Will Online Shopping Lead to More Brand Loyalty Than Offline Shopping? The Role of Uncertainty Avoidance.

The article investigates how online versus offline shopping environments influence brand loyalty, focusing on the moderating role of uncertainty avoidance (UA), a cultural and individual trait reflecting discomfort with uncertainty. It proposes that online shopping, characterized by lower predictability of product experience due to limited sensory information and reduced human interaction, increases brand loyalty among high-UA individuals who prefer familiar brands to reduce uncertainty, while decreasing loyalty among low-UA individuals who embrace uncertainty and variety. Across eight studies involving diverse methods and samples, the research confirms that predictability of product experience mediates this interaction and that the effect is attenuated when the intangible value of products is salient, as intangible values are less influenced by shopping environments. The findings contribute to marketing and cross-cultural literature by integrating individual differences with shopping context and offer managerial insights on tailoring distribution and promotion strategies based on consumers’ UA orientation and product characteristics.