Journal of Internet Commerce

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Journal of Internet Commerce

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Students' Online Shopping Behavior: A Dual-Country

Perspective
a b
Chuck Comegys PhD & M. Louis Brennan PhD
a
Girard School of Business & International Commerce, Merrimack College , 315 Turnpike
Street, North Andover, MA, 01845-5806, USA E-mail:
b
School of Business Studies, University of Dublin, Trinity College , Dublin 2, Ireland E-mail:
Published online: 05 Nov 2008.
To cite this article: Chuck Comegys PhD & M. Louis Brennan PhD (2003) Students' Online Shopping Behavior: A Dual-Country
Perspective, Journal of Internet Commerce, 2:2, 69-87, DOI: 10.1300/J179v02n02_05
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Students’ Online Shopping Behavior:
A Dual-Country Perspective
Chuck Comegys
M. Louis Brennan
Downloaded by [UNSW Library] at 22:09 12 August 2015
ABSTRACT. This study investigates the online purchase behavior of a

key segment of the population, the “Net Generation” undergraduate col-
lege-aged student, from two of the countries with the greatest potential
for e-marketing opportunity, the United States and Ireland. In addition to
identifying college students’ Internet activities, this research provides
useful comparative information concerning how frequently students
from each country interactively shop online, how much they spend, what
they buy, as well as answer the question whether students from the two
countries under study approach the Buyer Decision Process differently
in their use of the Internet. The results provide useful guidance to elec-
tronic marketers. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Docu-
ment Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: <docdelivery@haworthpress.
com> Website: <http://www.HaworthPress.com> © 2003 by The Haworth Press, Inc.
All rights reserved.]
KEYWORDS. E-marketing, e-shopping, online consumer behavior,

Internet buying, buyer decision process, electronic commerce
Chuck Comegys, PhD, is Associate Professor of Marketing, Girard School of Busi-

ness & International Commerce, Merrimack College, 315 Turnpike Street, North
Andover, MA 01845-5806 USA (E-mail: ccomegys@merrimack.edu).
M. Louis Brennan, PhD, is Senior Lecturer in Business Studies, School of Business
Studies, University of Dublin, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland (E-mail: brennaml@
tcd.ie).
Journal of Internet Commerce, Vol. 2(2) 2003
http://www.haworthpress.com/store/product.asp?sku=J179
 2003 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
10.1300/J179v02n02_05 69
70 JOURNAL OF INTERNET COMMERCE
INTRODUCTION
The projected growth of online consumers and expenditures leads

marketers to believe that the possibilities for consumer value creation
are greater in the electronic commerce market space than in the tradi-
tional marketplace. Worldwide Internet generated revenue is expected
to grow from 717 billion US dollars to 1,234 billion US dollars from
2001 to 2002 (NUA 2002a). In 2001, European consumers spent an es-
timated 19 billion US dollars online (IDC 2002). In the US, online busi-
ness-to-consumer revenue is expected to grow from 52 billion US
dollars to 76 billion US dollars from 2001 to 2002 (NUA 2002b). Ac-
cording to the Global E-Commerce Report, the percentage of world-

wide online shoppers increased by 50 percent from 2000 to 2001.
Additionally, about 15 percent of all Internet users shopped online in
the past month (Taylor Nelson Sofres Interactive 2001).
Worldwide Internet access is impressive with citizens in 56 of the
200 countries having an online capability (“Worldwide PC Sales Will
Surpass 200M Units in 2005” 2000). The Computer Industry Almanac
(CIA) predicts 490 million worldwide Internet users (7.9%) by 2002
and 11.8 percent penetration by 2005 (Computer Industry Almanac Inc.
1999, “The World’s Online Population” 2000). The CIA projects 720
million adult Internet users by 2005 (11.1%) (Computer Industry Alma-
nac Inc. 1999).
Approximately 85 percent (219.2 million) of all global Internet users
(259 million) reside in only 15 countries (“The World’s Online Popula-
tion” 2000). As of February 2002, there were estimated to be 544.2 mil-
lion Internet users in the world. North America has 181.23 million
users, Europe 171.35 million, and Asia/Pacific 157.49 million (NUA
2002c).
Although North America has the greatest number of Internet usage,
European users are growing rapidly and by 2003 will surpass North
America (Green and Growder 1998). The top 19 countries ranked by
Bishop’s Global Digital Marketing Index are illustrated in Table 1
(Bishop 1999, Strauss and Frost 1999). This index used the 10 criteria
shown in Table 2 to determine the countries with the greatest potential
for e-marketing opportunity (Bishop 1999). The United States and Ire-
land are among the countries this index ranked as having the highest po-
tential for e-commerce opportunities.
Electronic commerce was expected to represent only about 8 percent
of total U.S. consumer and industrial goods and services expenditures
in 2001, and less than 1 percent of global expenditures. However, it is
Chuck Comegys and M. Louis Brennan 71
TABLE 1. Top 19 Countries Ranked by Bishop’s Global Digital Marketing In-

dex
1. Netherlands 11. Belgium

2. Luxembourg 12. Sweden
3. Norway 13. Iceland
4. Canada 14. Ireland
5. Finland 15. United Kingdom
6. United States 16. Singapore
7. Denmark 17. Austria
8. Switzerland 18. United Arab Emirates
9. Australia 19. France

10. New Zealand
Adapted From: Bill Bishop, Global Marketing for the Digital Age (Chicago: NTC Business Books, 1999), and Judy
Strauss and Raymond Frost, “Internet User Characteristics and Behavior,” E.Marketing (New Jersey: Prentice Hall,
1999): p. 52.
TABLE 2. Bishop’s 10 Criteria Global Digital Marketing Index
1. Economic Growth 6. Existence of Freedom of Expression

2. Power 7. Bureaucratic Efficiency
3. Stability 8. Telecommunications Infrastructure
4. Trading Level 9. Digital Capabilities
(GDP and Balance of Trade) (PC Ownership Per Capita)
5. Political Environment 10. Online Resources
(Host Computers on the Net)
Adapted From: Bill Bishop, Global Marketing for the Digital Age (Chicago: NTC Business Books, 1999), and Judy
Strauss and Raymond Frost, “Internet User Characteristics and Behavior,” E.Marketing (New Jersey: Prentice Hall,
1999) p. 52.
expected that the number of U.S. households buying online will quadru-
ple from 1998 to 2002, and more than 50 percent of all U.S. households
will buy something online by 2002 (Berkowitz, Kerin, Hartley and
Rudelius 2000, p. 205). The estimated number of e-shoppers will con-
tinue to accelerate from about 45 million in 2001 to over 61 million by
2002, and it is projected that the spending of these cybershoppers will
grow from $31 billion in 2001 to at least $42 billion in 2002 (Krantz
1998, Foley and Sutton 1998, “When the Bubble Bursts” 1999). Some
estimates report that consumer shopping on the Web will exceed $800
billion by 2003 (Schneider and Perry 2000).
In the United States, the percentage of Internet users was 57 percent

of the total population in 2001. According to a survey published by the
National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the
Economics and Statistical Administration, the growth of Internet users
in the US is currently 2 million new users per month (Hays 2002). A
2001 Internet report by the University of California at Los Angeles enti-
tled “Surveying the Digital Future” found that Americans with Internet
access spend an average of 9.8 hours per week online (Hays 2002). The
US is the leading country in consumer e-commerce. The percentage of
the total population that were online shoppers was 19 percent. The most
common products purchased online were books (24% of online shop-
pers), clothes (24%), and music/CDs (19%) (Taylor Nelson Sofres In-
teractive 2001).
The percentage of Internet users in Ireland was 39 percent of the total
population in 2001. Seven percent of the total population were Internet
shoppers. The most common products purchased were books (20% of
online shoppers), holidays/leisure travel (18%), and tickets to thea-
tre/cinema (10%) ( Taylor Nelson Sofres Interactive 2001).
The “The Net Generation,” which represents about 14.5 percent of
the total population, is one of the fastest growing online segments.
Globally, over 77 million are expected by 2005 (NUA 1999). Because
online consumers tend to be better educated, younger, and more afflu-
ent than the general population, this segment is extremely attractive to
marketers (Berkowitz et al. 2000, p. 209).
The implications of these powerful trends are highly significant. In-
dustry executives must learn everything possible about online consum-
ers. In today’s rapidly expanding global online market space, knowledge
of e-shoppers’ buyer behavior, as well as the buyers’ electronic decision
making process, can provide valuable insights for marketing managers
wishing to capitalize on vast worldwide opportunities.
This study investigates the online purchase behavior of a key seg-
ment of the population, the “Net Generation” undergraduate college-
aged student, from two of the countries with the greatest potential for
e-marketing opportunity, the United States and Ireland. In addition to
identifying college students’ Internet activities, this research provides
useful comparative information concerning how frequently students
from each country interactively shop online, how much they spend,
what they buy, as well as answer the question whether students from the
two countries under study approach the Buyer Decision Process differ-
ently in their use of the Internet.
METHODOLOGY
The sampling plan required that a multi-page questionnaire be

self-administered by a randomly selected sample of undergraduate stu-
dents from two institutions. The first sample consisted of 152 students
attending a college located in the United States, north of Boston, Massa-
chusetts. The second sample of 122 was drawn from students attending
a university located in Dublin, Ireland. The questionnaires were identi-
cal except that the Irish students responded to appropriate expenditure
questions in terms of their own local currency (Irish punts) whereas the
New England student responses were in U.S. dollars. The Irish currency
responses were subsequently converted to U.S. dollars for comparison

purposes using an exchange rate of 0.898715 Irish Punt = $1.00 U.S.
RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
Students’ Use of the Internet
Not surprising because of ready access to computers and online net-

works, it was found that almost all students from both countries use the
Internet; 100 percent from Ireland and 97 percent from the U.S. Fewer
students from Ireland actually own their own computers (74.6%) versus
U.S. students (88.1%) and fewer Irish students personally subscribe to
an online service (60.3%) compared with U.S. students (70.2%). Stu-
dents from the U.S. sample were also found to spend slightly more time
per week online (11.9 hours) than those students from Ireland (7.3
hours).
It was found that all students use the Internet primarily for e-mail, re-
search, news, and job searches. Some differences were reported by stu-
dents from each country as illustrated in Table 3. U.S. students use the
Internet to play games, view weather reports, obtain maps/directions,
do their banking, shopping, and download music more than their Irish
counterparts. Irish students appear to be heavier users of the Internet for
e-mail and obtaining news. These data also show that Irish students use
the Internet considerably less for playing games, viewing weather re-
ports and obtaining maps and directions. These results are understand-
able because the Irish discuss the rainy weather a lot, but do not pay
much attention to weather reports. Additionally, online computer
games and mapping software are far more sophisticated in the United
States than in Ireland.
TABLE 3. Primary Activities the Internet Is Used for by Irish and U.S. Students
Student Question: What activities do you use the Internet for?
TOTAL U.S. IRISH

% % %
Research 95.6 96.0 95.1
Job Search 46.4 48.3 43.4
Games 29.2 45.0 9.8
Weather Reports 36.5 55.0 13.1
E-Mail 96.7 94.0 100
Maps/Directions 52.2 74.8 23.8

Shopping 44.5 50.3 36.9
News 46.7 42.4 51.6
Chat Rooms 13.5 14.6 11.5
Banking/Stocks/Investments 24.1 27.8 20.5
Download Music 54.7 69.5 36.1
Download Software such as Virus Scans 20.4 20.5 20.5
Other 11.3 9.9 13.1
PURCHASE BEHAVIOR
AND THE BUYER DECISION PROCESS
The buyer decision process consists of five stages as Table 4 depicts.
Need Recognition
The buying process begins with Need Recognition. When the buyer
senses a difference between his or her actual state and a desired state,
the buyer has perceived a need. Need Recognition can be triggered by
internal or external stimuli (Kotler and Armstrong 2001, p. 194).
Clearly a person online may be exposed to products and service infor-
mation that may arouse their recognition of a perceived need. Students
in this study reported that they “Frequently” (18.6% of the students) and
“Sometimes” (69.1%) discovered products and/or services that they
were interested in while online. The Internet has played a larger role in
providing Need Recognition for U.S. students than Irish students to
date. Table 5 displays the difference between the U.S. and Irish student
responses for Need Recognition.
TABLE 4. Five Stages In the Buyer Decision Process
1. Need Recognition
2. Information Search
3. Evaluation
4. Purchase Decision
5. Postpurchase Behavior
TABLE 5. Percentage of Students Who Discovered Need Recognition Online

Student Question: While online, I have discovered products and/or services that I am interested in?
TOTAL U.S. IRISH

% % %
Frequently 18.6 21.5 14.3

Sometimes 69.1 74.5 63.0
Never 12.3 4.0 22.7
Information Search
If the consumer’s need is strong enough, he or she may search for in-
formation bearing on the need. The amount of search activity and infor-
mation the consumer gathers normally is related to the strength of the
Need Recognition and the complexity of the problem solving involved
(Kotler and Armstrong 2001, pp. 194-195). According to Berkowitz,
Kerin, Hartley and Rudelius, about 55 percent of Internet/web users
have sought product or service information online before making a pur-
chase (Berkowitz et al., p. 209). Over 89 percent of the students in this
study either “Frequently” or “Sometimes” searched web sites for infor-
mation about products and/or services they were interested in, as Table
6 illustrates. U.S. students were found to conduct online Information
Searches more than Irish students.
Evaluation
As a result of the information search, consumers increase their aware-
ness and knowledge of the specific brands, prices, features and availability
of the products and/or services that they feel may solve their recognized
need. Consumers use this valuable information to evaluate alternatives
and arrive at a set of final choices from which to decide. It was found that
TABLE 6. Percentage of Students Who Have Conducted Online Information

Searches
Student Question: I have searched web sites for information about products and/or services I am inter-
ested in.
TOTAL US IRISH
% % %

Sometimes 55.4 58.0 52.5
Never 10.7 6.0 16.7
almost 21 percent of the students in this study use web sites “Frequently”
to accomplish this important product and/or service option evaluation
while over one-half of the respondents use web sites “Some of the time”
for this purpose. Table 7 shows that U.S. students were found to evaluate
services and/or products, brands, prices, features and their availability by
using web sites more predominately than Irish students. Additionally, fe-
male students (26.2%) were much more likely to use web sites “Fre-
quently” to make these evaluations than males (15.8%).
Purchase Decision
At the conclusion of the Evaluation stage, the consumer usually has
ranked the options and formed a purchase intent. Over 57 percent of the
students in this study reported that they had actually made their final
product and/or service purchase decisions while online. Irish students
were found to be less likely to make their purchase decisions while on-
line. These data may be viewed in Table 8.
According to Berkowitz, Kerin, Hartley and Rudelius, by mid-1999,
only 25 percent of Internet/web users had ever actually purchased a
product or service online (Berkowitz et al., p. 209). It was found in this
study that over 21 percent of the U.S. and Irish students had made two
online purchases within the last month; over 39 percent had bought four
items online within the last six months; and over 43 percent of the stu-
dents had successfully shopped for more than six items online within
the last year.
In U.S. dollars, each student who had purchased items online re-
ported spending $130.57 buying online within the last month. An aver-
age of $193.48 per student spending online was reported for the last
six-month period, and $378.10 was spent by each student for online
TABLE 7. Percentage of Students Who Used Web Sites to Evaluate Services

and/or Products, Brands, Prices, Features and Availability
Student Question: I use web sites to evaluate different services and/or products, brands, prices, fea-
tures, and their availability.
TOTAL U.S. IRISH

% % %

Sometimes 53.0 58.7 45.4
Never 26.3 17.3 37.8
TABLE 8. Percentage of Students Who Made Final Product and/or Service Pur-
chase Decisions While Online
Student Question: I make my final product and/or service purchase decisions while online.
TOTAL U.S. IRISH

% % %

Sometimes 47.9 55.2 37.8
Never 42.6 36.4 52.0
purchases over the last year. Table 9 shows the differences in the num-
ber of items and the amount spent by U.S. and Irish students for the last
month, six months and one-year period. U.S. students appear to have
purchased more items during the last year but Irish students spent
slightly more, in U.S. dollars, on their fewer purchases.
Students were found to primarily have bought airline tickets, clothes,
event tickets, music, books, flowers, computer software, hotel accom-
modations, movies, and sporting goods online. Table 10 shows the per-
centage breakdown by student country for these most frequently
purchased products and services in the last year. Due to the emergence
of Irish low fares airline RyanAir and its famed website RyanAir.com,
in combination with students’ sensitivity to price, and the well estab-
lished tradition of Irish students traveling abroad to work during vaca-
tion time, the dominance of airline ticket purchases by Irish respondents
TABLE 9. Number of Items Bought and Amount Spent for Online Purchases by
Students
Student Question: If you have purchased online, approximately how many items have you
bought and about how much money did you spend on all your purchases?
TOTAL U.S. IRISH
In the last month Avg. Items = 2.14 2.15 2.12

% Responses 21.2% 27.2% 13.9%
Avg. $ Spent $130.57 $100.45 $209.63
% Responses 21.5% 27.8% 13.9%
In the last six (6) months
Avg. Items = 4.08 4.56 3.06

% Responses 39.1% 48.3% 27.0%
Avg. $ Spent $193.48 $205.37 $169.69
% Responses 37.6% 45.0% 27.9%
In the last year (12 months)
Avg. Items = 6.74 8.01 4.56
% Responses 43.4% 49.7% 35.0%
Avg. $ Spent $378.10 $375.68 $382.19
% Responses 43.4% 48.3% 36.9%
TABLE 10. Products/Services Most Frequently Purchased Online by Students

Within Last Year
Student Question: What products/services have you purchased online within the last year?
TOTAL U.S. IRISH
% % %
Airline Tickets 30.3 25.2 36.1

Clothes 21.5 33.1 6.6
Event Tickets 17.9 22.5 12.3
Music 16.4 17.2 14.8
Books 16.1 15.9 15.5
Flowers 11.3 13.2 8.2
Computer Software 10.9 11.3 2.5
Hotel 9.5 9.3 9.0
Sporting Goods 5.5 7.3 2.5
is understandable. The U.S. students were most likely to buy clothes,

airline tickets, and event tickets online.
Of interest is the fact that almost one-half of the students indicated
that they used the Internet to search for product/service and store loca-
tion information but they usually did not buy online, preferring to go to
a store to make their final purchase, as Table 11 illustrates below. Some
of the reasons which may explain this behavior are that 22.6 percent of
the students indicated that they did not have a credit card with which to
make an online purchase, 42.3 percent reported that they enjoyed shop-
ping in stores, and 30 percent were afraid to send personal information
online (see Table 12). With respect to the security of information sent
over the Internet, in a related question reported in Table 13, over 81 per-
cent of the students expressed some concern about the security of the in-
formation they would have to provide online to make a purchase. Tables
11-13 which follow report the percentage of students from each country
who expressed these views.
With respect to purchasing online, of those students who have not
bought online recently, over 97 percent indicated some likelihood that they
will make an online purchase in the future. Only 5.8 percent of the U.S stu-
dents do not envision themselves making an online purchase in the future,
and 100 percent of the Irish students reported that they “Definitely” or
“Maybe” would be purchasing online in the future, as Table 14 shows.
TABLE 11. Percentage of Students Who Search Online But Buy in Stores
Student Question: I use the Internet to search for product/service and store location information but I usu-
ally do not buy online. I will most likely go to a store to make my final purchase.
TOTAL U.S. IRISH

% % %

Sometimes 46.0 52.3 37.4
Never 6.4 5.4 7.8
TABLE 12. Percentage of Students Indicating Most Important Disadvantages

of Shopping Online
Student Question: Which of the following do you believe are the most important disadvantages of shop-
ping online.
TOTAL U.S. IRISH
% % %
Being targeted for repeat/future purchases 43.4 40.4 46.7

Slow delivery 29.6 24.5 36.1
Poor site navigation or performance 15.3 15.9 11.5
Out-of-stock merchandise 21.9 30.5 11.5
Providing credit card information online 57.3 63.6 49.2
Difficulty returning merchandise 52.6 49.0 57.4
TABLE 13. Percentage of Students Expressing Confidence in Providing Infor-

mation Necessary to Make Online Purchases
Student Question: How confident are you that the information you provide to make online purchases is
secure?
TOTAL US IRISH
% % %
Very Confident 18.3 17.8 19.7

A Little Worried 78.1 78.5 77.0
Extremely Worried 3.6 3.7 3.3
Postpurchase Behavior
Once the consumer has a made a purchase, his or her satisfaction is
determined by the relationship between the consumer’s expectations
and the perceived performance of the product and/or service received
from the shopping experience. If there is conflict or discomfort after the
purchase has been consummated, the consumer is not likely to repeat
the shopping experience (LaBarbara and Mazursky 1983).
Over 91 percent of the students surveyed confirmed that if they were
satisfied with a purchase from a particular web site, they would most
likely visit and purchase from that site again. There was very little dif-
ference found by students from each country who responded to this
query as Table 15 shows below.
Students reported many advantages to shopping online which included
the fact that it is more convenient (62.4% of students), easier, saves time
(55.1%), has better prices (36.1%), online product reviews (22.3%), and
featured sales item pages (11.7%), as shown in Table 16. It was reported
earlier that Irish students buy fewer items online, but spend more buying
these items. It should be noted that many designer items are more expen-
sive in Ireland and therefore a greater incentive to buy on the Internet is
presented. This assumption is supported by the considerably higher pro-
portion of Irish students that cited better prices as an advantage of online
shopping (44.3%) versus the U.S. students (39.8%).
About 38 percent of all students reported a high satisfaction level
with their overall online purchase experiences while almost 62 percent
indicated a moderate level of satisfaction. U.S. students tended to be
slightly more positive concerning their level of satisfaction with online
purchases within the last year as illustrated in Table 17.
TABLE 14. Percentage of Students Who Are Likely to Make an Online Pur-
chase in the Future
Student Question: If you have not bought online recently, what is the likelihood that you will make an on-
line purchase in the future?
TOTAL U.S. IRISH
% % %
Definitely 35.0 36.7 32.0

Maybe 61.7 57.6 68.0
Never 3.3 5.8 0.0
TABLE 15. Students’ Satisfaction with Particular Web Site Purchases and
Their Repurchase Intent
Student Question: If I am satisfied with a purchase from a particular web site, I will most likely visit and pur-
chase from the site again.
TOTAL U.S. IRISH
% % %

Sometimes 43.0 43.0 43.8
Never 8.7 7.5 10.9
TABLE 16. Students’ Most Important Advantages of Shopping Online
Student Question: Which of the following do you believe are the most important advantages of shopping
online.
TOTAL U.S. IRISH
% % %
Better prices 36.1 29.8 44.3

Easier, saves time– 55.1 59.6 49.2
I don't have to drive to stores
More convenient– 62.4 67.5 55.7
I can shop at any time
Product search tools 28.5 23.8 33.6
Online product reviews 22.3 17.9 27.9
Bestsellers List 6.9 8.6 4.9
Gift Registry 5.8 7.3 4.1
Featured Sale Item Page 11.7 18.5 3.3
Online coupons 6.9 11.9 0.8
Club reward programs 1.8 2.0 1.6
Wish lists 3.6 6.0 0.8
Live online customer support 6.9 6.6 7.4
TABLE 17. Students’ Overall Satisfaction with Aspects of Online Purchases
Student Question: Overall how satisfied were you with each of the following aspects of your online pur-
chases within the last year?
Very Somewhat Not
Satisfied Satisfied Satisfied
% % %
Web Site Navigation 43.4 54.7 1.9

Search Efficiency 27.0 67.9 5.0
Ease of Placing Orders 43.3 51.6 5.1
Product Selection 50.6 46.2 3.2
Product Information 43.3 47.8 8.9

Product Availability 35.7 58.6 5.7
Product Prices 43.4 54.1 2.5
Product Quality 49.4 50.0 0.6
Purchase Tracking Ability 34.9 52.6 12.5
Shipping and Delivery 35.3 52.3 12.4
Return Policies 22.7 61.0 16.0
Overall Purchase Experiences

Total 37.7 61.7 0.6
U.S. 40.2 59.8 0.0
Irish 31.4 66.7 2.0
The aspects of online purchasing that students were the most dissatis-
fied with during the last year included return policies, purchase tracking
ability, and shipping and delivery, product information, ease of placing
orders and search efficiency as illustrated in Tables 12 and 17.
Students saw some additional disadvantages of shopping online which in-
cluded being targeted for repeat/future purchases online, poor site navigation
or performance, out-of-stock merchandise, as well as the fact that some stu-
dents indicated that they enjoyed traditional shopping where they have per-
sonalized in-store sales and service and can see, feel and try on merchandise
before the purchase. These data are found in Tables 12 and 18.
CONCLUSIONS
Almost all college students were found to use the Internet. They are
an integral part of “Net Generation.” Over three-quarters of them own
their own computers. A vast majority subscribe to an online service pro-
vider. All have access to both computers and networks at their respec-
TABLE 18. Students’ Most Important Benefits of Shopping in Stores
Student Question: Which of the following do you believe are the most important benefits of shopping in
stores.
TOTAL U.S. IRISH
% % %
Shopping enjoyment 52.2 53.0 51.6

Can actually see, feel, and try on, etc. 94.2 95.4 92.6
merchandise before buying
Personalized in-store sales and service 33.9 41.1 24.6
Easier to return unwanted merchandise 68.6 71.5 65.5
tive institutions of higher learning. Evidence was gathered to support

the fact that college students spend, on average, between 7 to 12 hours
per week online. While online, they use their computer capabilities for a
myriad of activities including doing research, conducting job searches,
playing games, getting weather reports, communicating e-mail, access-
ing banking services, downloading music and computer software, ob-
taining maps and directions, chatting, and shopping.
As electronic shopping college students progress through the five
stages in the Buyer Decision Process, it was found that their online ac-
cess played a significant role.
• Need Recognition–Over 88 percent of the students surveyed discov-

ered products and/or services that they were interested in online.
The Internet played a larger role in providing Need Recognition for
U.S. students than Irish students.
• Information Search–Over 89 percent of the students surveyed
searched web sites for information about products and/or services
they were interested in. U.S. students were found to conduct online
Information Searches more than Irish students.
• Evaluation–About 74 percent of the students surveyed had used
web sites to evaluate different services and/or products, brands,
prices, features, and availability. U.S. students were found to use
web sites to make these evaluations more predominately than Irish
students. Additionally, female students were much more likely to
regularly use web sites to make these evaluations than males.
• Purchase Decision–Over 57 percent of the students surveyed had
made final product and/or service purchase decisions while online.
Irish students were found to be less likely to make their purchase
decisions while online.
• Postpurchase Behavior–Over 91 percent of the students surveyed

confirmed that if they were satisfied with a purchase from a partic-
ular web site, they would most likely visit and purchase from the
site again. There was little difference found by students from each
country to this postpurchase behavioral attitude.
In spite of the fact that almost 23 percent of the students reported that they
did not have a credit card with which to make an online purchase, students
were found to be regular online shoppers. Students primarily purchased air-
line tickets, clothes, event tickets, music, books, flowers, computer software,
hotel accommodations, movies, and sporting goods online. It was found
that almost one-half of the U.S. students had purchased online within the
last year and about 40 percent of the Irish students, spending on average
over $375.00 each. U.S. students appeared to have purchased more items
during the last year, but Irish students spent slightly more (in U.S. dollars)
buying the fewer items they acquired online.
A vast majority of the students, 82 percent, expressed some concern
about the security of information sent over the Internet to make pur-
chases. Other disadvantages cited for online purchasing were the diffi-
culty in returning merchandise, unsatisfactory purchase tracking, being
targeted for repeat/future purchases online, slow delivery, out-of-stock
merchandise, and the enjoyment of shopping in stores where one can
see, feel and try on merchandise before the purchase.
Students reported many advantages of shopping online which in-
cluded the fact that it is more convenient, easier, saves time, has better
prices, has online product reviews and featured sales item pages. About
38 percent of the students reported a high satisfaction level with their
overall online purchase experiences while almost 62 percent indicated a
moderate level of satisfaction. U.S. students tended to be slightly more
positive concerning their level of satisfaction with online purchases
within the last year.
IMPLICATIONS FOR MARKETING
The projected growth of online consumers and expenditures leads

marketers to believe that the possibilities for consumer value creation
are greater in the electronic commerce marketspace than in the tradi-
tional marketplace. As the critically significant global “Net Genera-
tion” college student segment accelerates its online shopping behavior,
it is extremely important for those marketing to these computer savvy
individuals to understand the influences that affect them at each stage of

the Buyer Decision Process. Marketers must understand that the buying
process begins long before the actual purchase is made and continues
after the sale. Thus, to effectively market internationally to college stu-
dents, marketing strategy must focus on the entire buying process.
SOME KEY POINTS FOR MARKETERS TO PONDER
• College students are online a lot and they discover products and
services that interest them during their time online [Need Recogni-
tion].
• College students search web sites for information about products
and/or services that interest them [Information Search].
• College students evaluate alternatives while online and arrive at a
final set of choices from which to buy while online [Evaluation].
• College students make final product and/or service purchase deci-
sions while online. Some do not have credit cards with which to
buy interactively, but they do indeed shop while online [Purchase
Decision].
• College students develop web site loyalty and will repeat pur-
chases if their total shopping experience is satisfying and they
have confidence in and trust the site [Postpurchase Behavior].
• College students buy online, more so than the general popula-
tion. They frequently spend money on clothing, computer soft-
ware, books, event tickets, music, flowers, airline tickets, and
hotels. Almost all of the college students who have not purchased
online recently report that they are likely to purchase online in
the future.
• College students view the primary advantages of online shopping
to be ease of placing orders, convenience, time saving, with help-
ful online product reviews, better prices, and featured sale items.
With respect to their online purchase experiences, students also
expressed a high degree of satisfaction with product selection, in-
formation and quality, as well as web site navigation.
• College students have concerns about security and providing
credit card information online, slow delivery, being targeted for
repeat/future purchases online, out-of-stock merchandise, diffi-
culty returning merchandise, and dissatisfaction with purchase
tracking abilities.
• As U.S. college students progress through the stages of the Buyer

Decision Process, they are clearly engaged with the Internet. Over
time, it is likely that Irish students, who spend more money online,
will also develop a dependent online relationship in all phases of
the Buyer Decision Process.
REFERENCES
Berkowitz, Eric N., Kerin, Roger A., Hartley, Steven W. and Rudelius, William
(2000). “Interactive Marketing and Electronic Commerce,” Marketing (Boston:

Irwin, McGraw-Hill) pp. 205-209.
Bishop, Bill (1999). Global Marketing for the Digital Age (Chicago: NTC Business
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Computer Industry Almanac Inc. (1999). “Over 150 Million Internet Users Worldwide
at Year-End 1998,” (April 30, 1999). Internet: http://www.c-i-a.com/199904iu.htm.
Foley, Paul and Sutton, Davis (1998). “Boom Time for Electronic Commerce–Rheto-
ric or Reality,” Business Horizons (September-October 1998) pp. 21-30.
Green, Heather and Growder, Seanna (1998). “Cyberspace Winners: How They Did
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Hays, Scott (2002), “Has online advertising finally grown up?” Advertising Age (April
1, 2002) p. C1.
IDC (2002). Internet Usage and Commerce in Western Europe, 2001-2006. March
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Krantz, Michael (1998). “Click Till You Drop.” Time (July 20, 1998) pp. 34-39.
Kotler, Philip and Armstrong, Gary (2001). Principles of Marketing (New Jersey:
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LaBarbara, Priscella A. and Mazursky, David (1983). “A Longitudinal Assessment of
Consumer Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction: The Dynamic Aspect of the Cognitive Pro-
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On: 12 August 2015, At: 22:09

Journal of Internet Commerce

Students' Online Shopping Behavior: A Dual-Country

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J179v02n02_05

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ABSTRACT. This study investigates the online purchase behavior of a

KEYWORDS. E-marketing, e-shopping, online consumer behavior,

Chuck Comegys, PhD, is Associate Professor of Marketing, Girard School of Busi-

The projected growth of online consumers and expenditures leads

cording to the Global E-Commerce Report, the percentage of world-

TABLE 1. Top 19 Countries Ranked by Bishop’s Global Digital Marketing In-

1. Netherlands 11. Belgium

9. Australia 19. France

TABLE 2. Bishop’s 10 Criteria Global Digital Marketing Index

1. Economic Growth 6. Existence of Freedom of Expression

In the United States, the percentage of Internet users was 57 percent

The sampling plan required that a multi-page questionnaire be

responses were subsequently converted to U.S. dollars for comparison

RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

Students’ Use of the Internet

Not surprising because of ready access to computers and online net-

Student Question: What activities do you use the Internet for?

TOTAL U.S. IRISH

Maps/Directions 52.2 74.8 23.8

The buyer decision process consists of five stages as Table 4 depicts.

TABLE 4. Five Stages In the Buyer Decision Process

TABLE 5. Percentage of Students Who Discovered Need Recognition Online

TOTAL U.S. IRISH

Frequently 18.6 21.5 14.3

TABLE 6. Percentage of Students Who Have Conducted Online Information

Frequently 33.9 36.0 30.8

TABLE 7. Percentage of Students Who Used Web Sites to Evaluate Services

TOTAL U.S. IRISH

Frequently 20.7 24.0 16.8

Never 26.3 17.3 37.8

TOTAL U.S. IRISH

Frequently 9.5 8.4 10.2

In the last month Avg. Items = 2.14 2.15 2.12

Avg. Items = 4.08 4.56 3.06

TABLE 10. Products/Services Most Frequently Purchased Online by Students

Airline Tickets 30.3 25.2 36.1

is understandable. The U.S. students were most likely to buy clothes,

TOTAL U.S. IRISH

Frequently 47.5 42.3 54.8

TABLE 12. Percentage of Students Indicating Most Important Disadvantages

Being targeted for repeat/future purchases 43.4 40.4 46.7

TABLE 13. Percentage of Students Expressing Confidence in Providing Infor-

Very Confident 18.3 17.8 19.7

Definitely 35.0 36.7 32.0

Frequently 48.3 49.5 45.3

TABLE 16. Students’ Most Important Advantages of Shopping Online

Better prices 36.1 29.8 44.3

TABLE 17. Students’ Overall Satisfaction with Aspects of Online Purchases

Web Site Navigation 43.4 54.7 1.9

Product Information 43.3 47.8 8.9

Overall Purchase Experiences

TABLE 18. Students’ Most Important Benefits of Shopping in Stores

Shopping enjoyment 52.2 53.0 51.6

tive institutions of higher learning. Evidence was gathered to support

• Need Recognition–Over 88 percent of the students surveyed discov-

• Postpurchase Behavior–Over 91 percent of the students surveyed

IMPLICATIONS FOR MARKETING