Online Comparison Shopping Behaviour

What it measures

Five seven-point Likert-type items assess a consumer's tendency to actively search for information across competing e-retail websites, including through advertising, social communication, and direct exploration. Items cover ad-based comparison, social referral, competitive website exploration, and pre-purchase search intensity. The scale is one of eight e-loyalty antecedent scales developed through in-depth interviews and multi-stage psychometric refinement.

Response format

7-point Likert (1=strongly disagree, 7=strongly agree)

Scale items

• I regularly read/watch advertisements to compare competing websites.
• I decide on visiting competing websites for shopping on the basis of advertisements.
• I often talk to friends about their experiences with competing websites.
• I explored many competing websites in order to find an alternative to this site.
• I conducted an extensive search before making a purchase at this website.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Developed as part of the '8Cs' e-loyalty framework. Alpha of .82. Scale was purified through EFA (n=180) and CFA (n=180) before final model estimation (n=851). No specific validity tests for this subscale were reported beyond the broader model.

Citation

Srinivasan, S. S., Anderson, R., & Ponnavolu, K. (2002). Customer loyalty in e-commerce: An exploration of its antecedents and consequences. Journal of Retailing, 78(1), 41–50.

Keywords