Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
For postage, marginal utility is negative and no statistically significant difference
by usage experience was observed. Similarly, although the marginal utility of
product price is negative, the value is larger for nonusers than users, with nonusers
tending to more strongly dislike increases in product price.
The marginal utility of availability for nonusers is not statistically significant,
whereas it is significant for users, and they consider as important the ability to
purchase goods unavailable at a nearby store.
The diversity of nonuser's preferences was observed for availability, saturation,
purchase procedure, and postage, with the largest variation in the postage
preference.
Although high school and university students exhibit differences in their rates of
online shop utilization, it is considered that the rate generally increases with age. In
this analysis, the differences between high school and university students seem
attributable to their different experiences in using online shops.
11.6 Discussion and Conclusions
In this study, we examined young people's behavior and perceptions regarding
online shops. Our research suggests certain important features that will support the
maturation of the online shop market.
Most of our respondents use the Internet via a PC or mobile phone every day, and
over half of them have purchased some goods online. The largest categories of
goods that they have purchased or intend to purchase are books, CDs, and clothes.
This finding indicates that online shops have become a popular channel for student
purchases of goods and services. As this group represents largest future customer
base for online shops, they should devise management and marketing strategies
that increase students' motivation to use their products and services.
Access to goods unavailable in nearby physical shops attracts students to online
shops. Surprisingly, although students typically have limited funds, they do not priori-
tize low prices as highly as the differentiation of goods at online shops. Students
consider the most unattractive feature of online shops to be the difficulty in confirming
goods. These results suggest that primary buying channel of students is nearby physical
shops, and they regard online shops as a complementary option. Thus, online shops
should select and market their goods or improve their business models for optimal
competition with the goods and business models of physical shops.
Regarding the security of online shopping, high school students may overestimate
this risk. Their small budget and the large proportion of nonusers may affect this
overestimation in our findings. However, online shops are well advised to develop
their security technology and prominently display their security policy. Their pur-
chase return policy should also be prominently displayed for the student market.
Conjoint analysis clearly revealed which attribute respondents consider as
important when purchasing goods online. It also shows that students consider
being positive about using online shops and online shops become common for
