print and internet catalog shopping: assessing attitudes and intentions

Print and Internetcatalog shopping:assessing attitudes andintentions

Leo R. Vijayasarathy and

Joseph M. Jones

Introduction

The recent proliferation of Internet catalog sites

(e.g., landsend.com, llbean.com) has helped to

make electronic commerce and online catalog

shopping an important direct marketing topic.

However, the area is relatively new and it is not

surprising that previous studies on in-home

consumer catalog shopping have almost

exclusively dealt with traditional print catalogs.

Lohse and Spiller (1998) and others (e.g., Alba

et al., 1997; Keeney, 1999; Liang and Huang,

1998) suggested that traditional print catalogers

would continue to add Internet catalogs to save

paper and postage costs, and to provide

consumers with extensive product information

and timesaving conveniences. Further, Kotler

(2000) and Muldoon (1996) predicted that

Internet catalog shopping will become more

popular than print catalog shopping because

consumers will enjoy quicker access to useful

information about products worldwide, make

more price comparisons of competing products

and find more unusual products. Yet, despite

the potential and importance of catalog

shopping via the Internet, many researchers

consider the Internet's effects on consumer

behavior to be unpredictable, and that

additional research is needed to understand the

specific needs and expectations of Internet

shoppers (Donthu and Garcia, 1999; Palmer

and Griffith, 1998).

According to Spiller and Lohse (1997-1998)

the most obvious source for help in designing

Internet catalog sites and assessing its impact is

the literature on the design and evaluation of

print catalogs. These researchers point out

important similarities and differences between

print and Internet catalog shopping. In both

cases, consumers cannot touch, smell, or feel

the items during evaluation stages, and receive

purchases via mail delivery. However, Internet

catalog sites incorporate certain newer features,

such as, interactivity (e-mail inquiries to sales

people, discussion forums, voice and video

applications) and automated price

comparisons.

The purpose of the present study is to

examine individuals' perceptions of print and

Internet catalogs, and to investigate factors that

influence their attitudes and intentions to shop

using each medium.

The authors

Leo R. Vijayasarathy is Assistant Professor at CIS College

of Business, Colorado State University, Fort Collins,

Colorado, USA.

Joseph M. Jones is Assistant Professor in Marketing at the

College of Business Administration, North Dakota State

University, Fargo, USA.

Keywords

Catalogue retailing, Internet, Shopping, Electronic commerce

Abstract

The use of print catalogs for direct marketing has a long

history of success. Today, telecommunication networks, such

as the Internet, offer the potential to reach a larger market

through the use of online catalogs that could be dynamic,

flexible, and consumer-responsive. This paper reports the

results of an empirical study that compared individuals'

attitudes and intentions to shop using print and Internet

catalogs. The findings suggest that individuals perceived

differences between the two catalog media on the shopping

factors of reliability, tangibility, and consumer risk. Further,

product value, pre-order information, post-selection infor-

mation, shopping experience, and consumer risk emerged as

the factors that influenced attitudes and intentions to shop

using print and Internet catalogs.

Electronic access

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is

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http://www.emerald-library.com

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Volume 10 . Number 3 . 2000 . pp. 191±202

MCB University Press . ISSN 1066-2243

Background

Peterson et al. (1997) contended that the

Internet is an emerging technology with rapid

changes and suggested that it is a market

discontinuity (i.e., there are no historical trends

to forecast how the Internet will influence

consumer shopping). Although Deighton

(1997) predicted that the Internet would

eventually upset the equilibrium among

consumers, retailers, broadcast media, and

manufacturers, he, Burke (1997), and

VanTassel and Weitz (1997) have cautioned

that consumer access to the Internet, via the

personal computer, is expensive and complex,

which limits its appeal and adoption.

Spiller and Lohse (1997-1998) investigated

137 Internet apparel stores to assess potential

problems associated with Internet shopping,

and found several stores with little product

information, low quality pictures, limited

product selection, few service features, and

poor interfaces. Based on these findings, the

researchers concluded that many online

shopping problems could be attributed to poor

Internet retail site design.

Over a decade ago, George (1987) identified

some `̀ negative'' factors that might account for

consumers' low-demand for in-home electronic

shopping via videotext. Among them were cost,

system complications, consumer phobia

towards technology, loss of sensory shopping,

elimination of instant gratification, and loss of

social benefits. In order for electronic shopping

to succeed, George predicted that much

depended on retailers' ability to capitalize on

time saving conveniences.

More recently, results from Jarvenpaa and

Todd's (1996-1997; 1997) survey of 220

consumers did, in fact, find that the most

important perceived benefit of electronic

shopping, via the Internet, was convenience. In

addition to echoing many of the same negative

reactions suggested by George (1987), the

survey results identified other limitations of

online shopping such as the difficulty of

navigating the Internet, obstacles to finding

specific items, the lack of variety and

assortment of product offerings, disappointing

customer service, and wariness about

unknown Internet retailers.

Jarvenpaa and Todd's study also examined

the impact of four multi-dimensional

shopping factors relating to product value,

service quality, shopping experience, and

risk[1]. Findings from their research

suggested that perceptions of product value,

shopping experience, and risk influenced

attitudes towards shopping on the Internet.

However, perceptions of service quality did

not influence attitudes. Other findings

indicated that intentions to shop on the

Internet were influenced by perceptions of

product value, shopping experience, and

service. Yet, perceptions of risk did not

influence intentions. Although the specific

shopping factors that Jarvenpaa and Todd

studied related to retail patronage decisions in

traditional channels, the researchers

suggested that an examination of these factors

would be reasonable starting points for

understanding consumer reactions to Internet

shopping.

The present study extends the work by

Jarvenpaa and Todd (1996-1997; 1997) on

relevant shopping factors to direct comparisons

between print and Internet shopping media,

and to examinations of specific factors that are

associated with attitudes towards and intentions

to shop using print and Internet catalogs.

Therefore, the aim of the present study is to

provide empirical answers to the following two

research questions:

RQ-1: Are there differences in perceptions

about relevant shopping factor variables

between print and Internet catalog

shopping media?

RQ-2: What are the shopping factor variables

that are significantly associated with

attitudes towards and intention to shop

using print and Internet catalog

shopping media?

Method

Data collection procedures

The data for the study were collected using

controlled survey procedures. Participants in

the study were student subjects recruited from

upper-level business courses. In accordance

with the guidelines established by the

American Psychological Association (1992),

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Leo R. Vijayasarathy and Joseph M. Jones


Volume 10 . Number 3 . 2000 . 191±202

subjects participated voluntarily and were

given course credit. The survey was

administered in 12 one-hour time segments

over a period of three days. Students were

asked to sign-up for a time-slot that was

convenient for them. The study consisted

of two treatment groups ± print catalog

shopping group (T1) and Internet catalog

shopping group (T2). As each student arrived

at the designated room, he/she was assigned to

one of the two treatment conditions following

a simple alternating method.

The task for subjects in both groups was to

engage in a shopping simulation to buy a product

of their choice. They were required to browse

through catalogs, select a product, and complete

an order form. T1 subjects were provided with

print catalogs from a variety of major direct

marketers (e.g., J.C. Penney, Lands' End, L.L.

Bean). T2 subjects were provided with high-

speed Internet access through Pentium

workstations that were directly connected to the

University's backbone network. Their task was to

complete the shopping simulation utilizing one or

more online catalogs.

The task was intended to experientially

sensitize the subjects to their respective

shopping media (Jarvenpaa and Todd, 1997).

After completing the task, the student

participants answered structured

questionnaires. The questionnaires elicited

subjects' responses about their assigned

shopping medium (print catalog or Internet

catalog) on relevant shopping factors

including product value, shopping experience,

customer service, consumer risk, attitudes,

and intention to shop (Jarvenpaa and Todd,

1996-1997; 1997). In addition, a

demographic profile questionnaire collected

information about subjects' age, gender, web

use, and shopping experience using print

catalogs and Internet catalogs. On average,

each subject took about 40 minutes to

complete the experiment and fill-out the

questionnaires.

Sample description

The study was conducted using undergraduate

students at a small mid-western university in

the USA. Usable information was obtained

from 201 subjects. The average age of the

participants was 23, their weekly web use

averaged 6.5 hours, and 80 of them were

female. A total of 164 subjects had previously

engaged in print catalog shopping, while 41

subjects had shopped via the Internet. For the

sample, the average monthly expenditure using

print catalog shopping was $39 (range $0 to

$300), and the average monthly expenditure

using Internet shopping was $53 (range $0 to

$500). For subjects who had shopped using

print catalogs, clothing, hunting and fishing

supplies, musical CDs, gifts, cosmetics, and

exercise equipment were popular product

categories. On the other hand, for subjects who

had purchased products via the Internet,

clothing, information/news subscriptions,

computer games, videos, exercise equipment,

and bicycles were the most frequently

mentioned categories.

Data analysis and results

We adapted Jarvenpaa and Todd's (1997)

research instrument to collect data about

shopping factors. A total of 29 items were used

to capture subjects' assessment of product

value, shopping experience, customer service,

consumer risk, attitudes, and intention to shop.

Principal component analysis was conducted

for each of the above variables to ascertain the

dimensionality of the items used in the

measurement. Two criteria were used for

judging the strength of the factor loading of a

particular item. First, it should have a primary

factor loading of at least 0.50 on the scale to

which it belonged. Second, the item should not

have a secondary loading exceeding 0.30 on any

other factor.

Product value is a measure of the shopping

medium's potential to offer a variety of

products/services that are competitively priced

and are of good quality. It was measured using

six items. Based on a factor analysis, one item

that measured variety was dropped on account

of strong secondary factor loading. The

remaining five items loaded on a single factor

that had an eigenvalue of 2.19 and explained

43.76 percent of the variance. A reliability

analysis of this factor revealed a Cronbach's

alpha of 0.62. An examination of the item-total

correlations suggested the elimination of the

second item that measured variety. The revised

alpha for the product value scale increased to

0.71. However, since both items that measured

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variety were dropped, the product value scale

captured only the dimensions of price and

quality. The shopping experience factor

captures the shopping medium's appeal in

terms of effort required, its appropriateness for

consumer lifestyles (compatibility), and the

opportunity for fun (playfulness). The three

items used to capture subjects' perceptions

about shopping experience loaded on one factor

that had an eigenvalue of 1.78 and explained

59.2 percent of the variance. The standardized

alpha for this scale was 0.65.

Customer service includes the provision of

relevant shopping information

(responsiveness), the visually appealing display

of products and services (tangibility), the

reliability of the vendors, and the extent to

which vendors understood and accommodated

individual customer needs (empathy). Of the

eight-items used to measure this variable, one

item that measured responsiveness was dropped

because it had a strong secondary factor

loading. From the remaining seven items, three

factors were extracted with eigenvalues greater

than 1.19 and cumulatively explaining 71.3

percent of the total variance.

The first factor included two items from the

responsiveness measure and captured the

availability of shopping information to conduct

a pre-purchase search and make a selection.

This factor that had a standardized alpha of

0.70 was labeled pre-order information. The

second factor included three items that

measured the provision of information to place

an order, make payments, and take delivery of

the purchase. Since all the items related to the

post-product selection phase of the shopping

cycle, it was identified as post-selection

information. Standardized alpha for this scale

was 0.86. It was difficult to find a unifying

theme for the last factor that included an item

each for tangibility, reliability, and empathy.

Further, a reliability analysis of the three items

revealed low item-total correlations and a

standardized alpha score of 0.46. Given the

exploratory nature of the study and the

importance of the catalog shopping facets

captured by these three items, it was decided to

retain these items as single-item measures of

tangibility, reliability, and empathy.

The consumer risk factor comprises

economic risk ± the probability of making poor

purchase decisions, social risk ± the possibility

of incurring societal disapproval for engaging in

shopping using a particular medium,

performance risk ± the chance of product/

services performing less than expected, personal

risk ± the potential for theft and abuse of credit

card information, and privacy risk ± the danger

of compromising personal information. The

five items used to measure this variable loaded

on a single factor that had an eigenvalue of 2.52

and explained 50.4 percent of the variance.

Analysis conducted to test the reliability of the

scale showed a standardized alpha of 0.74.

The outcome variable, attitudes towards the

shopping medium is a gauge of the amount of

affect or feeling for or against either print

catalog shopping or Internet catalog shopping.

It was measured with three items. The factor

analysis extracted a single factor that had an

eigenvalue of 2.60 and explained 86.8 percent

of the variance. Intention to shop using the

shopping medium relates to an individual's

attitude towards the overt behavior of using

either print or Internet catalogs to purchase

products. It was assessed with four items. After

dropping one of the items that had a low

loading factor, a single factor was extracted.

This factor had an eigenvalue of 4.60 and

explained 90.2 percent of the variance.

Standardized alphas for attitudes towards the

shopping medium and intention to shop using

the shopping medium were 0.92 and 0.94

respectively.

Table I provides the number of items used to

measure each research variable along with the

means and standard deviations. In order to

address the first research question about

perceived differences between the two shopping

media, a multivariate analysis of variance

(MANOVA) was conducted. The analysis

showed significant overall effect by shopping

medium (Wilkes Lambda = 0.896; Hypothesis

df = 10; Error df = 186; F = 2.17; p < 0.021).

To clarify the MANOVA results, analysis of

variance (ANOVA) was conducted for each of

the research variables. These results presented

in Table II indicate that three variables ±

reliability, tangibility, and consumer risk ± are

significantly different between the two

treatment groups.

To seek answers for the second research

question, multiple regression analyses were

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conducted to examine the association between

shopping factor variables and outcome

variables. Table III summarizes the results of

the regression analyses for the print catalog

medium. For the model regressing attitudes

towards the print catalog medium, the shopping

factor variables that were significant include

shopping experience, post-selection

information, and consumer risk. The model for

the other outcome variable, intention to shop

using the print catalog medium, was also

significant with shopping experience and

consumer risk emerging as the significant

independent variables.

Similar analyses were conducted for the

Internet catalog medium and the results are

presented in Table IV. For attitudes towards

the Internet catalog medium, product value,

shopping experience, pre-order information,

and consumer risk were significant shopping

factor variables. On the other hand, the

variance in intention to shop using the Internet

catalog medium was explained by product

value, shopping experience, post-selection

information, and consumer risk.

Discussion and implication of the results

The results provide some preliminary answers

to the two research questions that motivated

this study. In response to the first question, the

findings suggest that there are differences in

attitudes towards print catalog and Internet

catalog shopping media on relevant shopping

factors. Consistent with results from earlier

studies (Table V provides a comparison of

significant findings), Internet catalog shopping

appears to be viewed less favorably than print

catalog shopping in terms of risk, reliability, and

tangibility (Jarvenpaa and Todd, 1996-1997;

Spiller and Lohse, 1997-1998). This study did

Table I Means and standard deviations of research variables

Shopping factors

No. of

items Alpha Statistics

Print catalog

(n = 90)

Online catalog

(n = 107)

Product value 4 0.71 Mean* 4.95 4.91

SD 0.95 0.89

Shopping experience 3 0.65 Mean 4.59 4.57

SD 1.02 1.18

Customer service

Pre-order information 2 0.70 Mean 5.39 5.51

SD 1.11 1.15

Post-selection information 3 0.86 Mean 5.47 5.39

SD 0.96 1.17

Reliability 1 N/A Mean 4.81 4.35

SD 1.15 1.12

Tangibility 1 N/A Mean 5.80 5.36

SD 1.15 1.22

Empathy 1 N/A Mean 3.88 3.95

SD 1.56 1.38

Consumer risk 5 0.74 Mean** 2.82 3.16

SD 0.95 0.92

Attitudes towards the

shopping medium 3 0.92 Mean 4.95 4.84

SD 1.16 1.36

Intention to shop using the

shopping medium 3 0.94 Mean 3.81 3.60

SD 1.53 1.54

Notes: * All items were measured with a seven-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree)** The items for the consumer risk variable were reverse-coded. So, a score of 1 indicates no risk, while a score of 7indicates extreme risk

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not obtain data about the underlying rationale

for subjects' perceptions; therefore the

following discussion is based primarily on the

findings of prior empirical studies.

Risk

Risk was conceptualized as a multi-

dimensional construct encompassing

economic, social, performance, personal, and

privacy risks (Jarvenpaa and Todd, 1996-

1997). With the exception of a few sites such

as pricewatch.com and mysimon.com that

facilitate product evaluations across

manufacturers/suppliers, comparing price and

features of similar brands on the Internet is

relatively difficult and time-consuming. Even

among catalogers who offer multiple brands

within a particular product category, it is rare

to find a site that has the capability or design

for viewing and comparing more than one

product on a single page (Baty and Lee, 1995;

Spiller and Lohse, 1997-1998).

The vision of intelligent agents that can scour

the Internet for the best deals on products and

services has been articulated and prototyped.

However, as long as information on the Internet

is unstructured, the potential for these

automated shopping assistants to enhance

market efficiency is limited (Tenenbaum,

1998). Ironically, while the Internet is touted as

an information-intensive medium, the current

inadequacies in information retrieval and

presentation may impinge on and undermine

consumers' confidence in making informed

decisions. It will require the implementation of

standards such as mediating electronic product

catalogs (Lincke and Schmid, 1998) to reduce

perceptions of heightened economic risk using

Internet catalogs.

A number of researchers have examined the

influence of important other people (i.e. their

relevance, power, and perceived opinions) on

individuals' attitudes and behavioral intentions

(Bagozzi et al., 1992; Darden and Dorsch,

1990; Evans et al., 1996). Although most

consumer shopping via the Internet is

conducted presumably at home without

witnesses, an individual could still be

Table II ANOVA results by shopping medium

Shopping factors Source df

Sum of

squares

Mean

square F Sig.

Product value Print vs Internet 1 0.175 0.175 0.208 0.649

Within groups 199 168.029 0.844

Shopping experience Print vs Internet 1 0.108 0.108 0.87 0.768

Within groups 199 248.502 1.249

Customer service

Pre-order information Print vs Internet 1 1.066 1.066 0.836 0.362

Within groups 199 253.616 1.274

Post-selection information Print vs Internet 1 0.233 0.233 0.200 0.656

Within groups 199 232.444 1.168

Reliability Print vs Internet 1 10.901 10.901 8.587 0.004

Within groups 197 250.064 1.269

Tangibility Print vs Internet 1 9.619 9.619 6.707 0.010

Within groups 198 283.976 1.434

Empathy Print vs Internet 1 0.367 0.367 0.170 0.681

Within groups 199 430.439 2.163

Consumer risk Print vs Internet 1 4.818 4.818 5.473 0.020

Within groups 198 174.330 0.880

Attitudes towards the

shopping medium Print vs Internet 1 0.872 0.872 0.542 0.462

Within groups 198 318.430 1.608

Intention to shop using

the shopping medium Print vs Internet 1 2.696 2.696 1.142 0.287

Within groups 198 467.568 2.361

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susceptible to perceptions of what important

other social referents think about his/her

actions. Since Internet shopping is yet to

achieve widespread acceptance as a safe

medium for conducting financial transactions,

the perception of social risk could be higher

than with the more established and pervasive

print catalog-shopping medium.

The perception of greater performance risk with

Internet catalog shopping can be attributed to

the virtual nature of the catalogs and the

catalogers. Neither print nor Internet catalogs

provide demonstrable or tangible proof about

the performance of a product. However, print

catalogs may carry an inherent assurance of

reliability that is not easily duplicated on the

ephemeral Internet medium.

In most traditional methods of commerce

including print catalog shopping, payment

processes have been refined over the years and

generally perceived as posing minimal security

threat or risk for the consumer. However, in

Table III Regression results for print-catalog medium

a. Attitudes towards the shopping medium

df Sum of squares Mean square

Regression 8 61.405 7.676

Residual 81 58.275 0.719

F = 10.669 Significance of F = 0.000

Independent variables

Standardized

Betas T p <

Product value 0.044 0.407 0.685

Shopping experience 0.552 6.454 0.000

Pre-order information 0.043 0.480 0.633

Post-selection

information ±0.196 ±2.025 0.046

Reliability 0.070 0.781 0.437

Tangibility 0.116 1.268 0.208

Empathy 0.035 0.422 0.674

Consumer risk ±0.272 ±2.802 0.006

R-square: 0.513; Adjusted R-square: 0.465

b. Intention to shop using the medium


Regression 8 78.383 9.798

Residual 81 131.167 1.619



Standardized

Betas T p <

Product value ±0.011 ±0.085 0.932


Pre-order information ±0.052 ±0.515 0.608

Post-selection

information ±0.045 ±0.407 0.685

Reliability 0.097 0.959 0.340

Tangibility 0.024 0.231 0.818

Empathy 0.094 0.999 0.321

Consumer risk ±0.258 ±2.344 0.022


Table IV Regression results for Internet-catalog medium

a. Attitudes towards the shopping medium


Regression 8 106.950 13.969

Residual 98 88.771 0.906



Standardized

Betas T p <

Product value 0.155 2.012 0.047



Post-selection

information 0.019 0.216 0.830

Reliability 0.028 0.352 0.725

Tangibility 0.089 1.139 0.257

Empathy 0.026 0.334 0.739

Consumer risk ±0.221 ±2.905 0.005


b. Intention to shop using the medium


Regression 8 100.513 12.564

Residual 98 151.294 1.544



Standardized

Betas T p <

Product value 0.214 2.418 0.017



Post-selection

information ±0.225 ±2.236 0.028

Reliability 0.056 0.605 0.547

Tangibility ±0.090 ±0.995 0.322

Empathy 0.008 0.089 0.930

Consumer risk ±0.352 ±4.012 0.000


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the context of Internet shopping there are

some real and mythical problems associated

with ensuring security of transactions,

specifically related to the transmission and

storage of credit card information. With

advanced encryption, transmission over the

Internet is relatively safe from interception and

misuse. Therefore, it is paradoxical that

consumers who part with their credit cards at a

restaurant or provide credit card information

over the telephone without undue alarm

attribute a greater threat to security when the

same information has to be transmitted over

the Internet. The perception of increased

security risk can be attributed to incidents of

Internet fraud receiving widespread media

coverage, consumers' lack of knowledge about

encryption, technical jargon surrounding

Table V Comparison of results to previous research findingsa

Present study

Jarvenpaa and Todd

(1996-1997, 1997) Spiller and Lohse (1997-1998)

Assessment of shopping factors:

Risk Subjects rated Internet

catalog shopping to be

riskier than print

catalog shopping

55 percent of study participants had

negative comments about Internet

shopping with respect to risk

The capability to perform product

comparisons, which could help

reduce perceptions of economic risk

was available only in a few of the

online apparel stores

Reliabilty Subjects percieved

Internet catalogers to

be less reliable than

print catalogers

Participants expressed reservations

about unknown merchants, and

tended to select online catalogers

who had already established their

reputation through print catalogs or

brick and motar stores

80 percent of the online merchants

had less than ten lines of

information about their company's

history, reputation, policies, etc.

One third of them presented no

identifying information about

themselves

Tangibility Subjects found Internet

catalogs to be inferior

to print catalogs

55 percent of the participants had

negative reactions towards

merchandise presentation at

Internet stores

More than half of the online stores

had sparse product descriptions

(less than three lines). One fourth

of the stores did not have a

consistent navigation system

Predictors of attitudes towards and intention to shop using Internet catalogs:

Shopping

experience

Influences both

outcome variables

Similar results NA (not applicable)

Consumer risk Influences both

outcome variables

Significant predictor of attitudes

towards online shopping; but not a

determinant of intentions to shop

online

N/A

Product value Influences both

outcome variables

Similar results N/A

Customer

service

Pre-order information

influences attitudes

towards Internet

catalogs. Post-selection

information negatively

influences intentions to

shop using Internet

catalogs

Influenced intention to shop online;

but did not determine attitude

N/A

Note: a Please note that there are differences among the above three studies with respect to sample, data collectionstrategy, and data analysis

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security mechanisms, lack of payment

standards, mistrust of Internet businesses in

general, and fear of credit card information

being insecurely stored on servers that are

accessible over the Internet.

In this age of database marketing, customers

have no illusion about privacy with respect to

records of past purchases and purchasing

behaviors. It is therefore not surprising that

subjects attribute greater privacy risks to

Internet catalog shopping. After all, the

Internet epitomizes the power, reach, and

versatility of computing technology that has

ushered the era of data mining and micro

marketing. The practice of introducing cookies

in customers' computers without their specific

knowledge, the monitoring of customers'

browsing behavior to create profiles, and the

deluge of unsolicited e-mail can further

stigmatize Internet shopping's poor reputation

for ensuring privacy.

Reliability

Reliability is closely associated with risk since it

is a measure of customers' perceptions about

whether or not merchants can be counted on to

deliver on their promises. In the study

participants perceived Internet catalog

shopping to be less reliable than print catalog

shopping. This could be attributed to the

presence of a number of new businesses that

have started their first commercial activities on

the Internet and have established no prior

customer awareness or trust through more

traditional retail outlets or print catalogs.

According to Spiller and Lohse (1997-1998),

Internet merchants provide very little

information about themselves to bridge the

awareness chasm between new businesses and

potential customers. It is not impossible for

newcomers (e.g., amazon.com, cdnow.com) to

quickly earn widespread name recognition on

the Internet. However, the ease with which a

fraudulent business operation can set-up shop

on the Internet could continue to negatively

impinge on the reliability of Internet vendors.

Another possible explanation for the poor

reliability ratings of Internet catalog shopping

could be tied to the poor reputation of online

catalogers with regards to order fulfillment. In

a survey of 37,000 online shoppers,

BizRate.com (1999) found that 56 percent of

the respondents expressed concerns about

tardy deliveries on the part of online

merchants. This suggests that in order to

change perceptions of reliability, Internet

catalogers would also have to make

improvements to their back-office processes

including order processing, inventory

management, and shipment logistics.

Tangibility

In this study, tangibility characterized the

visual display of goods and services. Although

the Internet has the distinct advantage of

adding greater animation to a static catalog by

incorporating multimedia, the subjects found

Internet catalogs to be inferior to print

catalogs. This result resonates with Lohse and

Spiller's (1998) conclusion that Internet

stores suffered from poor interface design.

The lapses in interface design are manifested

in poor graphics quality, tedious navigational

structure, cluttered page layouts, non-

intuitive catalog organization and product

classifications, inadequate search capabilities,

unimaginative display styles, and

inappropriate use of color, texture, and

patterns (Jarvenpaa and Todd, 1996-1997;

Lohse and Spiller, 1998; Spiller and Lohse,

1997-1998).

Internet shopping is still at an embryonic

stage. Typical of other market discontinuities, it

has to emerge through a period of learning and

growth before it can match the appeal of more

sophisticated direct marketing media such as

print catalogs. If Internet shopping is to escape

the fate of previously failed attempts at

electronic marketing, such as videotext, it is

important to address consumer concerns and

focus on those attributes that are salient to

attracting their patronage.

Next, we discuss the association found between

relevant shopping factors and attitudes towards

catalog shopping and intentions to shop using

catalogs, and compare the findings with results

obtained by Jarvenpaa and Todd (1997).

Shopping experience

Based on the results of the regression analyses,

shopping experience is associated with both

attitudes towards and intentions to shop using

either catalog media. This is consistent with the

premise that catalogs cater to customers who

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place a premium on convenience (Jarvenpaa

and Todd, 1997). With catalogs, shopping can

be done at leisure circumventing the effort

required to shop at a retail store or mall.

Further, catalog shopping can fit the needs of

consumers who have busy lifestyles such as

dual-career families by alleviating the time

pressures faced by them. Our findings also

parallel those of Bellman et al. (1999) who

reported that limitations on discretionary time

had a strong influence on an individual's

decision to buy online.

Consumer risk

In addition to shopping experience, consumer

risk also emerged as an important factor that

influences both print catalog and Internet

catalog shopping. These results differ to some

extent from those obtained by Jarvenpaa and

Todd (1997), who found that consumer risk

was significant only for attitudes towards

Internet shopping but not for intentions to buy

using that medium. Regardless, consumer risk

is clearly a significant factor that has to be

mitigated in order to promote the adoption of

Internet catalog shopping.

Product value

Similar to the findings of Jarvenpaa and Todd

(1997), the results from this study suggest that

perceptions of product value influence Internet

catalog shopping. The Internet offers the

ability to maintain virtual stores that entail a

fraction of the infrastructure costs typically

needed to build/lease and operate a physical

outlet. Further, if the savings in transactions

costs can be passed on to consumers in the

form of better deals on price and attractive

promotions without compromising quality, it

can be a positive influence on attitudes

towards and intentions to shop using Internet

catalogs.

Customer service

In the Jarvenpaa and Todd (1997) study,

responsiveness, reliability, tangibility, and

empathy were collapsed into a single factor

called customer service. In this study, the

components of customer service were retained

as separate factors. In addition, responsiveness

was split into two separate factors to capture the

pre-order and post-selection phase of the

shopping process. Except for responsiveness,

none of the other customer service factors were

significant in the regression results.

The pre-order information factor was found

to have a positive influence on attitudes towards

Internet catalog shopping. This suggests that

information that assists consumers to conduct a

pre-purchase search and make a selection is

crucial in nature (Bellman et al., 1999). This

may also be a reflection that the Internet with

its vast and extensive databases is still relied on

for its original mission of information

dissemination. In other words, customers may

rely on the Internet primarily to gather

information and augment their pre-purchase

search; but not necessarily to transact the

purchase itself.

On the other hand, the post-selection

information factor appears to have a negative

influence on intention to buy using Internet

catalogs. This surprising finding could be

related to the current complications and lack

of uniformity in the ordering process across

Internet stores (Jarvenpaa and Todd, 1996-

1997). Moreover, customers may not

appreciate having to repetitively fill out

personal information such as name, address,

etc. in order to complete an online order

(Lohse and Spiller, 1998). Jarvenpaa and

Todd (1997) also report that some study

participants found the frequent assurances of

security were disruptive to their shopping

experience. The results from this study suggest

that consumers prefer plenty of information in

the pre-order phase to assist them in making a

selection. However, in the ordering phase,

brevity and standardization may be more

important. The longer and more complicated

the ordering process, the greater the chance of

losing a potential sale.

Results from this study confirm that

consumer's attitudes and intentions to shop

using the Internet are influenced by factors such

as product value, shopping experience, risk, and

service. It can also be inferred that innovations

in Internet technologies that focus on

improving processes that shape consumer's

perceptions about each of the above factors

hold the most promise for the future of online

commerce.

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Limitations and conclusions

Laboratory data collection procedures were

used to provide a basis for an examination of

the effects. Further, a homogeneous student

sample was used for cost and convenience

reasons. Although the shopping simulation did

not have the degree of realism found in actual

`̀ real'' world catalog shopping, care was taken

to assure that the representation was as realistic

as possible. Other limitations included access to

computers and Internet connections that were

probably better and faster than what may be

available to individuals in a typical household,

and the use of only a few print catalogs

promoting a limited variety of products. Future

research might extend the present study to field

experiments using catalog shoppers drawn from

the general population along with a wider

selection of catalogs.

Findings from the present study suggest that

there are concerns about the reliability and

reputation of Internet catalogers, inferior

Internet catalogs as compared to print

catalogs, the lack of security for Internet

transactions, and privacy with respect to past

purchases. In conclusion, Internet catalogers

should consider the Web's unique

characteristics to design sites that appeal to the

primary wants and needs of their target

market. For example, some Internet shoppers

might look for interactivity and control of

information, others might be most interested

in quick access to product information, and

some shoppers might want assurances of safe

and secure transactions. Although Internet

catalogers should adapt to rapid changes in

technology to help build or upgrade sites, they

should also match site designs with preferences

of their target market.

Note

1 For a detailed description of these factors, please referto Jarvenpaa and Todd (1996-1997).

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print and internet catalog shopping: assessing attitudes and intentions

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