Motives, risks and trust in online shopping: a study among experienced internet users-shoppers

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Authors
Marcos Hernandez, Jaime
Issue Date
2009
Degree
MA in Marketing
Publisher
Dublin Business School
Rights
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Abstract
Internet shopping has greatly evolved; therefore it is relevant to investigate if online shoppers' behaviour has also changed. This dissertation focuses on experienced users, those who spend many hours online and are skilful with the new media. First, this dissertation investigates what are the motives that lead these consumers to adopt the online channel to purchase products or services. Then, the study explores if earlier perceived risks to adopt the Internet for shopping still exist among the online consumers. Finally, it examines what makes them trust when shopping online. An empirical study was conducted among users of several nationalities working for a multinational company located in Dublin, Ireland, and the US. Data was collected through a web-based survey completed by 125 respondents. The results show that convenience is the main motive as to why experienced Internet users buy online. In addition, the findings indicate that online users are more goal-oriented shoppers than experiential shoppers. A moderate risk is perceived by experienced online users, however they generally trust e-tailers. It seems the more experience a buyer has of online shopping the less risk they perceive. The results also reveal that online shoppers mainly trust websites that they have bought from on previous occasions and belong to well-known retailers. It is relevant to acknowledge the limitations of this study. Firstly, due to its cross-sectional nature, results could widely vary if similar research is undertaken in the future. Secondly, a larger scaled study would be required to be able to represent the online population as a whole. In short, this dissertation intends to contribute to the online consumer behaviour research, and to the overall body of marketing.