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Factors inuencing internet shopping behaviour: a survey of consumers in Thailand

Orapin Laohapensang
Roche Thailand Limited, Bangkok, Thailand
Abstract
Purpose An exploration of factors inuencing internet shopping is conducted using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) as the theoretical base. The theory holds that a potential customers attitude towards the behaviour and the customers subjective norm and perceived behavioural controls can inuence the intention and its eventual realisation. This paper aims to address the factors inuencing internet shopping by Thai consumers in order to answer the question of how well TPB explains online shopping intentions in Thailand. Then, comparisons are made between theoretical predictions and the current situation of the use of online services by consumers in Thailand. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on a questionnaire survey asking participants what factors inuence their use of the internet for shopping. Subjects are drawn from 400 graduates at four major universities in Thailand. To test the validity and reliability of the measurement models using the corrected item-total correlations, Cronbachs a and correlations among constructs in the path model are used. Assessment is made of the importance of variables in the path model with the application of the conventional regression. All multiple items of the measures are assessed for their internal consistency by computing the corrected item total correlation and coefcient a for each composite measure. Findings The empirical analysis suggests that the difculty of shopping online is seen as the factor most inuencing customers intention to shop online. In this survey and that of the NECTEC, online technology is seen as the principal barrier to using the internet for online shopping. In contrast, it is found elsewhere that a potential customers attitude is the factor having most inuence on the intention to shop. Originality/value The results of a survey of 400 consumers in Thailand showed that the factors of opinions of people around consumers and the environment of online shopping can affect their intention to shop online, and its realisation. Keywords Consumer behaviour, Internet shopping, Thailand Paper type Research paper

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Received May 2007 Revised January 2009 Accepted January 2009

Introduction With the development of internet browsing nearly 20 years ago, it was inevitable that online shopping would become an alternative way of purchasing goods. It has been developing ever since in terms of range of services, efciency, security and popularity,
The author would like to thank the graduates at Chulalongkorn University, Mahidol University, Kasetsart University and Khon Kaen University, Professor Amaret Bhumiratana, Assistant Professor Danuja Kunpanitchakit, Assistant Professor Annop Tanlamai, Assistant Professor Piti Kantangkul, Associate Professor Dr Sommai Priperm, Assistant Professor Charnchai Panthongviriyakul, and Ralph Middenway.
Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management Vol. 13 No. 4, 2009 pp. 501-513 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1361-2026 DOI 10.1108/13612020910991367

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but marketing via virtual media needs continual improvement if it is to meet the changing and developing needs and expectations of consumers. The scope of this paper might be thought narrow (in that it reports on only a subset of Thai shoppers), or wide (in that considers internet shopping in general, rather than fashion marketing per se). Yet the subset chosen, graduates from four major universities, represents the most likely kind of target for marketing strategies in Thailand, or indeed anywhere. It would be equally difcult to argue that conclusions reached about internet shopping in general are irrelevant in the fashion industry. Traditionally, consumers have gone to stores to inspect rst-hand and then buy goods they want; the distinguishing feature of online shopping is that consumers need not (and, of course, some may not be able to) go to a store, but make their choices on the basis of what they see on the internet, so it is worthwhile identifying the factors that might inuence internet purchasing, either positively or negatively. A literature review shows that there have been many studies, both empirical and theoretical, of factors identied by consumers as inuencing internet shopping. In the former category, Goldsmith and Goldsmith (2002) found that experienced internet shoppers place more trust in and have a better feeling about on-line service than non-shoppers, that is, those who have not previously used it for this purpose. Likewise, internet shoppers, having considered the risks and understood them, are less risk-averse than non-shoppers (Donthu, 1999). Gaining the trust of online consumers becomes more and more important, and merchants have to nd methods of trust formation within the online service (Papadopoulou et al., 2001). Security concerns were reported to be the principal barrier to internet shopping. Despite the fact that most consumers had such concerns, they will buy online if this negative factor issue can be eliminated (Udo, 2001). If online merchants can demonstrate that their websites are secure, the perception of online shopping will improve (Fenech and OCass, 2001). Theoretical models are described, based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), which links the intention of consumers to their behaviour. A persons intention to perform a particular behaviour can develop from the persons attitude toward that behaviour, the subjective norm (beliefs about the attitudes of the persons associates, and perceived behavioural controls (Ajzen, 1991). Currently, there are only a few studies applying TPB to identify the factors inuencing online shopping intention. George (2002) used it to prove that the beliefs about privacy and trustworthiness can inuence individuals internet purchasing. Athiyaman (2002) applied TPB to the question of internet users intention to purchase air travel online. All three antecedents attitude toward purchasing air travel online, subjective norm and perceived behavioural controls of each individuals intention were studied, in particular the rst. Internet shopping is growing rapidly and more studies are needed to give a better understanding of the factors inuencing it. A literature review suggests that TPB can be used to analyse the relationship between inuencing factors and internet shopping behaviour in different parts of the world. This study aims to address the factors inuencing internet shopping by Thai consumers in order to answer the question of how well TPB explains online shopping intentions in Thailand. Then, comparisons are made between theoretical predictions

and the current situation of the use of online service by consumers in Thailand. The aims are: . to add useful information about the factors inuencing the development of an intention to shop online and its execution; and . to gain information about how many participants had experience of internet shopping and about the kinds of goods they purchase. The plan for this study is as follows. First, there is a theoretical discussion of TPB, followed by a description of the internet user prole of Thailand. Then comes a description of the research methodology and a discussion of the measurement model used in the paper. The nal section highlights the results of the empirical study, draws some conclusions, identies some of the limitations of the study and makes recommendations for further studies. Theoretical discussion Todays consumers have a choice between indirect shopping (using the internet or mail order catalogues), and direct shopping from a store. The new channel, online shopping, requires access to the internet via computer. The theory of planned behaviour holds that it is not only the attitudes of individual consumers that lead to an intention to shop online, but also those of people around them, and the technologies available. Some potential consumers may have a positive attitude to online shopping, but some of their associates may have negative attitudes. And even if both potential consumers and their associates are positive towards online shopping, nothing will happen if the technology is unavailable. In short, the circumstances of consumers attitude to internet shopping, the opinion of their associates and the availability of the necessary technology are important factors, and it is useful to examine their interrelationships. In order to investigate the factors inuencing internet shopping, a conceptual framework from the TPB is used (Figure 1).

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Figure 1. TPB

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According to this theory, human intention to perform a behaviour is inuenced by three factors: (1) attitude towards the behaviour; (2) subjective norm; and (3) perceived behavioural control. Attitude towards the behaviour can be measured from beliefs about behaviour P outcomes and the evaluations of these outcomes (Aa n bi ei , where A refers to i1 attitude towards the behaviour, b refers to beliefs about behaviour outcomes, and e refers to the evaluations of these outcomes). Subjective norm can be measured from beliefs about other peoples normative P expectations and motivation to comply with these expectations (SN a n ni mi , where i1 SN refers to the subjective norm, n refers to beliefs about other peoples normative expectations, and m refers to the motivation to comply with these expectations). Perceived behavioural control can be measured from beliefs of the available factors that can support or inhibit performance of a behaviour, and the perception of the power P of these factors (PBC a n ci pi , where PBC refers to perceived behavioural control, c i1 refers to beliefs of the available factors that can support or inhibit behaviour performance, and p refers to the perception of power of these factors). The causal sequence of these determinants of the intention of people to perform their behaviour begins with the attitude of people towards their behaviour, then the subjective norm, and then perceived behavioural control, before their intention eventually leads to the actual behaviour. Internet user prole of Thailand Currently, there is little information available on the prole of internet users in Thailand. The Thai National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (NECTEC) conducted a survey of internet user proles in Thailand (Thai NECTEC, 2002), and found that 23.6 percent of all shopping transactions were via the internet. By contrast, in 2001 the corresponding gure was 19.6 per cent. This represents an annual increase of 20 per cent in the proportion of such transactions. Books were found to be the most popular goods consumers purchased online, and software and computer accessories the next most popular. The survey also showed that the major problem perceived by online customers was internet speed (NECTEC, 2002). Research methodology This study is based on a questionnaire survey asking participants what factors inuenced their use of the internet for shopping. Subjects were drawn from 400 graduates at four major universities in Thailand. Some had experience in online shopping, while others did not. The four universities were selected on a convenience basis. An information sheet sent to the participants with the questionnaire explained that the objective of this paper was to study factors inuencing internet shopping and there was also a statement assuring condentiality. The questionnaire was adapted from Athiyamans (2002) measures and is shown in the Appendix. The questionnaire was adapted from

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Athiyamans (2002) study because Athiyaman applied the TPB to determine the causal sequence of online consumers intention to perform online purchasing. This study is designed to restrict the model of TPB to only the intention and exclude the behaviour variable shown in Figure 1. For the purposes of measurement and evaluation of the participants responses, a seven-point scale was used for all of the questions. . Attitude, expectations of behaviour outcome measured on purchase price, service reliability and user-friendliness of service likely/unlikely scale. . Evaluation of behaviour outcome important/unimportant. . Subjective norm beliefs about normative expectations of family, friends and bosses agree/disagree. . Motivation to comply with associates expectations agree/disagree. . Perceived behavioural control, a factor of online technology the direct measurements used by Athiyaman (2002) were employed, asking about the difculty of shopping online easy/difcult. . Intention to shop online the direct measurements were also employed, with questions about shopping intention of consumers likely/unlikely (see Appendix). As the questionnaire was based on Athiyamans (2002) study, the measures had already been tested for construct validity and could be used to predict the theory of planned behaviour. However, this paper also tested the internal consistency of the applied measures and assessed the construct validity of the measures. A two-step procedure was adopted, using the software program SPSS 7.5 for Windows: (1) test the validity and reliability of the measurement models using the corrected item-total correlations, Cronbachs a and correlations among constructs in the path model; and (2) assess the importance of variables in the path model with the application of the conventional regression. All multiple items of the measures were assessed for their internal consistency by computing the corrected item total correlation and coefcient a for each composite measure. Then the importance of variables in the causal system was assessed the major interest of this study. Results and discussion Of a total of 400 questionnaires sent out, 263 were completed (a 66 per cent response rate). Of the respondents, 129 (49 per cent) were female, 101 (38 per cent) were male and 33 (13 per cent) did not identify themselves one way or the other; 68 (26 per cent) already had some experience of internet shopping. Some participants did not specify the kinds of goods purchased online: among those participants who did, books were the goods most often purchased online, followed by CDs, computers and accessories.

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The measurement properties of the composite measures of attitude towards internet shopping, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control and intention to shop online are shown in Tables I-III. From Table I, psychometric analysis of the multi-item scales of Attitude towards Internet shopping (Sn biei) shows that all the components of the measure are strongly associated. Sekaran (2000) considered that the internal consistency reliability of the measure could be accepted if Cronbachs alpha were close to 1. Then the items in a set of this measure are positively correlated to one another; the reliability of this measure can be assessed. Table II, the psychometric analysis of the multi-item scales of subjective norm on internet shopping (Sn ni mi ), shows that all components are strongly associated.

Attitud 1 Table I. Properties of measures. Level, dispersion, and inter-correlations among components of multi-item scales. Scale: attitude toward internet shopping (Sn bi ei ) Attitud 1 Attitud 2 Attitud 3 1.00 0.64 0.42

Attitud 2 1.00 0.54

Attitud 3

Mean 29.03 32.91 28.50

SD 13.62 15.46 12.54

Corrected item total correlation 0.61 0.70 0.54

a if item deleted
0.69 0.59 0.77

1.00

Notes: Attitud 1: purchase price importance of purchase price; Attitud 2: reliability of service importance of reliability of service; Attitud 3: user friendliness of service importance of user friendliness of service; coefcient a of the three-item scale 0:77; properties of the linear composite: mean 90:44, SD 34:69

Table II. Properties of measures. Level, dispersion, and inter-correlations among components of multi-item scales. Scale: subjective norm on internet shopping (Sn ni mi )

Socialn1 Socialn1 Socialn2 Socialn3 1.00 0.57 0.49

Socialn2 1.00 0.66

Socialn3

Mean 18.58 17.44 16.93

SD 10.07 10.30 10.30

Corrected item total correlation 0.58 0.72 0.65

a if item deleted
0.79 0.66 0.73

1.00

Notes: Socialn1: family influence motivation to comply; Socialn2: friends influence motivation to comply; Socialn 3: employers influence motivation to comply; coefcient a of the three-item scale 0:80; properties of the linear composite: mean 52:96, SD 25:98

Attitud Table III. Correlations among constructs in the path model and the mean and standard deviation (SD) for each of the variables Attitud Socialn Behavco Intentn 1.00 20.21 * * 20.20 * * 20.10 *

Socialn 20.21 * * 1.00 0.23 * * 0.47 * *

Behavco 20.20 * * 0.23 * * 1.00 0.50 * *

Intentn 20.10 * 0.47 * * 0.50 * * 1.00

Mean 90.44 52.93 3.57 4.22

SD 34.69 25.99 1.56 1.59

Notes: Behavco: perceived behavioural control; Intentn: intention to shop online; *p , 0:05; * *p , 0.01

Considering the correlation among constructs in the path model, Table III shows that attitude towards internet shopping has a negative correlation with both subjective norm and perceived behavioural control. In contrast, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control have positive correlations. If no pair has high correlation, then the validity of the measures of constructs in the path model can be accepted. Multicollinearity is not a problem in this model as correlations are relatively low (Byrne, 2001). The relationship of all variables in the causal model was then assessed. The result of regression is presented in Tables IV-VI. The multiple coefcient (R) is 0.625, suggesting reasonably good correlation between all the inuencing factors taken together and the intention to shop online, but the adjusted R 2 gure of 0.384 suggests that they can explain only 38 per cent of the variance, leaving 62 per cent unexplained. The explanatory power of the model in the Thai situation is therefore relatively low, and considerably lower than the 77 per cent gure reported in Athiyamans (2002) study in Australia. As shown in Table V, regarding the analysis of variance, the statistical signicance is 0.000, and the analysis of relationships between all inuencing factors and intention to shop online can be accepted. Table VI suggests that a persons intention to perform internet shopping can be inuenced by attitude towards internet shopping, subjective norm on online

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Model 1

R 0.625a

R2 0.391

Adjusted R 2 0.384

Standard error of the estimate 1.2516 Table IV. Model summary

Note: aPrediction: (Constant), Behavco, Attitud, Socialn

Model Regression Residual Total

Sum of squares 260.036 405.728 665.764

df 3 259 262

Mean square 86.679 1.567

F 55.332

Signicance 0.000a Table V. ANOVA

Notes: Dependent variable: Intentn; aPredictors: (Constant), Behavco, Attitud, Socialn

Model 1 (Constant) Attitud Socialn Behavco

Unstandardized coefcients B SE 1.139 0.35 3.009E-03 0.02391 0.434 0.002 0.003 0.052

Standardized coefcients

b
0.065 0.39 0.424

t 3.251 1.303 7.705 8.378

Signicance 0.001 0.194 0 0.000

Note: Dependent variable: Intentn

Table VI. Coefcients

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purchasing, and perceived behavioural control on shopping online. For attitude towards internet shopping, the signicance p 0:194, suggesting the inuence of this factor on the intention to shop online is small; while for both perceived behavioural control and subjective norm, p , 0:000, showing that these factors can inuence signicantly the intention to shop online. In general, perceived behavioural control favourably inuenced the intention to shop online (0.42), followed by subjective norm, the second most inuential effect (0.39). It therefore appears that for many consumers considering shopping online, the difculty of internet shopping appears to be the greatest obstacle to their developing the intention to do so, and people around them also can inuence them. In contrast, attitude towards internet shopping is shown to be the least important factor inuencing online shopping intention (0.07). However, the result is not statistically signicant. The causal diagram showing the assessment of factors inuencing internet shopping is shown in Figure 2. As shown in Figure 2, the result provides empirical support for the theory of planned behaviour in terms of the subjective norm and perceived behavioural control, but the attitude variable has been found to be insignicant. This study, based on the theory of planned behaviour, sheds some light on factors inuencing internet shopping in Thailand, by assessing the relevance of subjective norm (which reects the inuence of family, friends and employers) and perceived behavioural control (which reects difculty of online shopping) to consumers intention to shop online.

Figure 2. Path diagram

Perceived behavioural control was found to be the factor most inuencing internet shopping. although the survey asked only one question about the degree of difculty of internet shopping, the results suggest that it can be relatively difcult in Thailand. However, despite reservations, the NECTEC survey showed a 20 per cent annual growth rate, from 19.6 per cent (2001) to 23.6 per cent (2002) compared with a corresponding gure of 26 per cent of respondents to this 2004 study who had some experience of internet shopping. In contrast with this study, Athiyaman (2002) found attitude to be the factor most inuencing the intention to shop. However, Athiyaman (2002) focused only on online purchasing of air tickets, while this study surveyed internet shopping in general. Limitations of the study The limitations of this study can be considered from both methodological and theoretical points of view. From the methodological point of view, given attitude towards internet shopping is insignicant as an inuence on intention to shop online, it is interesting to consider the possible reasons for this insignicance. Given the scale, it is found to be reliable. However, as the questionnaire was adapted from Athiyamans (2002) study, despite the fact that the validity and reliability of this questionnaire had already been accepted, the items from Athiyamans (2002) study may not be valid in the Thai situation. This could be due to cultural differences, and further study to develop a more suitable scale could therefore be worthwhile. One obvious limitation of this study is that it was conducted among graduates, with their generally greater access to online technology. Their opinions may not reect those of the Thai people as a whole, and further studies of the general population would be of value. The study covered the opinions of people both experienced and inexperienced in internet shopping, and it would be interesting to analyse the opinions of each group independently and then compare the results. The study posed only direct questions as to the level of difculty of internet shopping participants were not asked to say why or how they found shopping online easy or hard so the aspects of the difculty and the factors causing it cannot be considered. To explore the rationale broadly, more research is needed using indirect or open-ended questions about the factors that can make online shopping hard. Summary and conclusion Applying the theory of planned behaviour to the answers to this questionnaire by graduates at four Thai universities, the intention to shop online was most likely to be inuenced by perceived behavioural control, with another important factor being the subjective norm, the sum of the attitudes of their associates. As the intention to engage in internet shopping can be inuenced by these factors, so they can have an effect on the behaviour, the outcome of this intention. This study contributes new information to those developing online businesses in Thailand. Specically, it found that the principal concern of consumers was the difculty of conducting internet shopping, whereas earlier studies found that the factor with the most inuence on the decision to shop online was the attitude of the consumers. This implication can be used to build up strategies for the promotion of

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online purchasing, targeting the provision of technology, training of online skills and knowledge. Although new technology can be seen as a problem, merchants wishing to do business online will improve their websites and increase access speeds. Even though difculties with access to online technology are a problem for people wanting to shop online, and overcoming them presents a challenge, increasing consumer demand can help drive the government and business sectors to develop solutions. The ndings of this study can be useful to those involved in developing such solutions.
References Ajzen, I. (1991), The theory of planned behaviour, Organizational Behaviour and Human Decision Process, Vol. 50, pp. 179-211. Athiyaman, A. (2002), Internet users intention to purchase air travel online: an empirical investigation, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 20 No. 4, pp. 234-42. Byrne, B.M. (2001), Structural Equation Modeling With AMOS, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, London. Donthu, N. (1999), The Internet shopper, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 39 No. 3, pp. 52-8. Fenech, T. and OCass, A. (2001), Internet users adoption of web retailing: user and product dimensions, Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 10 No. 6, pp. 361-81. George, J.F. (2002), Inuences on the internet to make internet purchases, Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications and Policy, Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 165-80. Goldsmith, R.E. and Goldsmith, E.B. (2002), Buying apparel over the internet, Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 318-28. NECTEC (2002), Internet User Prole of Thailand 2002, Thanapress and Graphic, Bangkok. Papadopoulou, P., Andreou, A., Kanellis, P. and Martakos, D. (2001), Trust and relationship building in electronic commerce, Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications and Policy, Vol. 11 No. 4, pp. 322-32. Sekaran, U. (2000), Research Methods for Business, 3rd ed., Wiley, New York, NY. Udo, G.J. (2001), Privacy and security concerns as major barriers for E-commerce: a survey study, Information Management & Computer Security, Vol. 9 No. 4, pp. 165-74.

Appendix: Questionnaire

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Figure A1. Questionnaire

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Figure A1.

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Figure A1.

Corresponding author Orapin Laohapensang can be contacted at: orapin.laohapensang@roche.com

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