses employed. Because the present study attempts to investigate the perceptions of Greek consumers about digital touchpoints and channels, the study's population includes all residents of Greece who use digital devices to regularly access the internet. Thus, due to the considerable size of the target population and the lack of a complete sampling frame, the study employed a convenience sampling method. Even though the final sample cannot be considered as representative of the target population, the study attempted to include a satisfactory number of consumers belonging in Generation 'X', 'Y' (i.e., 'Millennial') and 'Z', to allow for meaningful statistical comparisons.

As per Table 1, out of the 92 consumers, the majority identified as female (64,1%), belonged to Generation Z (i.e., they were born after 1996) (60,9%) and had university-level education (i.e., Bachelor, Master or PhD degrees) (65,2%). Overall, participants reported very frequent internet usage (4,66 / 5), and preference towards smartphones (4,67 / 5) and laptops (3,62 / 5). In contrast, they indicated infrequent usage of desktops (2,15 / 5) and tablets (1,70 / 5). In view of the respondents' characteristics, it appears that the sample consists of individuals who are experienced internet users, proficient in the use of digital devices and therefore able to express informed opinions about the importance of digital touchpoints. However, it should be noted that in comparison to the target population, females and younger individuals appear to be overrepresented in the sample.

Table 1. Sample Characteristics