ONLINE PURCHASE PREFERENCE AND INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS: A MODERATION APPROACH

Abstract

This study posits that consumer characteristics affect behavioral outcomes through directly influencing purchase preference and moderating preference effects of other factors. To further clarify this mechanism, we perform a longitudinal survey to investigate the direct effects of consumer characteristics on online purchase preference, and the moderating effects of these characteristics on the influences of two online purchase goals (saving money and saving time) on purchase outcomes. Customers personal characteristics in this study mainly include gender difference, income, age, education, work status, and experience of online shopping. The results show that only age and online experience have direct effects on consumers’ online purchase preference. By contrast, an important finding suggests that most of those personal characteristics affect purchase outcomes mainly through moderating the preference effects of the two online purchase goals, rather than directly influencing purchase preferences. Management implications and future research directions are also presented at the end of the paper. 

To cite this document: Zhen Li and Avus CY. Hou, "ONLINE PURCHASE PREFERENCE AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS: A MODERATION APPROACH ", International Journal of Electronic Commerce Studies, Vol.10, No.1, pp.1-21, 2019.

Permanent link to this document:
http://dx.doi.org/10.7903/ijecs.1694