Furthermore, category-level offline affinity for the niche attribute,
that is, organic,moderates the effect of the two offline brand conditions
on category sales,whereas it exerts no influence on relative brand share.
Greater proximity to headquarters increases category sales, and this
positive effect of the city of origin is mitigated by high local affinity for
the attribute. In addition, a larger number of offline stores selling the
focal brand leads to higher category sales because the stores function
as showrooms for this lesser-known niche category; this positive
impact becomes smaller when local markets have a strong preference
for the niche attribute. These findings add interesting insight to the
literature: the beneficial influence of offline conditions on the online
niche category is more prominent in regions with less existing affinity
for the niche attribute.