Consumers¡¯ Perception Towards Internet Purchase in the Uk
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND FOR THE STUDY
The Internet has grown tremendously during the past years. It radically changes the way people live, work and consume. It represents a tremendous opportunity as well as threats. As Chaffey and his colleagues (2003, p. xi) state: ¡°It gives consumers a much wider choice of products, services and prices from different suppliers and the means to select and purchase items more readily. For organizations, it gives the opportunity to develop new markets, to improve the competitiveness of the company, but it also gives rise to many threats to organizations¡±.
The UK, as one of the countries with the highest percentage of Internet users, is developing rapidly in Internet connections. It has been forecasted that Internet connectivity could reach 80 per cent of households by 2010 (Damesick, 2001). At the same time, online shopping in the UK is also becoming one of the hottest trends in retailing today (CACI, 2000). On the other hand, the exponential increases in online shopping and the fast rate of growth in the number of retailers selling online have created an extremely competitive marketplace.
In this already highly competitive market, it becomes essential for e-commerce managers to understand the different factors that affect people using the Internet as a new purchasing medium. There are many benefits that attract people to choose online shopping such as convenience, time saving, more available choices and possibly lower prices, however, many people are often hold back as fear of privacy, security and delivery issues in relation to Internet shopping.
1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
As Internet retailing grows in size and importance, marketing and consumer researchers devote more effort to studying consumer Internet behaviour. In those researches, most have been descriptive in nature, yielding statistical information on what is purchased online and the demographic characteristics.
Beyond simple
1.1 BACKGROUND FOR THE STUDY
The Internet has grown tremendously during the past years. It radically changes the way people live, work and consume. It represents a tremendous opportunity as well as threats. As Chaffey and his colleagues (2003, p. xi) state: ¡°It gives consumers a much wider choice of products, services and prices from different suppliers and the means to select and purchase items more readily. For organizations, it gives the opportunity to develop new markets, to improve the competitiveness of the company, but it also gives rise to many threats to organizations¡±.
The UK, as one of the countries with the highest percentage of Internet users, is developing rapidly in Internet connections. It has been forecasted that Internet connectivity could reach 80 per cent of households by 2010 (Damesick, 2001). At the same time, online shopping in the UK is also becoming one of the hottest trends in retailing today (CACI, 2000). On the other hand, the exponential increases in online shopping and the fast rate of growth in the number of retailers selling online have created an extremely competitive marketplace.
In this already highly competitive market, it becomes essential for e-commerce managers to understand the different factors that affect people using the Internet as a new purchasing medium. There are many benefits that attract people to choose online shopping such as convenience, time saving, more available choices and possibly lower prices, however, many people are often hold back as fear of privacy, security and delivery issues in relation to Internet shopping.
1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
As Internet retailing grows in size and importance, marketing and consumer researchers devote more effort to studying consumer Internet behaviour. In those researches, most have been descriptive in nature, yielding statistical information on what is purchased online and the demographic characteristics.
Beyond simple