An empirical analysis of the online consumer´s psychological distance

According to Construal Level Theory (CLT), an event such as the online purchase of a product is psychologically distant when online consumers are unable to touch and verify real products prior to purchase. Therefore, this article provides an empirical study on the psychological distance (temporal distance, social distance, spatial distance) among the major B2C online retailers in China by comparing the different products categories, books and digital products. Using the modified measurement model of psychological distance, we analyze and compare the survey data with the application of statistical method. Results show that the psychological distance of different products differs greatly among the retailers. For digital products, the psychological distance of 360Buy is the most proximal, Dangdang is the most distal; For books, the psychological distance of Dangdang is the most proximal, 360Buy is the most distal. The paper also provides some future directions for research.