E-shopping lovers and fearful conservatives: a market segmentation analysis

Purpose - To classify internet users into holiday shopper and non-shopper segments, and to profile the demographic, psychographic, and computer use characteristics of each segment. Design/methodology/approach - Self-report data come from a national US sample of online internet users. Segments are customer revealed using traditional cluster analysis. Lifestyle measures are reduced to higher order measures using factor analysis. Profiles are analyzed via descriptive statistics, graphs, and radar charts. Findings - Six important segments are identified in the data. Three of the segments characterize customers who resist online shopping, even though they engage in other online activities. Security fears and technological incompetence typically inhibit these users from engaging in electronic exchange. Some internet users simply choose not to shop online. Three of the segments describe active e-shoppers who are driven by a unique desire to socialize, minimize inconvenience, and maximize value. Research limitations/implications - Data come from self-report questionnaires administered and collected electronically through the internet. Focus is placed on holiday gift buying. Since, holiday shopping is very important to e-retailers, results are managerially interesting, but might not be indicative of other shopping periods. Practical implications - To be successful, e-retailers must understand those things that motivate and inhibit customer online shopping. Marketing activities targeted at reticent e-shoppers should focus on benefits, guarantee safeguards and facilitate technical literacy. Service, value, and online ambiance should be carefully tailored to meet the desires and expectations of each customer type. Originality/value - The study is a replication and extension of earlier online studies which are summarized in the reviewed literature.