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Acquiring goods and services Acquiring goods and services
via the via the InternetInternet: Consumer : Consumer
shopping perceptions shopping perceptions
Lori N.K. Leonard
http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue8_11/leonard/index.html
Based on Maslow’s hierarchy of human Based on Maslow’s hierarchy of human
needs, Settle and Alreck (1986) identified needs, Settle and Alreck (1986) identified
five areas of consumer needsfive areas of consumer needs
• Physical
• Safety
• Love and affiliation
• Prestige and esteem
• Self-fulfillment
Consumer NeedsConsumer Needs Twice as many people have visited e-commerce sites to research than have actually made purchases from sites (Tweney, 1999).
Gender is also an issue when satisfying consumer needs via the Internet. Women are the primary shoppers in America (Verdisco, 1999).
Today women are turning to the Internet in order to save time, yet men continue to buy more online than women (Tweney, 1999).
Contact VehiclesContact Vehicles
The mail
Phone
Store
Internet
Web television
FunctionFunction
Keeney (1999) identified the following four fundamental objectives of Internet commerce to the customer
Convenience
Flexibility
Reliability
Security
MethodologyMethodologyStudents Sample
All Undergraduate Students
Enrolled in information systems course
All between the ages of 18 to 34
Instrument of Study
A 16-item questionnaire was developed to collect data with regard to the three research questions:
The consumer needs being satisfied over the Internet
the contact vehicle perceptions
the Internet’s acquisition function perceptions
Results
Respondents: 209 usable responses were collected from the undergraduate students. They were found to spend between 0.2 and 98 hours on the Internet per week, with the average being 14.55 hours
76.6 %were between the ages of 19 and 24
17.2 % between the ages of 25 and 34
44.5 % were male
55.5 % were female
83.7 % were single
88.5 % had no children.
FindingsFindingsOf the respondents:
81.3 % had Internet access at home
18.7 % did not
78.5 percent had both e-mail and Web browsing capabilities
After Komp and Walstrom (1998-1999) study:
53 % had Internet access at home
42 % had e-mail and Web browsing
Research Question 1: Consumer NeedsResearch Question 1: Consumer NeedsThree interrelated usage patternsThree interrelated usage patterns
On average Purchases made over the internet
Between 2 and 3 different items over the Internet.
The number increases to between 3 and 4 different items, if you exclude respondents who never purchase anything over the internet
However, many of the respondents are researching insurance online
Most frequently purchased itemsMost frequently purchased items
Satisfy — love and affiliation fulfillment Airline tickets/reservations, books/magazines, and CDs
Clothing is a basic, physical need, but it also can be used for love and affiliation
Does the gender of the individual determine the number of goods or services researched or purchased?
Traditionally, men buy hardware, software, and electronics — love/affiliation needs
Women buy food, beverages, and clothing —physical needs
Bhatnagar, 2000
Research Question 2: Contact Vehicle
Do individuals perceive the acquiring of Do individuals perceive the acquiring of
goods/services via the Internet to be goods/services via the Internet to be
more like acquiring goods/services by more like acquiring goods/services by
mail, phone, store, or Web television?mail, phone, store, or Web television?
Research Question 3: Function
Is it convenient?
Flexible?
Reliable?
Secure?
Concerns about purchasing via Concerns about purchasing via internetinternet
Table 9 Internet Function
Perceptions Based
on Internet Purchasing
Table 10Internet Function Function
Perceptions Based on Perceptions Based on
Preferred OutletPreferred Outlet
Discussion
Seventy percent of the respondents have purchased at least one item via the Internet, with the majority of purchases related to the love and affiliation need—so they are more knowledgeable
Prestige and esteem needs and self-fulfillment needs are more risky, expensive items and therefore are least likely to be purchased over the internet
Physical needs, such as food, are also considered high risk because of an individual’s need to touch-and-feel (Bhatnagar et al., 2000)
Prestige and esteem needs and self-fulfillment needs are researched frequently via the Internet however because time spent researching the best shopping deals depends on individual need and cost structure (Vakratsas, 1998)
Discussion (continued)Individuals perceive purchasing over the Internet to be least like purchasing from a store. Touch and feel contact as opposed to video enhanced pictures of products (on the Internet). However, depending on the number of hours spent on the Internet per week, individuals who spent more hours perceived the Internet to be more like purchasing from a store
Respondents reported that they perceive the Internet to be the most convenient and flexible of all purchasing vehicles, but a store to be the most reliable and secure. This indicates that individuals can see the inherit benefits of Internet transactions, but they still have concerns (and often the risk outweighs the benefits (Bhatnagar et al., 2000)
individuals who have purchased goods/services over the Internet perceive the Internet to be more convenient, flexible, reliable, and secure than individuals who have not made a purchase
Also, individuals who prefer purchasing from an outlet other than a store perceive the Internet to be more convenient, flexible, reliable, and secure. Again, becoming comfortable with the outlet leads to improved perceptions
Discussion (continued)
the Internet has evolved and more individuals make purchases and slowly perceptions will also improve as they have for other outlets just like shopping via telephone (Bhatnagar et al., 2000)
A comparison of this study’s sample below shows more and more people turn to internet for purchase goods and services
LimitationsNot all demographic groups were included
The changing nature of the internet
Depends on the individual
ConclusionThe largest number of items being purchased via the Internet is to fill love and affiliation needs with physical needs/items also being purchased frequently.
Concerns about security issues
The Internet is perceived to be least similar to purchasing from a store
Web page design and functionality, specifically focusing on meeting the wants of consumers
explore the changing dynamics
Internet demographics Vs non- Internet demographics
Age, income, and education, as well as gender
consumer attraction to Web sites should be assessed
References
A. Bhatnagar, S. Misra, and H.R. Rao, 2000. "On Risk, Convenience, and Internet Shopping Behavior," Communications of the ACM, volume 43, number 11 (November), pp. 98-105
S. Krishnamurthy, 2003. E-Commerce Management: Text and Cases. Mason, Ohio: Thomson South-Western
R.L. Keeney, 1999. "The Value of Internet Commerce to the Customer," Management Science, volume 45, number 4 (April), pp. 533-542
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