Internet Usage and Online Shopping Experience as Predictors of Consumers' Preferences to Shop Online Across Product Categories

The product that a consumer intends to buy influences his/her preference for a shopping channel. Using sample survey data, we analyse the impact of (1) the consumer’s satisfaction derived from using the Internet and (2) the consumer’s previous experience of buying products on the Internet on the preference to shop either online or off-line across five product categories. Each of these five product categories has a different level of product specific risk which influences the consumer’s preference to shop on the Internet rather than “going to the shops”. This research demonstrates that consumers who have previously shopped online display stronger preferences to buy products on the Internet irrespective of the product specific risk of online shopping. This strong preference for online shopping across product categories is explained by the consumer’s positive perception of the Internet as a shopping channel. The results would also suggest that, for those consumers who accept the Internet as a shopping channel, the difference between “search” and “experience” goods is smaller than it is for other consumers when they decide whether to use the Internet for shopping.