The Emergence of Internet Shopping in Japan:

Identification of Shopping Orientation-Defined Segments

Although Japanese Internet retailing is on the verge of rapid growth, relatively little is currently
known about Japanese non-store shopping behavior in general and Japanese Internet shopping in
particular. This study explores Japanese shopping orientations as they relate to Internet shopping
by examining the shopping orientation-defined segments of Japanese Internet users. Internet
shopping segments of Shopping Enjoyment, Brand Browser, Price Browser, and Dislikes
Shopping are identified. High frequency Internet shoppers are found to reside in the Shopping
Enjoyment Segment and upscale consumers are found to reside in the Brand Browser Segment.

Dr. Kenneth C. Gehrt

Marketing Department
College of Business Administration
San Jose State University
San Jose, CA 95192-0067
408.924.3534
gehrt@cob.sjsu.edu

Dr. Naoto Onzo

School of Commerce
Waseda University
Tokyo, JAPAN

Mr. Kazuyoshi Fujita

J.D. Powers, Research Director
Tokyo, JAPAN

Dr. Mahesh Rajan

Marketing Department
College of Business Administration
San Jose State University
San Jose, CA 95192-0067
408.924.3537
rajan_m@cob.sjsu.edu

Submitted to:
Academy of Marketing Science
2004 Annual Conference
April 29, 2004

Track:
Cross Cultural Asian, Europe, South America, New Zealand, and U.S. Marketing Practices:
Issues, Trends, and Advances

The Emergence of Internet Shopping in Japan:

Identification of Shopping Orientation-Defined Segments

Although Japanese Internet retailing is on the verge of rapid growth, relatively little is currently
known about Japanese non-store shopping behavior in general and Japanese Internet shopping in
particular. This study explores Japanese shopping orientations as they relate to Internet shopping
by examining the shopping orientation-defined segments of Japanese Internet users. Internet
shopping segments of Shopping Enjoyment, Brand Browser, Price Browser, and Dislikes
Shopping are identified. High frequency Internet shoppers are found to reside in the Shopping
Enjoyment Segment and upscale consumers are found to reside in the Brand Browser Segment.

Submitted to:
Academy of Marketing Science
2004 Annual Conference
April 29, 2004

Track:

2
Cross Cultural Asian, Europe, South America, New Zealand, and U.S. Marketing Practices:
Issues, Trends, and Advances

3
 Introduction

Internet retailing is on the verge of a rapid growth stage in Japan. In the middle 1990’s,

total non-store retail sales amounted to $2 billion (Focus Japan 1998). During that time the

number of Japanese consumers who used the Internet was 5 million. By the year 2000 the

number of Internet users in Japan had grown to 54 million with substantial growth in Internet

cellular phones and portable computing devices. High-speed Internet connections have grown to

11.8 million subscribers in 2003 up from 1.6 million users just two years earlier (Dvorak 2003).

Non-store sales related to Internet transactions alone are expected to reach $66 billion in 2004

(Belson 2000). Despite these emerging developments, competing for a share of Japanese

customers’ patronage still requires considerable effort. Because Japanese non-store retailing is

still relatively undeveloped (Grossman 1998), the optimal strategy to attract customer patronage

to the Internet is not easily determined. Further, little research has been conducted with respect to

shopping behavior in Japan.

The purpose of this study is to explore Japanese shopping orientations as they relate to

Internet browsing and shopping. This will be done by examining the basic shopping orientations

of a sample of Japanese Internet users. Shopping orientation research played a crucial role in

helping to understand the emergence of U.S. catalog retailing a generation ago (i.e., Berkowitz,

Walker, and Walton 1979). It has also proven useful in understanding the nature of shopping

orientations of consumers from different countries (Gehrt and Shim 1998). This is the first study

to explore the nature of shopping orientations with an emphasis on Japanese Internet shopping.

The study will, first, identify shopping orientation tendencies among Japanese Internet users. It

will then identify segments of shoppers by clustering subjects in terms of the similarity of their

multiple shopping orientations tendencies. Finally, it will profile the segments in terms of

demographic and behavioral data. By examining these issues, the research will provide a better

4
understanding of Internet shopping in Japan and how to begin to satisfy the needs of Japanese

Internet shoppers.

Literature Review

Japanese Shopping Behavior

As a result of the consensual nature of their culture, Japanese consumers have always

been considered a relatively homogeneous group. In recent years, however, there appears to be

growing heterogeneity among Japanese consumers (Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living 1998).

A number of factors may be responsible for this change. A major catalyst of change relates to

changing perceptions of price. With the deflating “bubble economy” of the late 1980’s and early

1990’s, disposable income of consumers rapidly decreased (Kizumi 1995) causing consumers to

become more price conscious and less attracted by luxury items (Focus Japan 1993). In response,

Japanese retailers have begun to offer more competitive prices and discount retailers have

established a foothold. There have also been changes in Japanese distribution patterns,

particularly among retailers. New large-scale retail formats such as category-killers (e.g. Uniqlo),

superstores (e.g., Olympic), discount stores (e.g., Don Quixote), and mail order businesses

(Tokumitsu 1996) have enjoyed some successes, changing the landscape of retailing in Japan. In

response, traditional Japanese specialty and department store retailers are beginning to offer no-

frills, generic merchandise (Focus Japan 1993). These factors coupled with the ongoing

economic woes have made today’s Japanese consumer more price conscious and utilitarian

(Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living). Nonetheless, department stores dealing with luxury

products are still perceived as prestigious. Many shoppers continue to pursue quality without

concern for price and wholesalers continue to favor brand introduction through department stores

as a means of enhancing brand value (Japan Direct Marketing Association 2002; Moffett 2003).

There has also been a shift from an emphasis on work to an emphasis on leisure pursuits. In this

5
environment, discount stores in Japan are still perceived as somewhat outside of the normal

distribution system and it is likely that a similar perception is associated with Internet retailers

system (Egan and Steinhoff 1999). Most of the Japanese shopping behavior research has been

conducted in the context of store rather than non-store shopping. The perception of Internet

retailers will depend on whether they will generally favor a low-price approach or a brand image

approach.

Shopping Orientation Research

A consumer’s approach to the act of shopping is referred to as shopping lifestyle (Mason,

Duran, and Taylor 1983). Shopping lifestyles are related specifically to shopping and are often

described as shopping orientations (Darden and Howell 1987). The basic premise of shopping

lifestyles is that people take many different approaches to the act of shopping. Thus, this type of

analysis determines the variety of shopping styles that individuals adopt and how these styles

relate to purchase intentions. Shopping lifestyles are usually studied by using factor analytic

techniques to identify latent patterns among subjects' responses to AIO (activities, interests, and

opinions) statements and are interpreted by summarizing the individual statements that load on

each orientation. Since Stone's (1954) seminal work identifying four types of shoppers (i.e.,

economic, personalizing, ethnic and apathetic), numerous researchers have applied the shopping

orientation concept in the study of segmenting markets. In addition to the powerful insight

gained from interpreting shopping orientations, the use of correlational methods to characterize

consumers with respect to factors in addition to shopping orientations can provide further insight.

Studies have characterized shopping orientations with respect to demographics (i.e., Sproles and

Sproles 1990), preferences for information sources (i.e., Moschis 1976), retailer preferences (i.e.,

Shim and Drake 1990), and store attribute importance (i.e., Lumpkin and Hawes 1985). Much of

the shopping orientation research has been done in the context of store shopping although there is

6
a growing body of non-store shopping orientation research as well. To date, very little has been

done to investigate shopping orientations outside of the U.S.

Non-store Shopping Research

The early non-store research was aimed at developing a demographic profile of catalog

shoppers (i.e., Cox and Rich 1964; Gillett 1970; Peters and Ford 1972). Later, psychographic

(Korgankar 1999) and motivational (Jasper and Ouelette 1994) profiles were investigated. Other

studies examined attitudes toward non-store shopping (Bickle and Shim 1993) and the impact of

situational factors on non-store shopping (Gehrt, Ingram, and Howe 1991). Beginning in the mid

1990s, research concerned with Internet non-store shopping commenced. The research began to

investigate demographic profiles of Internet shoppers. Weber and Roehl (1999) found that people

who sought information by using the Internet had higher educational, occupational, and income

levels. Donthu and Garcia (1999) investigated Internet shopper’s demographics as well as

shopping orientations. In terms of shopping orientations, they found that Internet shoppers were

likely to be convenience, impulse, and variety-seeking oriented. Korgaonkar and Wolin (1999)

delineated Internet behavior in terms of Internet shopping usage rate. Heavy Internet users are

likely to seek product information and good prices. Several studies revealed that convenience

was an important motivational factor behind Internet shopping (Meuter, Ostrom, Roundtree, and

Bitner 2000; Szymanski and Hise 2000).

Methodology

Questionnaire Development

The questionnaire was based substantially upon items from past non-store shopping

orientation research. Focus group interviews were conducted with twelve Japanese citizens to

identify needs for item adaptation and item additions. Interviewees were asked to discuss their

attitudes toward store and non-store retailers, including Internet retailers. A total of 41 shopping

7
orientation statements were developed. They were measured on a 6-point Likert scale ranging

from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.” An even number scale was employed since

Japanese respondents tend toward neutral opinions. Personal characteristics such as age, income,

education, occupation, and gender as well as Internet-related behaviors, and Internet purchase

intentions were also measured to ultimately characterize individuals associated with the various

shopping orientation segments . Fifteen Japanese subjects were used to pretest the questionnaire.

Only minor modifications were made based on the results.

Data Collection

Since Internet shopping is not yet widespread in Japan, a data collection procedure that

would tend to over-sample Internet shoppers and those with greater Internet shopping potential

was selected; thus, an e-mail survey method was chosen. Nonetheless, the association between e-

mail usage and Internet shopping is not as strong in Japan as it is in the U.S. (Japan Direct

Marketing Association 2002). A total of 2506 e-mails was sent to a random list of Japanese

individuals. A total of 802 responses was collected for a response rate of 32 percent. Only 2.5

percent of the sample used the Internet for less than 4 hours per month (compared to 5.7 percent

for the Japanese population), 28.3 percent used it for 4-30 hours (compared to 44.3 percent), and

68.8 used it for 30 or more hours (compared to 49.4 percent) (Ministry of Public Management

2000). Table 1 shows a comparison between the study’s sample demographics, the sample

demographics of another Internet study (Fujitsu Research Institute 2000), and the demographics

of the Japanese population. This study’s sample is similar to the sample of the other Internet

study but more prevalently male, young, of lower income, and with more education than the

national sample. It compares closely to the national sample in terms of geographic distribution.

The younger age composition of this sample, over-sampled for Internet users, leads ineluctably to

lower income and higher education. In fact, recent statistics show that 95.9 percent of high

8
school students attend a university (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and

Technology 2000).

Data Analysis

The analytical procedure used included three steps. First, factor analysis was used to

identify the underlying shopping orientation themes that existed among Japanese Internet

users. Second, cluster analysis was used to identify segments of Internet users who shared

similar profiles across the shopping orientations that were identified. Finally, Chi-square

analysis was used to characterize the segments in terms of demographics and behavior.

Factor Analysis: Identifying Shopping Orientations

Responses to the 41 shopping orientation statements were factor analyzed. Factor

analysis is a data summarization technique that reduces the responses to a large set of component

statements into a smaller set of latent factors (Norusis 1985), which in this study were shopping

orientations. Measures examined to determine the number of factors to interpret were the

percentage of variance explained and eigenvalues. Statement loadings on a factor that are greater

than .30 are considered meaningful, greater than .50 moderately meaningful, and greater than .70

highly meaningful (Hair, Anderson, Tathan, and Black 1998). Varimax extraction was chosen

due to its tendency to provide an easily interpretable factor matrix (Kim and Mueller 1982).

Orthogonal rotation was chosen because the factor matrix was to be subjected to subsequent data

analysis (Hair, Anderson, Tatham, and Black 1998). Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was computed

to assess the reliability of each factor.

Cluster Analysis: Identifying Shopping Orientation-Defined Segments

Cluster analysis was used to identify Japanese shopping orientation-defined segments.

Cluster analysis is a procedure that is appropriate for grouping objects (respondents) into groups

(segments) so that there is intra-group homogeneity and inter-group heterogeneity with respect to

9
the criterion variables (factor/shopping orientation scores). Quick cluster, a non hierarchical

cluster algorithm, overcomes the shortcoming of other non hierarchical algorithms by selecting

initial cluster centers with well separated values, unlike algorithms that rely on random initial

assignment. This results in greater cluster solution stability (Hair et al. 1998). Cluster solution

validity is enhanced by the fact that non hierarchical algorithms are not affected by outliers to the

extent that hierarchical algorithms are (Hair et al.).

Characterizing the Segments

Chi-square analysis was profile the shopping orientation-defined segments in terms of

shopping behavior, Internet behavior, and demographics. The procedure is possible because the

orthogonal rotation results in a factor solution in which shopping orientations are uncorrelated.

Consequently, the problem of multicollinearity is avoided.

Results

Factor Analysis: Shopping Orientations

Factor analysis of the 41 shopping orientation statements yielded nine factors/shopping

orientations with an eigenvalue > 1.00. After excluding statements that did not have a loading of

at least .40 on any factor, a second factor analysis was run. Twenty four statements were retained

for seven factors as shown in Table 2. Factor loading ranged from .54 to .85 with 64 percent of

total variance explained. Cronbach’s coefficient alpha for the factors ranged from .86 to .60.

Table 2 shows that interpretation of the shopping orientation factors was very straightforward.

They included recreation, novelty, impulse purchase, quality, brand, price, and convenience

orientations.

The six statements that load on Factor 1 (Recreation Orientation) suggest a theme of

shopping enjoyment and recreation. Individual statements relate to issues such as the ability to

enjoy shopping without making a purchase, shopping as a favorite leisure activity, shopping not

10
being a waste of time, and enjoyment of traveling to retailers. Factor 2 (Novelty Orientation)

included issues related to preference for the newest styles, inclination toward variety seeking, and

the need for something new. Factor 3 (Impulse Purchase Orientation) included statements that

suggest that careful planning to limit a shopping trip to browsing may, nonetheless, result in

patronage. The factor also suggests favorable emotional feelings as a result of an impulse

purchase. Factor 4 (Quality Orientation) shows a single-minded focus on purchasing products of

the highest level of quality while the focus of Factor 5 (Brand Orientation) is on an extrinsic

aspect of product, brand. Factor 5 includes themes ranging from brand awareness to brand

loyalty. Factor 6 (Price Orientation) suggests sensitivity to rising prices and an aversion to

excessive spending. Factor 7 (Convenience Orientation) relates to convenience in retailer design

and convenience in retailer location.

Cluster Analysis: Shopping Orientation-Defined Segments

The matrix of factor scores for individuals was subjected to a Quick Cluster (Norusis

1999), a non-hierarchical clustering procedure that is suitable for relatively large data sets (Hair et

al. 1998). The procedure overcomes the shortcoming of other nonhierarchical algorithms by

selecting initial cluster centers with well-separated values, unlike algorithms that rely on random

initial assignment (Norusis). Since nonhierarchical algorithms are not affected by outliers to the

extent of hierarchical algorithms, cluster solution stability and validity are enhanced (Hair et al.).

Cluster solutions of three to five segments were generated. The solutions were evaluated on the

basis of 1) the significance of the multivariate F-ratios of the factor/shopping orientation-defined

cluster solutions, 2) the significance of the seven univariate F-ratios for each of the shopping

orientations per cluster solution, and 3) the percentage of pairwise differences that were

significant (all cluster pairs for each of the seven factors/shopping orientations) (Scheffe’s test).

The three, four, and five-cluster solutions all had multivariate F-rations significant at < .0001.

11
However, only the four and five cluster solutions had significant univariate F-rations for all seven

of the shopping orientation factors. Of the four and five cluster solutions, the four cluster

solution had the highest percentage of significant pairwise differences (.65 versus .63). Thus, the

decision was made to interpret the results of the four-cluster solution.

Discussion

Shopping Enjoyment Segment

The first of the four Japanese Internet user segments to emerge is the Shopping

Enjoyment Segment (220 subjects). Members of this segment are positively inclined toward the

Recreation (.62), Quality (.55), and Impulse Orientations. This segment does not consist of

consumers who are highly price sensitive (Price Orientation -.40). Further, although the

Recreation, Quality, and Impulse Orientation define the manner in which this segment enjoy

shopping, the a high level of fashion sensitivity does not (Novelty Orientation -.54). Chi-sqaure

analysis revealed that the Shopping Enjoyment Segment has a higher percentage of males, 30-39

year olds, household incomes of $30,000-$60,000 equivalence, high frequency catalog shopping

patrons, and high frequency Internet shopping patrons compared to the other segments (Table 4).

Perhaps noteworthy among this latter information is the realization the most frequent Internet

shopping purchasers are from the Shopping Enjoyment Segment.

Brand Browser Segment

The Brand Browser Segment (206 subjects) is positively driven by two shopping

orientations: Brand (.84) and Convenience (.40). Thus, the segment focuses on brand but, unlike

the Shopping Enjoyment Segment, this segment is interested in comparing and acquiring brands

in an expeditious manner, reflected by the positive cluster score for the Convenience Orientation

as well as the negative cluster score (-.64) for the Recreational Orientation. The segment’s

fixation on brand contributes to a minimization of the importance of the Price Orientation (-.30).

12
The Brand Browser Segment has a higher percentage of older consumers, college graduates, high

income households. Thus, the Brand Browser Segment consists of consumers with generally

upscale socioeconomic profiles. This segment also consists of the highest percentage of Internet

users with the longest histories of Internet usage and who made 1-2 Internet shopping purchases

in the past year compared to the other segments. Thus, if Internet-based retailers are interested in

attracting the upscale segment, they can be attracted by appealing to their Brand Browsing nature.

Price Browser Segment

The Price Browser Segment (228 subjects) is positively driven by three shopping

orientations: Price (.76), Convenience (.38), and Recreation (.39). This suggests that although the

Shopping Enjoyment and Brand Browser Segments occupy opposite ends of a recreation-

convenience continuum, the Price Browser Segment is comfortable across the continuum. They

are characterized by a duality of recreation and convenience in their search for the lowest prices.

Not surprisingly, this segment will forgo brand (Brand Orientation -.52) and quality (Quality

Orientation -.36) considerations in return for a lower price. The Price Browser Segment has

higher percentages of women, younger consumers, lower educational level consumers, lower

income consumers, lower Internet experience consumers, and lower Internet purchase frequency

consumers compared to the other segments. Thus, the Price Browser Segment could be

characterized as a generally downscale socioeconomic.

Dislikes Shopping Segment

The Dislikes Shopping Segment is the smallest of the four segments (148 subjects). It is

unique in that it is not positively driven by any of the shopping orientations. It is only negatively

driven by three including 1) Convenience (-.99), Recreation (-.65), and Brand (-.47). The nature

of the sample and the fact that the Dislikes Shopping Segment, overall, had the lowest segment

13
membership, contributed to the fact that the segment did not have the highest percentage for any

demographic strata.

Conclusions

The study identified four distinct shopping orientation-defined segments among a sample

of Japanese Internet users. Past research suggested that convenience would be a factor affecting

Internet shoppers. The results show that two of the segments, the Brand Browser and the Price

Browser are substantially motivated by convenience. The findings suggest that, for these two

segments, convenience relates more to browsing than to buying. Efforts aimed at converting

these browsers into buyers should strive to make them aware of how the convenience of Internet

browsing can be generalized to Internet buying as well.

The study reveals that, in terms of Internet-related behavior, of the four segments, it is

members of the Shopping Enjoyment Segment who are the most frequent Internet shoppers. To

further cultivate these consumers, appeals should be aimed at the recreational and enjoyment

aspects of Internet shopping, quality appeals, and the notion that the Internet gives you 24-hour

access to act upon your buying urges, appealing to the important Impulse Orientation that

characterizes this segment. The study also reveals that in terms of a socioeconomically upscale

segment, the Brand Browser segment should receive the greatest attention. Although this is the

most experienced Internet user, the segment ranks third is the high Internet purchase frequency

category. To convert members of this segment into more frequent Internet purchase, retailers

should concentrate on having recognized brand names, they should generally promote the

convenience of Internet shopping, and they should ensure that their websites are designed with

convenience in mind.

14
 Despite Japan’s economic woes, the cachet of price appeals appear to be limited to the

Price Browser segment. Efforts to attract the Shopping Enjoyment and Brand Browser Segments

need not be concerned with price sensitivity; these segments are not positively motivated by

price. This study reveals that the fourth and smallest segment, the Dislikes Shopping Segment, is

not positively motivated by any of the shopping orientations but is only negatively motivated by

appeals of convenience, recreation, and brand. Thus, retailers attempting to attract this segment

face a daunting problem and may be best advised to focus first on the other three segments.

Limitations and Future Research

This research focused on a sample of individuals who were higher profile Internet users.

This was appropriate managerially since, in Japan’s emerging market for Internet shopping,

exposure and use of the Internet for shopping is likely to be concentrated among a few. Thus, in

an effort to understand Japan’s pioneering Internet shoppers, a focused sample is appropriate.

The focus on higher profile Internet users is also appropriate methodologically since, in a simple

random sample, the interception rate of Internet shoppers would be very low due to the relatively

low penetration rate of Internet shopping in Japan. In the future, as Internet shopping diffuses,

less focused samples will become managerially more useful and methodologically more feasible.

The purpose of this research was to identify and describe shopping orientation-defined

segments and to begin to understand them in terms of Internet shopping. Thus, the research was

generally confined to the concept of shopping orientations. Future research should attempt to

establish the relationship between Internet-related shopping orientations and other psychological

and behavioral variables. By examining Internet-related shopping orientations in the context of a

more fully articulated conceptual framework, understanding of this emerging mode of shopping

will increase. Further, Japanese Internet shoppers could be compared with Internet shoppers from

other countries to provide additional insight into the nuances of the Japanese Internet shopper.

15
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18
Table 1 Comparisons Among the Sample, Japanese Internet Users, and Japanese Population
Characteristics Sample Internet Japanese
Usersa Populationb
Gender
Male 68.1% 53.6% 49.0%
Female 31.9% 46.4% 51.0%

Age
Under 19 years 1.0% 7.4% 8.2%
20 – 29 years 36.6% 39.5% 17.7%
30 – 39 years 37.3% 36.3% 15.1%
40 – 49 yeas 19.3% 13.7% 18.6%
50 –59 years 5.1% 2.5% 16.0%
Over 60 years 0.6% 0.6% 24.4%

Marital Status 54.8% 52.2% 60.8%

Married 45.2% 47.8% 38.7%
Not married

Occupation
Professional 43.8%
Worker 31.4%
Student 8.0% N/A N/A
Housewife 10.9%
Unemployed 5.9%

Educational backgroundc
High school or lower 30.9% 78.4%
Vocational school 12.4% N/A N/A
2-year college 8.8% 9.5%
4-year college or higher 47.9% 12.1%

Household income
Below 2,000,000yen 14.6% 2.6%
2,000,000 - 3,499,999yen 15.9%
3,500,000 - 4,999,999yen 22.9% 27.7%d
5,000,000 - 6,499,999yen 14.0% N/A
6,500,000 - 7,999,999yen 13.9% 32.6%e
8,000,000 - 9,999,999yen 10.5% 14.9%
10,000,000yen and more 8.2% 22.1%

Residential area
Hokkaido-Tohoku 9.8% 7.6% 12.4%
Shinetsu 2.4% 4.0% 3.7%
Hokuriku 2.8% 3.4% 2.5%
Kanto 39.5% 44.4% 32.2%
Tokai 13.0% 8.0% 11.6%
Kansai 18.6% 18.9% 16.4%
Chugoku 6.0% 4.8% 6.2%
Shikoku 2.6% 2.6% 3.3%
Kyushu-Okinawa 5.3% 5.3% 11.7%
a
Source: Fujitsu Research Institute (2000), educational background and household income are not available.
b
Source: Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (1995, 1998, 2000a, 2000b)
c
Data from Statistics Bureau and Statistics Center categorizes vocational school and 2-year collage together
d
Ranging from 2,000,000 to 4,999,999yen
e
Ranging from 5,000,000 to 7,999,999yen

19
Table 2 Factor Analysis Results of Shopping Orientations
Factors with shopping orientation items Factor Eigenvalue Percent of Cronbach’s
loading Loading Variance Alpha
Recreation Orientation 5.93 24.7 .86
I enjoy shopping. .84
I enjoy traveling to stores or shopping centers. .84
I enjoy shopping even though I may not make .79
purchases.
Shopping is one of my favorite leisure time .68
activities.
Shopping is a waste of time (Negatively .68
worded).
Shopping puts me in a good mood. .61

Novelty Orientation 2.45 10.2 .70

I usually have one or more outfits of the very .75
newest style.
Fashionable, attractive styling is important to .74
me.
To get variety, I shop different stores and .58
choose different brands.
I just want to try something new at least once. .55

Impulse Purchase Orientation 2.03 8.5 .71

I am impulsive when purchasing. .82
When my intention is to merely browse, I .77
sometimes make a purchase.
When I purchase products on the spur of the .67
moment, I feel released.
I plan my purchase carefully. (Negatively .57
worded)

Quality Orientation 1.58 6.6 .69

The availability of high quality merchandise is .77
very important to me.
I find better quality products anywhere. .75
My standards and expectations for the products .68
I buy are very high.

Brand Orientation 1.21 5.0 .65

If I buy products from a retailer that I am .81
unfamiliar with, I would prefer to buy well-
known brand names.
It is important for me to buy products with well- .70
known brands.
Once I find a brand I like, I stick with it. .54

Price Orientation 1.11 4.6 .65

I buy less clothing because of rising prices. -.78
Spending excessive amounts of money on -.76
clothing is ridiculous.

Convenience Orientation 1.00 4.2 .60

I make purchase at retailers that are .85
conveniently designed.
I prefer retailers that allow me to shop .79
anywhere.

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Table 3 Cluster analysis with cluster centers on shopping orientation criteria

Group

1 2 3 4
Shopping Brand Price Dislikes
Shopping Orientation Enjoyment Browser Browser Shopping

Recreation Orientation .6236 -.6365 .3913 -.6504

Novelty Orientation -.5394 .2306 .3360 -.0470
Impulse Purchase Orientation .3704 -.1464 -.0740 -.2316
Quality Orientation .5515 -.0789 -.3555 -.1552
Brand Orientation .0678 .8397 -.5225 -.4679
Price Orientation -.4049 -.2988 .7575 -.1631
Convenience Orientation .0344 .3953 .3830 -1.2151

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Table 4 Chi-square analysis of internet usage, purchase patterns, and socioeconomic variables
Group (percentage)

1 2 3 4 Total Chi-square
Shopping Brand Price Dislikes
Enjoyment Browser Browser Shopping

Internet Experience
*
Less than 1 year 16 15 22 17 17 12.8
1-2 years 21 14 24 18 19 (df=6)
More than 2 years 64 71 55 65 63

Internet Purchase (frequency per year)

*
Never 39 44 32 45 39 13.5
1-2 times 19 17 28 21 21 (df=6)
More than 3 times 42 39 40 34 39

Gender
***
Male 72 74 54 76 68 27.3
Female 28 27 46 24 32 (df=3)

Age
***
Less than 29 years old 37 29 50 32 38 35.9
30-39 years old 43 39 34 33 38 (df=6)
40 years and older 20 32 16 35 25

Education
***
High school or lower 33 24 35 33 31 22.2
Vocational schl & 2 year college 25 19 26 14 22 (df=6)
4 yr college & higher 42 58 39 54 47

Income per month

**
Less than 350,000 yen 29 25 39 29 31 18.6
350,000 – 650,000 yen 44 35 35 36 38 (df=6)
650k yen and above 27 41 26 36 32

Occupation
Unemployed 6 6 5 8 6 17.8 (ns)
Student 5 6 14 6 8 (df=12)
Housewife 11 11 11 11 11
Worker 35 31 28 32 32
Professional 43 46 42 44 44

* ** ***
Notes: p < 0.05, p < 0.01, p < 0.001

22
Relationship between Shopping Orientations and Personal Characteristics
In this study, personal characteristics refer to two dimensions: demographics and
behavior. This study examines two categories of behavior; Internet experience and catalog
shopping experience. Past research has described the differences between heavy Internet users
and light Internet users. Heavy Internet users look for good prices by browsing web sites,
perceive the Internet as a quick and inexpensive information source (Korgaonkar and Wolin
1999) and are satisfied with the convenience of the Internet (Meuter et al. 2000). These findings
suggest that Internet shoppers may tend to be price and convenience oriented. In the context of
catalog shopping experience, shoppers are shifting to the Internet (Sullivan 2000). A common
finding of the catalog research is that convenience is an important consideration for catalog.
It has been shown that consumers with particular demographic profiles seem to display
particular shopping orientations. For example, individuals employed in professions that require
long work hours tend to use non-store shopping because of its convenience (Reilly 1982). Older
individuals were found to be brand oriented and price oriented consumers (Sproles and Sproles
1990; Williams et al. 1978) whereas younger consumers tended to be impulse oriented (Han et al.
1991). Lumpkin and McConley (1984) found that individuals with high incomes were quality
oriented

Relationship between Shopping Orientation and Patronage Intention

Patronage intention can be affected by shopping orientation. Korgaonkar (1984)
hypothesized that certain types of shopping orientations will be related to patronage of non-store
retailers and found that convenience oriented consumers displayed a strong intention to patronize
catalog. Thus, there is a positive relationship between the convenience orientation and the
tendency to shop through non-store retailers. It is plausible that the convenience orientation is
similarly related to Internet patronage intention. Recreationally oriented non-store shoppers
consider shopping a leisure activity (Gehrt and Carter 1992). Internet shoppers may share this
recreational orientation. It has been suggested that the 24-hour availability of Internet and catalog
shopping may breed impulse purchasing, thus suggesting a link between Internet shopping and an
impulse shopping orientation (Gutman and Mills ). Similarly, novelty oriented shoppers may
tend toward Internet and non-store shopping since the shopping accessibility as well as the
availability of many novelty items are an encouragement to novelty shoppers (Catalog Age 1992).
One of the features offered by non-store retailers is an enhanced ability to find low prices. This
may be particularly true for Internet shopping (Egan and Steinhoff 1999). Accordingly, price
oriented consumers are more likely to buy products from non-store retailers.
Brand oriented consumers are more likely to buy products from stores (Korgaonkar 1984). Brand
oriented consumers tend to be quality conscious (Huddleston et al. 1993) and are less motivated
by convenience and low price (Korgaonkar 1984). Non-store retailers that usually offer a
convenient means of shopping and low prices are therefore less attractive to brand oriented
consumers. In addition, since product quality is sometimes hard to evaluate, quality oriented
consumers are less likely to use catalogs and the Internet. Therefore, brand and quality oriented
consumers may be less inclined toward Internet and other non-store patronage.

23
Many Internet users in Japan make their connection via cellular phones. A recent survey shows
that this is done by 20.6 percent of Japanese consumers (Nomura Research Institute 2001). NTT
DoCoMo offers the most popular Internet connection system and its rivals such as KDDI offer
similar services (Kuniji & Baker 2000).

Experiences of Internet use, Internet shopping, and Catalog shopping

As shown in Table 2, over half of respondents (53.1%) used the Internet less than 60
hours per month. 19.1% of the respondents had over five years of Internet experience. In terms
of connection methods, 38.4 % of the respondents connected to the Internet by ISDN (Integrated
Services Digital Network). Seventy point three percent of respondents had only one method of
connection to the Internet.
Table 3 summarizes the respondents’ shopping experiences. 61.3% of respondents had purchased
products from catalogs over the past 12 months. Seventy point five percent of respondents had
purchased products from the Internet. Respondents’ past purchases included computer and
computer related products (31.4%) and clothing and accessories (21.8%). Five point four percent
of the respondents had purchased fresh food and fruits over the Internet. Additionally, 20.6%
used online malls most frequently, followed by catalog retailers’ Web sites (14.9%). Internet
retailers who sell solely via the Internet were used by 2.9% of the respondents. Compared to
another study, the rate of Internet shopping experience of this sample is higher (Ministry of
Public Management, Home Affairs, Post and Telecommunication, 1999).

Japanese consumers who have traveled abroad are aware of overseas product prices and
brands (East Asian Executive Reports 1998). Internet retailers may provide a means for those
consumers to acquire products from outside of Japan. Internet retailers may also find
opportunities with Japan’s population outside of large cities. These consumers may lack good
access to shopping, since retailers are not as geographically diffused in Japan as they are in the
other countries such as the U.S. (Kunji and Baker 2000).

24