Customer Inspiration Through Digital Media

We explore how advertisement through digital media (mobile website, smartphone app, social network) versus traditional catalogue influences a new construct called customer inspiration in a retailing setting. Further, we show how customer inspiration influences attitudes towards the offering and preferences for the retailer. Our results suggest that customer inspiration is dependent on the type of media, although not generalizable in digital versus traditional media, and leads to a better attitude towards the offering as well as a stronger preference for the retailer. Implications for retailers and advertisers are discussed and directions for future research are provided.