Switching from off-line to on-line in pandemic times: the role of response efficacy and tangible facilities

Framing of the research. The lockdowns and distancing measures introduced to face the Covid-19 pandemic have brought people to forcedly become accustomed to remote shopping as a coping strategy. Academics and practitioners are questioning if these behaviours can be permanent or only temporary and what are the drivers to use to respond to changing buying patterns. Purpose of the paper. This explorative study applies an extension of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to understand consumers’ intention to switch from off-line to on-line channels in the aftermath of the pandemic, investigating the role of response efficacy to Covid-19 and tangible facilities. Methodology. The research is performed through a survey based on a structured questionnaire submitted on-line. 370 questionnaires were collected and processed using a structural equation modelling technique. Results. Consumers’ switching intention to on-line channels are significantly and positively impacted by attitude towards on-line shopping and response efficacy to Covid-19, but not by perceived behavioural control and subjective norms. Tangible facilities exert a direct impact on consumers’ intention to switch from off-line to on-line channels, as well as moderate the attitude-intention relationship diminishing consumers’ proneness to on-line switching. Research limitations. The study is explorative in nature. The survey focuses on consumers’ channel switching intention but does not include actual behaviour. The analysis focuses on Italians shoppers but it could benefit from comparing a more evolved national context in relation to e-commerce. Managerial implications. Our findings can help retailers in better understanding what expecting from shoppers after the pandemic and what are the drivers they should manage if they want to support or prevent channel switching to on-line. Originality of the paper. This paper provides evidence of the role of the pandemic in supporting the switch towards on-line channels by consumers, opening up new perspectives on channel switching influential factors.