Introduction
The development and growth of the World Wide Web has resulted in the way people live, interact, and shop. The internet has revolutionized the lives of people in nearly all areas of life. The internet has made it possible for learners to study online, researchers and scientists to do their research, while the internet has revolutionized commerce and industry. A new breed of consumer has emerged as a result of the growth of the internet. The modern consumer demands convenience more than ever, which has made many sellers to offer online sales and have a spot in the hearts of the new breed of consumers. This paper seeks to analyze the behavior of buyers in online shopping by exploring what customers think before they buy, the barriers and crucial factors to online purchases such online product endorsements on purchase decision process, and influence of social shopping communities, as well as the reasons for incomplete purchases (cart abandonment).
Literature Review
Online shopping has gained increased significance in the modern digital age. As evolution of information and technology continues to grow, new opportunities for buying are opening up. There is increasing acceptance and embrace of online shopping, as there is opposition and barriers hindering online shopping. Proponents of online shopping consider it practical while its opponents consider it as a luxury. Myoung-lang, 2020) observes that online shopping is more practical than it is a luxury, given that shoppers do not have to be burdened with loads of products from the marketplace. Online shopping in the form of food delivery is a catalyst that eases unilateral burden placed on women of having to prepare mean and produce meals. Myoung-lang brings a fresh perspective into consumer behavior in online shopping by demystifying the myth that online shopping is no longer a luxury but practical.
Barriers and Crucial Factors in Online Shopping
The modern marketplace has become more competitive and dynamic than ever before. The internet has made life easy in various fronts, including through convenience shopping whereby consumers purchase goods and services at the comfort of their homes. Technologies like amazon drones have made it possible for customers to get goods and services within minutes and hours after placing the order. Doaei & Hassanzadeh, (2013) observe that there are several crucial factors that affect consumers’ decision when buying online. One, best prices online is a crucial actor that influences consumers’ choice of online shopping. Most online sellers position their products at fairly low prices compared to physical stores to attract more customers. Secondly, online shopping allows for convenience and time saving, especially when the goods are delivered to the customer’s doorstep. Availability of product reviews by other customers is also an essential factor that influences people to shop online. Finally, it is possible to carry out price comparison from various vendors before settling on the final seller as opposed to physical stores where one has to move from one shop to another comparing price.
While online shopping has gained prominence, it has not penetrated the market as such because of existence of barriers. One of the concerns that keep people away from online shopping is the safety of payment. With the increase in cybercrime, most people find it difficult to provide their personal and financial information for payment processing. Another barrier is low level of trust of online stores. Most people trust physical stores because they can see and touch the product compared to online stores who may parade a product but not have it. Another barrier is the high shipping costs that customers have to pay to have the product delivered. Many customers also abhor online shopping because of strict refund policy and very slow delivery.
Closely related to Doaei & Hassanzadeh study is research by Zhang, Zhao & Gupta (2018) regarding online product recommendations as enablers or inhibitors of decision making. The study identified information overload and deceptiveness as the main inhibitors that negatively influence the quality of decision making. When searching for information online, there are loads of information available and it becomes a daunting task to identify the authentic reviews and recommendations from flawed ones. Some of the enables (critical factors) are self-reference and crucial factors that reflect the quality of online product recommendations. The influence of social media is too strong as some people cannot make decisions on their own that they have to get the opinions of others. When someone seeks for an opinion online, they are likely to get lots of information, leading to information overload that might result in indecision.
What Consumers Think before They Buy and Online Buying Trends
Rajani & Nakhat, (2019) conducted a study of purchase patterns among the youths of ages 18-25 and to get their perspectives on what they think before they buy. The study showed that participants look or a particular brand before they purchase. A supplier who is not the brand is perceived to be counterfeit or to be selling faulty products. Consumers also think about the price of the branded item whereby cheaper prices online make it feasible for more customers to buy. Customers also think about product reviews from previous customers whereby good reviews imply that the product would be of superior quality. On the other hand, bad reviews are considered to be more realistic as 90% of the subjects would not purchase a product with a bad review.
Although Singh & Singh, (2014) is an independent study on online behavior trends, it serves as the summation of the previous three articles. The study shows that online shopping is largely influenced by social circles and family networks. This observation reinforces the study by Zhang, Zhao & Gupta (2018) on the impacts of social shopping communities in influencing online purchasing. Singh & Singh further note that convenience and time savings are the main critical factors (enablers) of online shopping. Customers carry out price comparison in online and offline stores to evaluate prices, offers and product quality. The study also reveals that there is a huge potential for online shopping, but people are apprehensive because of safety issues. The increase in cybercrime and internet hacking has made people afraid of giving their card details for payment processing. Therefore, online sellers should be aware of the enablers and inhibitors of online shopping to take maximum advantage of the potential of online purchases.
Abandonment in the Online Shopping Process
Customer purchase process may be complete or incomplete. An incomplete process is where the customer abandons the purchase process in the middle. In most online purchases, payments are done after delivery. In instances where payments are made before delivery, sellers allow buyers to return the product. Xu & Huang (2015) observe that cart abandonment may be positive or negative. Positive abandonment is influenced by the organization and comparison with external environment. Xu & Huang further observe that negative abandonment is caused by perceived cost and perceived risk
Conclusion
Consumer behavior in online shopping is the interplay of many actors. There are factors that serve as drivers of online shopping while others hinder customers from purchasing online. Some of the critical factors that make customers purchase online are such as the availability of a product online, cheaper prices online, credibility of the seller (brand), convenience and time saving, availability of product reviews. Barriers that serve as hindrances to online shopping are such as lack of trust and concerns about safety. Most people find it difficult to provide their personal and financial information for payment processing. Customers think about product reviews before buying a product. Although positive customers’ reviews increase play a significant part in influencing purchases, negative reviews are considered more genuine. 90% of customers would drop the idea of purchasing a product altogether if they found a negative review. Sometimes, the purchase process may not halt in the middle as customers abandon the sale cart altogether. Customers may abandon the purchase for positive reasons such as doing comparison with external websites. Negative influences that may lead to cart abandonment are such as perceived cost and perceived risk.
The development and growth of the World Wide Web has resulted in the way people live, interact, and shop. The internet has revolutionized the lives of people in nearly all areas of life. The internet has made it possible for learners to study online, researchers and scientists to do their research, while the internet has revolutionized commerce and industry. A new breed of consumer has emerged as a result of the growth of the internet. The modern consumer demands convenience more than ever, which has made many sellers to offer online sales and have a spot in the hearts of the new breed of consumers. This paper seeks to analyze the behavior of buyers in online shopping by exploring what customers think before they buy, the barriers and crucial factors to online purchases such online product endorsements on purchase decision process, and influence of social shopping communities, as well as the reasons for incomplete purchases (cart abandonment).
Literature Review
Online shopping has gained increased significance in the modern digital age. As evolution of information and technology continues to grow, new opportunities for buying are opening up. There is increasing acceptance and embrace of online shopping, as there is opposition and barriers hindering online shopping. Proponents of online shopping consider it practical while its opponents consider it as a luxury. Myoung-lang, 2020) observes that online shopping is more practical than it is a luxury, given that shoppers do not have to be burdened with loads of products from the marketplace. Online shopping in the form of food delivery is a catalyst that eases unilateral burden placed on women of having to prepare mean and produce meals. Myoung-lang brings a fresh perspective into consumer behavior in online shopping by demystifying the myth that online shopping is no longer a luxury but practical.
Barriers and Crucial Factors in Online Shopping
The modern marketplace has become more competitive and dynamic than ever before. The internet has made life easy in various fronts, including through convenience shopping whereby consumers purchase goods and services at the comfort of their homes. Technologies like amazon drones have made it possible for customers to get goods and services within minutes and hours after placing the order. Doaei & Hassanzadeh, (2013) observe that there are several crucial factors that affect consumers’ decision when buying online. One, best prices online is a crucial actor that influences consumers’ choice of online shopping. Most online sellers position their products at fairly low prices compared to physical stores to attract more customers. Secondly, online shopping allows for convenience and time saving, especially when the goods are delivered to the customer’s doorstep. Availability of product reviews by other customers is also an essential factor that influences people to shop online. Finally, it is possible to carry out price comparison from various vendors before settling on the final seller as opposed to physical stores where one has to move from one shop to another comparing price.
While online shopping has gained prominence, it has not penetrated the market as such because of existence of barriers. One of the concerns that keep people away from online shopping is the safety of payment. With the increase in cybercrime, most people find it difficult to provide their personal and financial information for payment processing. Another barrier is low level of trust of online stores. Most people trust physical stores because they can see and touch the product compared to online stores who may parade a product but not have it. Another barrier is the high shipping costs that customers have to pay to have the product delivered. Many customers also abhor online shopping because of strict refund policy and very slow delivery.
Closely related to Doaei & Hassanzadeh study is research by Zhang, Zhao & Gupta (2018) regarding online product recommendations as enablers or inhibitors of decision making. The study identified information overload and deceptiveness as the main inhibitors that negatively influence the quality of decision making. When searching for information online, there are loads of information available and it becomes a daunting task to identify the authentic reviews and recommendations from flawed ones. Some of the enables (critical factors) are self-reference and crucial factors that reflect the quality of online product recommendations. The influence of social media is too strong as some people cannot make decisions on their own that they have to get the opinions of others. When someone seeks for an opinion online, they are likely to get lots of information, leading to information overload that might result in indecision.
What Consumers Think before They Buy and Online Buying Trends
Rajani & Nakhat, (2019) conducted a study of purchase patterns among the youths of ages 18-25 and to get their perspectives on what they think before they buy. The study showed that participants look or a particular brand before they purchase. A supplier who is not the brand is perceived to be counterfeit or to be selling faulty products. Consumers also think about the price of the branded item whereby cheaper prices online make it feasible for more customers to buy. Customers also think about product reviews from previous customers whereby good reviews imply that the product would be of superior quality. On the other hand, bad reviews are considered to be more realistic as 90% of the subjects would not purchase a product with a bad review.
Although Singh & Singh, (2014) is an independent study on online behavior trends, it serves as the summation of the previous three articles. The study shows that online shopping is largely influenced by social circles and family networks. This observation reinforces the study by Zhang, Zhao & Gupta (2018) on the impacts of social shopping communities in influencing online purchasing. Singh & Singh further note that convenience and time savings are the main critical factors (enablers) of online shopping. Customers carry out price comparison in online and offline stores to evaluate prices, offers and product quality. The study also reveals that there is a huge potential for online shopping, but people are apprehensive because of safety issues. The increase in cybercrime and internet hacking has made people afraid of giving their card details for payment processing. Therefore, online sellers should be aware of the enablers and inhibitors of online shopping to take maximum advantage of the potential of online purchases.
Abandonment in the Online Shopping Process
Customer purchase process may be complete or incomplete. An incomplete process is where the customer abandons the purchase process in the middle. In most online purchases, payments are done after delivery. In instances where payments are made before delivery, sellers allow buyers to return the product. Xu & Huang (2015) observe that cart abandonment may be positive or negative. Positive abandonment is influenced by the organization and comparison with external environment. Xu & Huang further observe that negative abandonment is caused by perceived cost and perceived risk
Conclusion
Consumer behavior in online shopping is the interplay of many actors. There are factors that serve as drivers of online shopping while others hinder customers from purchasing online. Some of the critical factors that make customers purchase online are such as the availability of a product online, cheaper prices online, credibility of the seller (brand), convenience and time saving, availability of product reviews. Barriers that serve as hindrances to online shopping are such as lack of trust and concerns about safety. Most people find it difficult to provide their personal and financial information for payment processing. Customers think about product reviews before buying a product. Although positive customers’ reviews increase play a significant part in influencing purchases, negative reviews are considered more genuine. 90% of customers would drop the idea of purchasing a product altogether if they found a negative review. Sometimes, the purchase process may not halt in the middle as customers abandon the sale cart altogether. Customers may abandon the purchase for positive reasons such as doing comparison with external websites. Negative influences that may lead to cart abandonment are such as perceived cost and perceived risk.
