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