Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
specifications and a large variety of product pictures from several angles, with the
capability to zoom in and see small details. Alternatively, improved business
models could reduce consumer anxiety about disappointment in the product after
delivery. One possibility is making the return of goods easier and inexpensive or
free to mitigate this perceived disadvantage. If an online shop sells clothes, for
example, it can send articles of clothing in the next size smaller and larger than the
one ordered to their customers with free returns within a given number of days.
Such business models may ease customers' anxieties about online shopping.
1
As compared with university students, more high school students report feeling
anxious about the security of online shops. Because of their low budget, they would
be severely affected by risks such as identity or credit card number theft. A
percentage of high school students who have not used online shops may overesti-
mate these risks. Technological enhancement of online shops' security systems for
all consumer information is essential for expanding the online shopping market; in
addition, it is important to prominently display complete and precise information
about user security.
11.4.3 Students' Perceptions of Online Shops: Differences
Among Experiences
Experiences of online shopping may strongly affect students' attitudes toward and
perceptions of online shops. Some students may increase their appreciation of
online shops after using them, whereas others may decrease their evaluation of
online shops. Here, we examine the relationship between experiences of online
shopping and students' perceptions.
Students who have used online shops indicate all factors as priorities of online
shops more than those who have never shopped online. For each priority, such as
“Rich information about goods,” “Shopping at home,” “Purchasing at one's own
pace,” “Delivery by other people,” and “Availability of rare goods,” differences
between experienced and inexperienced students are not statistically significant at
5 % level. Other priorities' differences in experience ratings are statistically
significant at 5 % level.
These results demonstrate that experience in online shopping improves students'
perceptions of online shops. Students did not know the advantages or had only
heard of the reputations of online shops before using them. After experiencing
online shopping, however, students have positive perceptions of online shops,
because they enjoy the many functional advantages of online shops.
We found interesting characteristics of the perceived disadvantages of online shops.
Table
11.9
shows the relationship between students' perceived disadvantage of online
shops and their experiences. In case of disadvantages such as “Risk of personal
information theft,” “Risk of difference between goods' online appearance and that of
1
We should mention that this approach would be prohibitively costly and problematic from the
merchants' perspective.
