Research: Retailing and Online Shopping Essay

1.1 Introduction: According to Forouzan (2003), the Internet can be defined as a collaboration of more than hundreds of thousands of interconnected networks. More specifically, the Internet is a collection of local, regional and national computer networks that are linked together to exchange data and distribute processing tasks through common language and protocols. Interent shopping refers to any form of shopping that takes place via the Internet where electronic means are used to make purchases at virtual stores. 1.2 Background of study The Internet in current from is primarily a source of communication, information and entertainment but increasingly the Internet is also a vehicle for commercial transaction. With the development of technology, the characteristics of consumers are changing gradually. This new type of shopping mode has been called online shopping. Therefore, online shopping is one of the most important online activities in the current. The advent of online shopping gave retailers one more way to classify consumer with similarities and provide apparent differences from earlier shoppers. Internet and World Wide Web have made it easier, simpler, cheaper and more accessible for businesses and consumers to interact and conduct commercial transaction electronically. This is practically the case when online shopping is compared to the traditional approach of visiting retail stores. Traditional retailers and existing and potential direct marketers acknowledge that the Internet is increasingly used to facilitate online business transactions. The Internet has altered the nature of customer shopping behavior, personal-customer shopping relationships, has many advantages over traditional shopping relationships, has many advantages over traditional shopping delivery channels, and is a major threat to traditional retail store outlets. 1.3 Statement of the Problem The statement of problem could be researched in this thesis as followed: 1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of: a) Name b) Sex c) National 2. What are the factors that the influence customers online shopping. a) More impulsive in purchases b) Convenience oriented c) Less price 1.4 Significance of Study Online shopping has been a growing phenomenon around the world, especially in countries where well-developed infrastructure exists for marketing activities over the Interent. The Internet has been developing for three decades eventually during the mid-nineties, the commercial use of the internet triggered high expectations in both executives and investors. Online shopping is broadly defined as an activity that includes finding online retailers and products, searching for product information, selecting payment options and communicating with other consumers and retailer as well as purchasing products or services. Consumers today have many categories of shopping choice, they can choose one of category for themselves which is they like and suit for them. The significance of the research is to explore ways in which people converse about and make meaning of online shopping and how this entices them to shop online in a China and Indonesia. I aim to investigate people’s motives for pr eferring to shopping online, as well as their reasons for doing so. 1.5 Scope and Limitation of the Study Because the Internet is a fast-changing environment, and consumers’ attitudes and behavior will likewise change, it is with caution that factors influencing the preference to shopping online are identified among online shoppers. This research primarily examines consumer satisfaction, behavior and industry status. The outcome of this study is limited only to the data gathered from books and journals and from the primary data fathered from the result of the questionnaire survey conducted by the researcher. As the research was completed in a relatively short period of time other factors and variable are not considered. This might have an impact on the results of the study.