Date
2015
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Kinesiology and Health Sciences
First Advisor
Lana Huberty
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to find out whether shoppers browsed online then purchased in a store or purchased online. There had been limited empirical research and knowledge about online shopping behavior in relation to professional sports merchandise. Therefore, this study looked at consumer behavior and the use of websites to purchase professional sports merchandise. Most of all when research was analyzed the author found some shortcomings that overlooked buyers who researched products online, and then purchased in stores. To achieve the goal of this study, a survey was administered to 100 undergraduate and graduate students from Concordia University, Saint Paul in the United States. It was discovered that 51% of shoppers browsed online, researched the product, read reviews, and then purchased at a brick and mortar store. Recommendations on future studies of professional sports apparel would be beneficial seeing as 94% of consumers purchase professional sports apparel, based on results from the survey that was administered. A second recommendation would be to uncover whether shoppers used a hand held device such as a cellphone or tablet to research, compare prices, or read reviews in a store before the consumer purchased merchandise.