Hedonic and utilitarian shopping goals: The online experience

Marketers offering Web-based shopping typically try to provide a convenient, safe, and pleasant online environment, appropriate to addressing shoppers' functional goals. They might also try to create an experience that encourages more escapist elements of “flow”, a sense of deep involvement that is intrinsically enjoyable, because they assume that this enhanced experience leads to more online buying. The present research suggests that utilitarian flow elements that facilitate shopping may indeed increase purchasing. However, hedonic elements of flow are found to be unrelated to online buying, although they are positively related to outcomes associated with pathological Internet use.     

Factors affecting Internet shopping behaviour in Singapore: gender and educational issues

Despite the increasing number of online users and products that are being offered on the Web, there is relatively little work that specifically examines the role of gender and educational level on the attitudes of Internet users in the Singapore context. Our findings reveal that there is a general consensus amongst Singaporeans that the Internet is a convenient medium for information search or making purchases. The better‐educated respondents seem to be less concerned with security issues. They also perceive that Internet shopping provides better prices and more cost savings. Females indicate a strong dislike for not being able to savour a physically fulfilling shopping experience online.     

Conflicting attitudes and scepticism towards online shopping: the role of experience

Researchers typically study how levels of risk perception about online shopping affect whether and how consumers use the channel to buy products. In this paper, we propose to study how different types of attitudes towards online shopping are formed when consumers consider both the benefit and the risk of using the Internet to do their shopping. We consider the possibility that general types of attitudes are formed when consumers' perception of the risk and the benefit of using online shopping conflict. We pay particular attention to the concept of online shopping scepticism where consumers may fully realize the benefit of using the Internet to do their shopping, but also express a certain level of concern about the risk of using that channel. In the risk literature, researchers have shown that experience and increased exposure to a particular technology usually involves the accumulation of more and better knowledge that in turn may lead to a reduction in the perception of the risks involved. In this research, we also explore the role of experience in the context of consumers' intention to use online shopping. More specifically, we postulate that online shopping experience has a direct effect as well as an indirect effect on the intention to use online shopping. Experience with online shopping directly increases the consumer's intention to use the Internet to buy products but it also reduces the degree of scepticism and risk aversion, and that in turn, also increases the intention to use online shopping.     

What differentiates Internet shoppers from Internet surfers?

This work analyses the motivations behind consumers' online shopping intentions for specific tourism services, such as hotel reservations, across both Internet shoppers and Internet surfers (i.e. those who exit the website before completing the reservation). A structural equation analysis features a sample of 1289 Spanish Internet users (530 shoppers and 759 surfers). The results indicate that perceived usefulness is the most important aspect conditioning the intention to buy online for Internet shoppers, whereas the role of convenience is more significant for Internet surfers. The empirical findings suggest different managerial guidelines for encouraging online reservations by Internet surfers and can help facilitate decision making processes for managers in this industry.     

An empirical analysis of online shopping adoption in Beijing,China

The Internet is a global communication medium that is increasingly being used worldwide as an innovative tool for marketing goods and services. At the end of 2010, Internet users in China reached 420 million. However, online shopping in China is not widely practiced and organisations investing in B2C online shopping need to understand the factors that affect Chinese consumers′ online buying behaviour. This research develops a theoretical research model as a framework to identify the key decision factors influencing Chinese consumers′ to shop, or not to shop online. A self-administered questionnaire was used to gather information from 435 respondents in Beijing, China. The empirical analysis identifies and ranks seven important decision factors: perceived risk, consumer resources, service quality, subjective norms, product variety, convenience, and website factors. All of these decision factors impact on Chinese consumers′ adoption of online shopping. Moreover, managerial implications and recommendations are also presented.     

Expanding opportunities for online shoppers with disabilities

The Internet promises many opportunities for consumers who shop online. While prior studies identify problems with online access for persons with disabilities, research has not examined whether consumers with disabilities shop online similarly to persons who are not disabled. The study attempts to fill this gap in two unique ways. First, this paper specifically considers the frequency of online shopping, the amount spent, and reasons for shopping online among both disabled and non-disabled persons. In addition, the study groups persons with disabilities into six major categories according to disability type rather than aggregating into one general category. Telephone surveys of 1053 persons reveal both differences and similarities that suggest opportunities for improving online access and developing a richer understanding of the online shopping motivations and needs of persons with disabilities.     

提高网络银行安全的思考与建议

网络交易的便利性吸引了众多的网民开通网上银行服务,但是网络银行的安全性却一直被网民所怀疑。网民在网络交易时往往会担心:网上银行到底安全吗?该怎样安全使用网银?本文根据作者平时使用习惯,分别从电脑系统安全、网址或产品选择以及个人网银使用三个方面来探讨如何提高网络银行安全。     

Cross-category effects of induced arousal and pleasure on the internet shopping experience

Online retailers are likely to try to influence consumers’ shopping behavior through atmospherics and service, just as physical stores do. The impact of online atmospherics can be measured by the degree of stimulation and pleasure that is provided by a website. It is suggested that the characteristics of products and websites that are encountered early in online browsing can significantly influence the level of arousal and pleasure that consumers experience, and thereby can influence their later shopping behavior. Two experiments show that if the initial experiences encountered in a simulated Internet shopping trip are higher in pleasure, then there is a positive impact on approach behaviors and subjects engage in more arousing activities (e.g., more exploration, more tendencies to examine novel products and stores, higher response to promotional incentives). Further, if higher stimulation or information load is provided by the initial Internet experience, then consumers subsequently tend to engage in less arousing activities.     

Determinants of Online Shopping Influencing Thai Consumer’s Buying Choices

With the ease and availability of high-speed Internet service, online shopping is increasing rapidly. Consumers are moving to more intensive use of the Internet as the technology becomes more accessible, the availability of information increases, and the ability to interact through the Internet evolves. The success of online businesses relies heavily upon its ability to attract customers to complete purchase transactions on their websites. Even though the number of people who use the Internet every day and visit various shopping sites increases daily, it is interesting to note that quite a few of them still hesitate to purchase online. This study intends to examine what factors play a crucial role in encouraging or discouraging consumers in Thailand from shopping online. The findings from this study should help online businesses better understand the mindset of Thai consumers and find ways to improve websites in order to attract more customers.     

浅析我国手机网络购物发展中的问题及改善建议

经过长期发展,我国的网络购物市场已逐渐成熟,并已经成为我国经济发展的重要增长点。手机作为我国网民的第一大上网终端,它与电子商务的结合将为网络经济市场带来新的变革。但目前我国手机网络购物的发展还存在着一些亟待解决的问题,需要通过扩大网络覆盖面、提高速度、降低资费、保障手机支付安全等方式来推进我国手机网络购物市场的健康发展。     

Increasing online sales by facilitating spillover shopping

The Internet can serve dual roles as a source of information and a shopping channel for consumers. As a source of information, it competes with traditional sources such as print and direct mail. As a shopping channel, it competes with traditional shopping formats such as brick-and-mortar retailing and catalogs. There is little research as yet, however, regarding how the use of the online channel for information can affect its use for purchasing products. Our research is aimed at filling this gap in the literature, i.e., of examining if and how the use of the Internet as a source of information can affect consumers’ willingness to shop online. We use an integrated modeling framework that simultaneously models consumers’ choice of a shopping channel from three options – brick and mortar, catalog and online – and a source of information from three options as well: newspapers and magazines, direct mail, and online.     

Factors predicting attitude toward disclosing personal data online

To test a theoretical model, this study explores the effect of anxiety, trust, personality, and perceived benefits on the disclosure of personal information online. An online survey conducted among participants in the United States (n = 248, age range: 20–82 years) examined attitudes toward disclosing personal data online. Specifically, the study researches the impact of anxiety disclosing personal data, trust (both in the Internet and in institutions), the Big Five personality traits, and four sets of perceived shopping benefits (opportunity, bargain, purchase, and expected privacy benefits) in e-commerce disclosure and their role as antecedents for adoption and use of e-commerce. The study aligns with existing trust literature and corroborates other findings on how perceived purchase benefits impact individuals’ attitudes toward disclosing personal data online. The data suggest that both trust in the Internet and trust in institutions positively influence attitude toward disclosing personal data online. Perceived purchase benefits were also significant positive predictors for attitude toward disclosing personal data online. Furthermore, personality dimensions can affect attitude toward disclosing: the more neurotic a person is, the more negative their attitude is about disclosing personal data online. The study underscores that consumers have a responsibility to educate themselves about online disclosure and marketing practices, and about how to protect their online privacy. Most importantly, fostering trust, reducing anxiety, and promoting benefits are essential to the future of e-commerce. Implications for theory, consumers, marketing practice, and public policy are also discussed.     

An empirical analysis of factors predicting the behavioral intention to adopt Internet shopping technology among non-shoppers in a developing country context: Does gender matter?

Motivated by the lack of knowledge of what factors deterring Internet users from adopting the Internet shopping in developing cultures, this investigation is therefore intended to underline the possible factors responsible for their deterrence. To achieve this objective, a model was proposed by involving factors established in literature as key potential drivers for predicating individuals' behavioral intention to adopt new technologies. The proposed factors were drawn from popular IS/IT adoption theories, namely perceived ease-of-use, perceived usefulness, perceived compatibility, social influence, trust, perceived risk, privacy, security, Internet shopping anxiety, Internet self-efficacy and price. Gender moderating influence was investigated in the conceptualized relationships between proposed factors and behavioral intention.This study was implemented by collecting data through a self-administered questionnaire from a broad diversity of Jordanian Internet users. Analyzing the data which consists of 261 valid datasets was accomplished by using WarpPLS 4.0. The results provide significant statistical evidence in support of all the factors hypothesized to influence behavioral intention to adopt with the exception of three factors: perceived risk, privacy and security. Furthermore, the gender was found to moderate the relationships between five of the proposed factors (perceived ease-of-use, social influence, trust, perceived risk, privacy) and behavioral intention. This study has also revealed some differences between online shoppers (based on prior literature and results) and non-shoppers. Interestingly, the proposed model explains 58% of the total variance in intention to adopt Internet shopping. Findings and limitations are discussed, theoretical contributions and practical implications are outlined, and future research directions are suggested.     

Adoption of online shopping by German grocery shoppers

This study investigates how perceived attributes of online shopping and the psychological characteristics of consumers such as market mavenism, time-stressed behaviour and familiarity with the Internet impact the acceptance and frequency of shopping for physical goods on the Internet. In the study, the traditional adoption paradigm is refined by specifying in a more differentiated manner the outcome of the adoption behaviour and by postulating a mediator and moderator structure which underlies the relation between psychological characteristics, innovation attributes and adoption outcome. Empirical results identify missing touch and feel experiences as the most influential negative obstacle, and the chance to make better deals, the convenience of a delivery service and the independence of opening hours as the most influential positive factors for the adoption of online shopping. Familiarity also favours adoption behaviour, leading to a uniformly better assessment of many online shopping attributes. The influence of time-stressed behaviour and market mavenism on adoption behaviour is ambiguous and their effects appear to be more complex.     

Why Do Consumers Go Internet Shopping Again? Understanding the Antecedents of Repurchase Intention

Consumer intention of reusing online websites for shopping is a major consequence for an electronic commerce company's profitability. Therefore, understanding the factors that influence online customers' repurchase intentions is of great importance to the EC companies. Drawing on specific dimensions of Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), Information Systems continuance model, Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), and empirical findings from prior studies as antecedents, the related factors were adapted and integrated within the context of Internet shopping repurchase intentions and were tested in a field study. Empirical data for hypotheses testing were collected from the online virtual store of 7-ELEVEN in Taiwan, yielding 444 valid samples. The results show that online consumer repurchase intention is determined by satisfaction, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and Internet shopping self-efficacy. Satisfaction is influenced by perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, confirmation, and positive Internet shopping experience. Perceived usefulness, in turn, is influenced by behavior modeling, positive Internet shopping experience, Internet shopping self-efficacy, and confirmation. Confirmation is affected by positive Internet shopping experience and behavior modeling. In addition, confirmation has significant effects on perceived ease of use. Finally, positive Internet shopping experience appeared to have a significant impact on Internet shopping self-efficacy. From the empirical data, meaningful findings and conclusions are derived, and suggestions for future research are also discussed.     

Nicknames as identity badges: How self-reflective nicknames can facilitate users’ online social interactions

An Internet nickname is essential in facilitating online interpersonal interactions. It is a pivotal element of interaction that provides other users with an initial impression and affects the decisions and behaviors of users during their online interactions. Although the existing literature has found that nicknames are relevant to users’ psychology and behavior, direct research on the motivation for and the effect of choosing a particular Internet nickname has been very limited. Borrowing from relevant theories on avatars, this paper summarizes the motivations behind Internet nickname choices in terms of three aspects: virtual exploration, social navigation and contextual adaptation. Moreover, from the perspective of collective self-esteem (CSE) and group identification, this research explores the influence mechanism between the motivations underlying Internet nickname choices and users’ online social interactions. A total of 394 samples were obtained from online communities in China to test our research model. We found that virtual exploration, social navigation and contextual adaptation are three motivations for creating Internet nicknames, and they have direct effects on the online social interactions of users. CSE has a full mediating effect between virtual exploration and online social interaction and acts as a mediated variable between social navigation and online social interaction. Group identification fully mediates the relationship between social navigation and online social interaction as well as that between contextual adaptation and online social interaction. The conclusion of this paper provides not only a new perspective for the study of Internet nicknames but also a potentially feasible way to stimulate users’ online social interactions.     

Hedonic and utilitarian use of user-generated content on online shopping websites

The Internet has made it possible for consumers to share reviews, opinions, and thoughts about products and services on online shopping websites. This user-generated content (UGC), which can be considered to be part of social commerce, is likely to influence other consumers’ attitudes toward a product and subsequent purchase intentions. The purpose of this study was to investigate two major uses of UGC: hedonic and utilitarian, and how they impact purchase intentions, along with users’ trust for different types of comments and reviews. Also investigated are associations between hedonic use, utilitarian use, and trust, with purchase behavior at online shopping websites. Results of this study will add to the domain knowledge related to marketing and how it impacts consumer psychology and behavior. From a practitioner perspective, marketers need to understand the impact of UGC so they can monitor this method of marketing communication as it can impact trust and purchase intentions.     

The effects of utilitarian and hedonic online shopping value on consumer preference and intentions

Though value has received significant attention in the marketing literature in recent years, research on the concept has been somewhat limited in the context of online shopping, particularly in regards to empirical hypothesis testing. This paper examines the relevancy of value dimensions for online shopping and the relationship between value dimensions, preference towards the Internet retailer, and intentions. Findings from the large-scale study indicate that utilitarian value is more strongly related than hedonic value to preference towards the Internet retailer and intentions and that shopping frequency can play a moderating role. The paper concludes with a discussion of limitations and managerial implications.     

The Effect of Internet Expertise on Offline Expectations

ABSTRACT

Because the Internet enhances consumer control over online marketing transactions, more expert web users are hypothesized to generalize this web expertise to their expectations of offline service encounters. This hypothesis is supported for consumers with moderate web expertise as compared to those with little web expertise. However, web users with high levels of expertise have lower expectations of offline encounters than those with moderate expertise. The lower expectations of the most expert web users are likely to be due to a lower level of involvement with offline service encounter, a greater awareness and use of online information by the most expert, and possibly a greater propensity to distinguish between online and offline encounters.