A Comparison of Brand Loyalty in Online and Physical Channels: An Empirical Application to Supermarkets

In this study some differences in brand value in online channels are examined and compared with physical channels. The arguments presented lead to two hypotheses about brand loyalty in these environments. The first is that brand loyalty will be greater in online channels and the other that this difference is greater in product categories in which sensory factors predominate (those perceived by the senses, such as touch or smell). A choice model that depends on the degree of brand loyalty is proposed (Colombo and Morrison, 1989) and the hypotheses are contrasted empirically. Using data from 2003, the degree of brand loyalty and the degree of loyalty within a category are estimated for two product categories sold in an online and physical stores of one of the main Spanish supermarket chains.