Describe and understand the
characteristics of Internet surfers and
electronic commerce purchasers.
 Understand the process of consumer
purchasing decision making.
 Id the consumer’s shopping procedure on
the Internet
 Understand the types of comparisonshopping aids

Information accumulation
 Communication
 Surfing
 Shopping

Income

Age
Gender
Demographics
Family &
occupation
Education
Demographics: Age
 Younger users
› They engage in more exploratory behaviour
› They have low income levels
› They use the Internet for communication
activities
› They have time on their hands
Clip 1
Demographics: Age
 Older users
› They use the internet for
communication purposes
› They are prime Internet
shoppers
› Their usage of the Internet
depends on their personality
characteristics
Demographics: Gender
 Female users
› They are more likely to engage in
exploratory behaviour
› They spend less time online
› They buy less online
› They are cautious online, especially
in terms of privacy and security
issues
Demographics: Gender
 Male users
› They spend more time online
› They buy more online
› They are more liberal with their private
information
› They are more likely to take action when
they feel their privacy have been
violated
Demographics: Education
Internet users have been characterised
as having a higher education level than
non-users
 Higher levels of education reduce
technology and computer anxiety and
create a more positive technology
schema

Demographics: Income
 Internet users have been found to have
higher-than-average-income
 Higher incomes are associated with higher
levels of education
 Income levels provide an indication of
whether basic Internet access can be
afforded
 And indicates access to credit facilities
Demographics: Family composition and
occupational status
 The presence or absence and the age
of the youngest child influence the users’
use of the Internet as a shopping tool
The Digital Native Alphabet
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Technology
readiness
innovative
ness
Personal characteristics
Gregarious
ness
Personal characteristics: Consumer
innovativeness
Defined: It is the degree to which an individual is
receptive to new ideas and makes innovative
decisions independently from others
Personal characteristics: Consumer
innovativeness
 General innovativeness
› whether a consumer will try new things

Domain specific innovativeness
› Focuses on the consumer’s affinity towards one
domain or one category
Personal characteristics: Technology readiness
 Defined: It is the extent to which an individual is
open and receptive to new technologies
 People with this trait usually exhibit a willingness
and desire to be at the foreground of
technological change
Personal characteristics: Technology Schema
 Related to technology readiness is technology
schema
 Technology schema defined: It is an organised
and arranged set of expectations and beliefs
that one holds about technology
Personal characteristics: Gregariousness
Personal characteristics: Gregariousness
 People who are unable to have proper
social relations offline are able to spend
time communicating with others online by
using:
› chat rooms,
› discussion forums &
› listservs

There is a belief that the Internet acts as a
surrogate social network
Personal characteristics: Gregariousness
An example of a forum
Consumer lifestyles
 Defined: It is the activities, interests and
opinions of consumers – in sum, their
“pattern of living”
Consumer lifestyles
 Four important factors influence consumer
lifestyles:
› Attitudes towards technology
› Time pressure
› Occupational demands
› Stage in the family life cycle

Consumer decision-making can be viewed in terms
of three levels:
› Routine decision-making
› Limited decision-making
› Extensive decision-making
Routine decision-making
 Mundane purchasing by the consumer that
requires very little thought process
Limited decision-making
 Limited decision-making – It involves a greater
number of thought processes
Extensive decision-making
 Extensive decision-making – It involves a great deal
of search, a large consideration set and a farreaching evaluation of alternatives
Initiator-suggests/thinks of buying a
particular brand or service.
 Influencer-advice/views carry weight in
making a final buying decision.
 Decider-makes a buying decision or any
part of it.
 Buyer-makes the actual purchase.
 User-consumes or uses a product or
service.

Store, product and
service characteristics
Access
Language
/culture
Store, product and service characteristics
 Type of goods
› The type of product, service or information
will influence consumer behaviour
› Products have different characteristics
3 criteria that determine consumer
behaviour :
 Experiential = need to experience product first,
e.g. food, books, CD. – only info goods are
easy to sell on net.
 Search = need to find info first e.g. insurance –
easy to sell on net.
 Credence = need repeated use before effects
felt, e.g gym
Store, product and service characteristics
 Brand
› Brands provide assurance of quality and
›
›
›
›
recourse to established companies
Brands are information processing short cuts
The brand represents a safe choice
Brands are important when dealing with
experience and credence goods
Brands are used as time-saving devices

Guess the Brand
Store, product and service characteristics

Offline presence
› A store’s offline presence is important to many
consumers
› It provides assurance that the consumer is
dealing with an established dealer
Store, product and service characteristics

Variety
› The variety of goods offered online is an
important consideration for Internet adaptation
in any country
Language/culture
 The presence of information in consumers’ own
language and about their own culture and
country on the Internet has a large impact on
whether or not they use the Internet
Access
 Where the consumer accesses the Internet
influences their behaviour
 Most South Africans access the Internet from
work
 Access to credit facilities also play an
important role
The greatest barriers to Internet use are
security and privacy
 Cybercrime defined includes Spam and
outright fraud


Due to the large number of possible
cybercrimes, consumers are concerned
with:
Security and confidentiality of transactions
Supplier authenticity
Trust in suppliers
The ability of suppliers to deliver the product or
service promised
› The legal enforceability of contracts
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› Clip 2

Other barriers to consumer adoption of
the Internet are:
› Conservative shopping habits
› Limitations in bandwidth technology
› Long download times
› Lack of e-tailer profitability
› Distribution problems

The Internet differs in that it is a
› One-to-one medium (e-mail)
› Many-to-many medium (chat-rooms)

Technology has facilitated the creation of
new communities, where people discuss
issues with each other without being bound
by geography

Both online and offline communities can be
viewed as groups linked by social
relationships and a sense of belonging or by
common bonds and a sense of shared
identity

Not all members of Internet communities
are influenced equally
› Lurkers – They follow the discussion online, but
never interact with fellow members (others might
not even know the person exists)
› Posters – They participate in the discussions by
posting messages to listserv, chat rooms, bulletin
boards or discussion forums

Posters are more influenced by the opinions
of others, develop relationship with other
members and see themselves as members
of the community