When does media multitasking induce store visit and conversion? The influence of motivational factors

This study aimed to delineate how media multitasking (MM) induces online store visits and purchase behaviors in different situations. We used a hidden Markov model to elicit several latent states that underlie distinct visitation and purchase tendencies during MM engagement. The model is calibrated using a rich dataset containing television viewing, advertisement exposures, and internet access of 1,158 individuals recorded during seven months, complemented by two survey data regarding TV program genres and advertised product characteristics. The results revealed four states interpretable as representing different MM motivations: efficiency, control, informational, and habitual motives. The likelihood of engaging in MM differs between motivational contexts. Given the occurrence of MM, store visit probability appears to be higher when MM is driven by control motives than when it is driven by other motives. Furthermore, given online store visitation during an MM session, conversion probability is observed to be the highest in the control state, followed by that in habitual, efficiency, and informational states. Our findings provide novel insights into how the link between MM, store visits, and purchase behavior can fluctuate over time, depending on the driving forces of MM. The implications of how managers can entice multitaskers to visit a store and make purchases are discussed.