Attention to online channels across the path to purchase: an eye-tracking study

Currently, consumers display what is known as omnichannel behavior: the combined use of digital and physical channels providing them with multiple points of contact with firms. We combine the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model and visual attention theory to study how customers’ attention to digital channels varies across different purchasing tasks. We use eye-tracking techniques to observe attention in an experimental setting. The experimental design is composed of four purchasing tasks in four different product categories and measures the attention to the website and time spent on each task in addition to several control variables. The results show that shoppers attend to more areas of the website for purposes of website exploration than for performing purchase tasks. The most complex and time-consuming task for shoppers is the assessment of purchase options. The actual purchase and post-purchase tasks require less time and the inspection of fewer areas of interest. Personal involvement also plays a role in determining these patterns by increasing attention to the product area.The authors acknowledge financial support for this research from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science: Project ECO2015-65393-R