The Geography of Internet Adoption by Retailers

Up till now, the literature on Internet adoption by retailers paid little attention to spatial variables. Using data on 27,000 retail outlets in the Netherlands, we investigate the geographical diffusion of Internet adoption by Dutch retailers. More precise, we examine to what extent retail Internet adoption differs between shopping centers, cities, and regions, while controlling for product and organizational variables. Results of the linear and multinomial logistic regressions suggest that shops at city centers are more likely to adopt the Internet than shops located at shopping centers at the bottom of the retail hierarchy. Furthermore, shops in large cities have a higher probability to adopt the Internet than shops in small cities. On the regional level, the likelihood of Internet adoption is higher for shops in core regions than for retail outlets in the periphery. In conclusion, geography seems to matter for retail Internet adoption.