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Internet
Factors influencing internet shopping
shopping behaviour: a survey of behaviour
consumers in Thailand
501
Orapin Laohapensang
Roche Thailand Limited, Bangkok, Thailand Received May 2007
Revised January 2009
Accepted January 2009
Abstract
Purpose – An exploration of factors influencing internet shopping is conducted using the theory of
planned behaviour (TPB) as the theoretical base. The theory holds that a potential customer’s attitude
towards the behaviour and the customer’s subjective norm and perceived behavioural controls can
influence the intention and its eventual realisation. This paper aims to address the factors influencing
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 influence 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, Cronbach’s 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 coefficient
a for each composite measure.
Findings – The empirical analysis suggests that the difficulty of shopping online is seen as the factor
most influencing 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 customer’s attitude is the factor having most influence 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

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, efficiency, security and popularity,

The author would like to thank the graduates at Chulalongkorn University, Mahidol University, Journal of Fashion Marketing and
Management
Kasetsart University and Khon Kaen University, Professor Amaret Bhumiratana, Assistant Vol. 13 No. 4, 2009
Professor Danuja Kunpanitchakit, Assistant Professor Annop Tanlamai, Assistant Professor pp. 501-513
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Piti Kantangkul, Associate Professor Dr Sommai Priperm, Assistant Professor Charnchai 1361-2026
Panthongviriyakul, and Ralph Middenway. DOI 10.1108/13612020910991367
JFMM but marketing via virtual media needs continual improvement if it is to meet the
13,4 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
502 Thailand, or indeed anywhere. It would be equally difficult to argue that conclusions
reached about internet shopping in general are irrelevant in the fashion industry.
Traditionally, consumers have gone to stores to inspect first-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 influence internet purchasing, either positively or negatively.
A literature review shows that there have been many studies, both empirical and
theoretical, of factors identified by consumers as influencing 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 find 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 O’Cass, 2001).
Theoretical models are described, based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB),
which links the intention of consumers to their behaviour. A person’s intention to
perform a particular behaviour can develop from the person’s attitude toward that
behaviour, the subjective norm (beliefs about the attitudes of the person’s associates,
and perceived behavioural controls (Ajzen, 1991).
Currently, there are only a few studies applying TPB to identify the factors
influencing online shopping intention. George (2002) used it to prove that the beliefs
about privacy and trustworthiness can influence 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 individual’s intention
were studied, in particular the first.
Internet shopping is growing rapidly and more studies are needed to give a better
understanding of the factors influencing it. A literature review suggests that TPB can
be used to analyse the relationship between influencing factors and internet shopping
behaviour in different parts of the world.
This study aims to address the factors influencing 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 Internet
aims are: shopping
.
to add useful information about the factors influencing the development of an behaviour
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.
503
The plan for this study is as follows.
First, there is a theoretical discussion of TPB, followed by a description of the
internet user profile of Thailand. Then comes a description of the research
methodology and a discussion of the measurement model used in the paper. The final
section highlights the results of the empirical study, draws some conclusions, identifies
some of the limitations of the study and makes recommendations for further studies.

Theoretical discussion
Today’s 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 influencing internet shopping, a conceptual
framework from the TPB is used (Figure 1).

Figure 1.
TPB
JFMM According to this theory, human intention to perform a behaviour is influenced by
13,4 three factors:
(1) attitude towards the behaviour;
(2) subjective norm; and
(3) perceived behavioural control.
504 Attitude towards the behaviour can be measured from P beliefs about behaviour
outcomes and the evaluations of these outcomes (Aa ni¼1 bi ei , where A refers to
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 people’s P normative
expectations and motivation to comply with these expectations (SN a ni¼1 ni mi , where
SN refers to the subjective norm, n refers to beliefs about other people’s 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
P performance of a behaviour, and the perception of the power
of these factors (PBC a ni¼1 ci pi , where PBC refers to perceived behavioural control, c
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 profile of Thailand

Currently, there is little information available on the profile of internet users in
Thailand. The Thai National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (NECTEC)
conducted a survey of internet user profiles 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 figure 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
influenced 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 influencing internet shopping and there was also a statement
assuring confidentiality. The questionnaire was adapted from Athiyaman’s (2002)
measures and is shown in the Appendix. The questionnaire was adapted from
Athiyaman’s (2002) study because Athiyaman applied the TPB to determine the causal Internet
sequence of online consumers’ intention to perform online purchasing. This study is shopping
designed to restrict the model of TPB to only the intention and exclude the behaviour
variable shown in Figure 1. behaviour
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, 505
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
difficulty of shopping online – easy/difficult.
.
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 Athiyaman’s (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, Cronbach’s 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 coefficient 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.
JFMM The measurement properties of the composite measures of attitude towards internet
13,4 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
506 measure could be accepted if Cronbach’s 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.

Corrected
item total a if item
Attitud 1 Attitud 2 Attitud 3 Mean SD correlation deleted
Table I. Attitud 1 1.00 29.03 13.62 0.61 0.69
Properties of measures. Attitud 2 0.64 1.00 32.91 15.46 0.70 0.59
Level, dispersion, and Attitud 3 0.42 0.54 1.00 28.50 12.54 0.54 0.77
inter-correlations among
components of multi-item Notes: Attitud 1: purchase price £ importance of purchase price; Attitud 2: reliability of service £
scales. Scale: attitude importance of reliability of service; Attitud 3: user friendliness of service £ importance of user
toward internet shopping friendliness of service; coefficient a of the three-item scale ¼ 0:77; properties of the linear composite:
(Sn bi ei ) mean ¼ 90:44, SD ¼ 34:69

Corrected
item total a if item
Socialn1 Socialn2 Socialn3 Mean SD correlation deleted
Table II.
Properties of measures. Socialn1 1.00 18.58 10.07 0.58 0.79
Level, dispersion, and Socialn2 0.57 1.00 17.44 10.30 0.72 0.66
inter-correlations among Socialn3 0.49 0.66 1.00 16.93 10.30 0.65 0.73
components of multi-item
scales. Scale: subjective Notes: Socialn1: family influence £ motivation to comply; Socialn2: friends’ influence £ motivation to
norm on internet comply; Socialn 3: employer’s influence £ motivation to comply; coefficient a of the three-item
shopping (Sn ni mi ) scale ¼ 0:80; properties of the linear composite: mean ¼ 52:96, SD ¼ 25:98

Attitud Socialn Behavco Intentn Mean SD

Attitud 1.00 20.21 * * 20.20 * * 20.10 * 90.44 34.69

Table III. Socialn 20.21 * * 1.00 0.23 * * 0.47 * * 52.93 25.99
Correlations among Behavco 20.20 * * 0.23 * * 1.00 0.50 * * 3.57 1.56
constructs in the path Intentn 20.10 * 0.47 * * 0.50 * * 1.00 4.22 1.59
model and the mean and
standard deviation (SD) Notes: Behavco: perceived behavioural control; Intentn: intention to shop online; *p , 0:05;
for each of the variables * *p , 0.01
Considering the correlation among constructs in the path model, Table III shows that Internet
attitude towards internet shopping has a negative correlation with both subjective shopping
norm and perceived behavioural control. In contrast, subjective norm and perceived
behavioural control have positive correlations. behaviour
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). 507
The relationship of all variables in the causal model was then assessed. The result
of regression is presented in Tables IV-VI.
The multiple coefficient (R) is 0.625, suggesting reasonably good correlation
between all the influencing factors taken together and the intention to shop online, but
the adjusted R 2 figure 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
figure reported in Athiyaman’s (2002) study in Australia.
As shown in Table V, regarding the analysis of variance, the statistical significance
is 0.000, and the analysis of relationships between all influencing factors and intention
to shop online can be accepted.
Table VI suggests that a person’s intention to perform internet shopping can be
influenced by attitude towards internet shopping, subjective norm on online

Model R R2 Adjusted R 2 Standard error of the estimate

1 0.625a 0.391 0.384 1.2516

Table IV.
Note: aPrediction: (Constant), Behavco, Attitud, Socialn Model summary

Model Sum of squares df Mean square F Significance

Regression 260.036 3 86.679 55.332 0.000a

Residual 405.728 259 1.567
Total 665.764 262
Table V.
Notes: Dependent variable: Intentn; aPredictors: (Constant), Behavco, Attitud, Socialn ANOVA

Unstandardized Standardized
coefficients coefficients
Model B SE b t Significance
1 (Constant) 1.139 0.35 3.251 0.001

Attitud 3.009E-03 0.002 0.065 1.303 0.194

Socialn 0.02391 0.003 0.39 7.705 0
Behavco 0.434 0.052 0.424 8.378 0.000
Table VI.
Note: Dependent variable: Intentn Coefficients
JFMM purchasing, and perceived behavioural control on shopping online. For attitude
13,4 towards internet shopping, the significance p ¼ 0:194, suggesting the influence 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 influence
significantly the intention to shop online. In general, perceived behavioural control
favourably influenced the intention to shop online (0.42), followed by subjective norm,
508 the second most influential effect (0.39). It therefore appears that for many consumers
considering shopping online, the difficulty of internet shopping appears to be the
greatest obstacle to their developing the intention to do so, and people around them
also can influence them.
In contrast, attitude towards internet shopping is shown to be the least important
factor influencing online shopping intention (0.07). However, the result is not
statistically significant.
The causal diagram showing the assessment of factors influencing 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 insignificant.
This study, based on the theory of planned behaviour, sheds some light on factors
influencing internet shopping in Thailand, by assessing the relevance of subjective
norm (which reflects the influence of family, friends and employers) and perceived
behavioural control (which reflects difficulty of online shopping) to consumers’
intention to shop online.

Figure 2.
Path diagram
Perceived behavioural control was found to be the factor most influencing internet Internet
shopping. although the survey asked only one question about the degree of difficulty of shopping
internet shopping, the results suggest that it can be relatively difficult in Thailand.
However, despite reservations, the NECTEC survey showed a 20 per cent annual behaviour
growth rate, from 19.6 per cent (2001) to 23.6 per cent (2002) – compared with a
corresponding figure of 26 per cent of respondents to this 2004 study who had some
experience of internet shopping. 509
In contrast with this study, Athiyaman (2002) found attitude to be the factor most
influencing 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
insignificant as an influence on intention to shop online, it is interesting to consider the
possible reasons for this insignificance. Given the scale, it is found to be reliable.
However, as the questionnaire was adapted from Athiyaman’s (2002) study, despite the
fact that the validity and reliability of this questionnaire had already been accepted, the
items from Athiyaman’s (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 reflect
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 difficulty of internet
shopping – participants were not asked to say why or how they found shopping online
easy or hard – so the aspects of the difficulty 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
influenced 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 influenced 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. Specifically, it found that the principal concern of consumers was the
difficulty of conducting internet shopping, whereas earlier studies found that the factor
with the most influence 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
JFMM 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
13,4 do business online will improve their websites and increase access speeds.
Even though difficulties 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
510 solutions. The findings of this study can be useful to those involved in developing such
solutions.

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NECTEC (2002), Internet User Profile of Thailand 2002, Thanapress and Graphic, Bangkok.
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Appendix: Questionnaire Internet
shopping
behaviour

511

Figure A1.
Questionnaire
JFMM
13,4

512

Figure A1.
 Internet
shopping
behaviour

513

Figure A1.

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

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