ONLINE SHOPPING SURVEY SHOWS CONSUMERS AND VENDORS DIFFER SHARPLY ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE
- 4 January 2007

70 PER CENT FEMALE AGED BETWEEN 30 AND 50

A DCU Business School survey of online shopping published today reveals that 70 per cent of the shoppers are female and 65 per cent are aged between 30 and 50.

The survey also shows that consumers strongly disagree with the view of online vendors about the privacy and overall quality of their online shopping experience.

The survey conduced with the collaboration of online retailer Buy4Now and their vendors also shows that three quarters of the shoppers have a third level qualification, 29 per cent in business, 17 per cent in computer science and 16 per cent in Humanites.

Seventy per cent are using broadband, with 59 per cent shopping from home and 38 per cent from work.

About half those surveyed spent an average of between €50 and €150 per transaction, 29 per cent shopped monthly, 27 per cent every two to three months and 15 per cent weekly.

The survey measured perceptions of quality of service by consumers and vendors as well as profiling the characteristics of the online shoppers. Practically all of the vendors on Buy4Now took part and 359 consumers provided valid responses.

The researchers, Dr Sarah Ingle, lecturer in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, and Dr Regina Connolly, lecturer in Management Information Systems at DCU Business School were investigating the low rate of online retailing adoption by Irish consumers, despite an improvement in broadband availability and usage.

The most frequently purchased items, they found, are CDs and DVDs at 27 per cent, while airline tickets follow closely at 24 per cent and food and books are 14 and 11 per cent respectively.

Not surprisingly, the results on quality of service show that ease of accessing the site and its proper functioning as well as correct delivery of the order, are critical to consumers’ perception of value and their intention to return to the site, underscoring the need for prompt delivery of goods.

The offer of compensation for faulty goods did not impress consumers in relation to perceived value and their intention to return to the site. This could be because shoppers are more influenced by the efficiency and effectiveness of the online shopping experience than by the promise of compensation. It could also be influenced by the fact that most of the vendors involved in the study have high street stores with a significant profile in the Irish market.

Shoppers and vendors sharply differ over privacy issues – the extent to which the site is safe and protects customer information - and the perceived value and quality of the online service. Vendors appear to have an extremely positive view of how their website is performing in these areas which is not matched by customer responses. Overall the vendors have a more positive view of the general service they are providing than consumers.

The authors of the report conclude this is not a necessarily a negative finding: “But it does mean that perhaps the vendors should review their performance in the quality dimensions surveyed, in order to determine how best they can improve the website to increase customer satisfaction.”

ENDS