Hello, and welcome to my website for my research on online shopping. For my capstone research project I studied the factors that influence a consumer to purchase online. Below you will find a video summarizing my research, as well as different components to my research. Thank you for taking the time to view my site!
What is the importance of this study?
Online shopping is an evolving phenomena that is continuing to grow rapidly. The internet has changed the way consumers shop. The prevalence of online shopping has raised the interest of retailers to focus on this phenomenon. As such, this research is important as it can help e-businesses form their marketing strategies, and identify and remove concerns to create an ideal online shopping service for consumers.
Method Part I
The main objective of this study is to determine factors that influence a consumer's purchasing behaviour. In order to achieve this objective, primary research was used by sending out a survey questionnaire consisting of 17 questions. The randomly selected general sample consisted of adults ages 18+. The survey was administered between early March to the end of March.
Method Part II
To answer the main research question, "What factors influence a consumer to purchase online?", factors such as: price of the product, discounts offered online, prices compared to brick-and-mortar stores, payment method, security, privacy, and more were evaluated. Respondents selected their answers using binary scales and multiple choice. The questionnaire incorporated likert scales to measure perception, attitude, norm, and behavior.
Results
Findings of my study indicate that the main factors that influence consumers to shop online are convenience (100%), time saving (97%), and efficiency (82%). Additionally, 90% of respondents believe that online shopping has a greater variety than in stores, and 63% believe online shopping offers great discounts/ rewards compared to brick-and-mortar stores.
Respondents feel that the main disadvantage of online shopping is not being able to physically inspect an item before purchasing. 68.3% of respondents also fear that their items may not arrive on time or at all. The main concern regarding shopping online is security (70%), with privacy being the least concern (11.7%).
Charts have been included below to show more results from the survey. (You can click on the photo to make it bigger).
Future Directions & Limitations
Given more time and data, this study has the potential to further research the implications of online shopping on traditional shopping. Some limitations of this research include time and the number of respondents. This study also only pertained to general conditions, and so the findings may not be applicable to certain e-businesses. A recommendation for future research is to examine consumers' attitudes towards specific online shopping websites to look for differences by kinds of products or services.
Researcher Bio
Stefania Redigonda
Stefania Redigonda is a fourth year Professional Communication student, with a minor in French studies. She enjoys learning new languages and devotes her free time to reading and volunteering. Stefania hopes to pursue a career in either: Health Communication, Event Planning, Crisis Communication, or Investor Relations. She has a passion for health promotion and education, and is interested in working in an environment where she can improve personal health by improving health literacy.