Consumer perceptions of the internet as a product and service infomation source

The Internet is fast becoming an important product and service information source. Consumers are using the medium for gathering information on products and services. The Internet has unique characteristics, which makes it a powerful medium for communication. However, what is the perception of the product and service information on the Internet? This study aims to contribute to an understanding of consumers\u27 perception of product and service information on the Internet. The research is exploratory in nature. Consumers\u27 perceptions towards the Internet as a product and service information source were measured along a construct relating to perceptions towards the Internet information. A self-administered questionnaire was employed to capture the perceptions of 300 participants. Descriptive statistics and multivariate techniques, including Factor Analysis, Discriminant Analysis and Cluster Analysis, were used in the data analysis. The study found interesting differences in the perceptions held by participants on the product and service information on the Internet. The findings suggest that participants have highly positive perceptions on the wide coverage, currency, relevancy, and depth of product and service information on the Internet. They also have moderately positive perceptions on the credentials of the information providers as being knowledgeable, qualified and experts. However, on the most important evaluative criteria of trustworthiness (fairness, honesty and unbiasness) of the information on the Internet, participants have weak and less positive perceptions. Factor Analysis revealed that there are three important dimensions in the perception of information on the Internet -quality, authority and scope. Cluster Analysis and Discriminant Analysis was then conducted to explore the similarity and differences between groups on those three dimensions. The Cluster Analysis revealed that there are four distinct clusters - Highly Specific Information Seekers, Disillusioned Information Seekers, Undirected Information Seekers and Intuitive Information Seekers. The Discriminant Analysis revealed that the variables in the study (i.e. gender, level of Internet experience, age and income) are not powerful predictors of the participants\u27 perceptions of the product and service information on the Internet. The implications of the findings for marketers are discussed

Determinants of Consumer Behavior in an e-Commerce Environment

Online specialty food and beverage marketing has developed rapidly in the last decade. With the obvious increase in the sales income, researchers showed more and more interests in this promising market. Previous studies in this field primarily focused on the demographic profiling of the online specialty food consumers as well as initial analysis in the factors that motivate their purchase behavior. However, it is far from fully explaining consumer\u27s online shopping activities. In order to solve these problems, new methods should be attempted to determine the factors influencing consumer\u27s online buying behavior. A cluster analysis was developed to identify what kind of consumers have a higher preference of shopping online. And this analysis is based on consumer\u27s lifestyle characteristics, which are assumed to be the determinants of their online shopping behavior. By identifying the consumer groups with a relatively high propensity of purchasing on the Internet, this research will provide improved information for companies marketing food and beverage products online and strengthen their abilities to develop effective marketing strategies. The data for this study were obtained from an online survey conducted from September 27th to October 25th, 2001. First a factor analysis was applied to the forty-two lifestyle variables and ten factors were extracted to represent them. Then the factor scores for each observation, an output data set of factor analysis, were submitted to a hierarchical cluster analysis using Ward\u27s minimum-variance clustering method. As a result, lifestyle segmentations of the online specialty food and beverage market were obtained. Each segment was given a name based on the factor that has the highest loading on the particular group so as to emphasize its characteristics. Further analysis has also been done in order to compare the other related characteristics among the groups

A Bilateral Comparison of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption: United States and Canada

Many public programs promote diets rich in fruits and vegetables based on evidence of the derived health benefits. Still, produce consumption in the United States lags behind other nations, even its most culturally similar neighbor--Canada. This study uses a structural latent variable model to test the role played by quality and health information in explaining observed differences in produce consumption. The Alchian-Allen effect predicts that higher quality, higher absolute margin produce will be exported, suggesting quality may be an important demand factor in importing nations such as Canada. The results show that dietary health information is significant in expanding demands. Quality also promotes fruit consumption in Canada.Alchian-Allen effect, fruit and vegetable trade, health information, latent variable, MIMIC model, produce quality, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Estimating Consumer Willingness to Pay for Country-of-Origin Labeling

Consumer willingness to pay for a mandatory country-of-origin labeling program is assessed. A consumer survey was conducted during 2002 in several grocery stores in Boulder, Denver, and Fort Collins, Colorado. Econometric results indicate that surveyed consumers are willing to pay an average of $184 per household annually for a mandatory country-of-origin labeling program. Respondents were also willing to pay an average of$1.53 and $0.70 per pound more for steak and hamburger labeled as "U.S. Certified Steak" and "U.S. Certified Hamburger," which is equivalent to an increase of 38% and 58%, respectively, over the initial given price.beef, consumer preferences, country-of-origin labeling, dichotomous choice, willingness to pay, Consumer/Household Economics,

Alterations in consumers behaviour on food purchase during Covid-19 pandemic

The present research aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the behavior of Portuguese consumers concerning the purchase of food. For this purpose, a quantitative study was performed, using a sample composed of 741 Portuguese consumers. The study was carried out between November 2020 and February 2021, a period during which the most severe measures of social isolation were imposed by the Portuguese government since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. The results show that during the pandemic, consumers changed their behavior patterns, specifically: in the frequency of shopping; the use of transport to carry out the purchases; the amount of the budget allocated for this purpose; and the channels used to purchase. Based on these results, managers and policy makers will be able to adjust or redefine their strategies to meet new consumer preferences, thus promoting individual well-being and business success. Our research is original as it is focused on the Portuguese context at a specific point in time motivated by the external factors that arose from the dissemination of the Covid-19 pandemic, consequently affecting consumers' behavior on food purchase. Furthermore, it adds value to the literature with new findings on consumer behavior change within a pandemic environment, and the application of practical assistance to market practitioners as well as advice to policy makers.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Търговската марка като икономическа стойност и знак. Позиционирането като инструмент за създаване на отличимост

ABSTRACT: This article is dedicated on brand issues, especially on its role of economic value sign as well as social sign (symbol), and also comments the four main theories in marketing and advertising concerning communication positioning. РЕЗЮМЕ: Статията е посветена на проблемите на търговската марка и по-специално на нейната роля като икономически знак за стойност, както и като социален знак (символ); също така текстът обръща внимание на четирите основни теории, възприети в маркетинга и рекламата, които засягат комуникационното позициониране на брандовете

The cognitive and affective antecedents to consumer behavior towards on-demand transportation services in Egypt

In the recent few years, smartphones have shaped and assisted in the creation of new business models to formulate and develop some additional dimensions such as shared-economy or shared-mobility. Since transportation is one of the most essential aspects of shared-economy, it is vital to this study to focus and investigate the consumers’ intention to use the new commuting services provided by Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) in Egypt. Consequently, this research aims to examine and understand the cognitive and affective antecedents to consumers’ behavior towards TNCs in Egypt. Therefore, the model of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) has been applied to understand and explain the factors that influence the behavioral intention (BI) to use TNCs services. The factors of Performance Expectancy (PE), Effort Expectancy (EE), Social Influence (SI), Facilitating Conditions (FC), Hedonic Motivation (HM), Price Value (PV), and Habit (HT) tested through surveying 200 respondents thru online (Google Forms) and offline (Self-Administered Questionnaires) techniques. The results showed that consumers’ intention to use TNCs services in Egypt, was positively affected by the factors of (performance expectancy, social influence, price value, and habit). However, the variables of (effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, and hedonic motivation) showed a negative influence on the intention to use TNCs services in Egypt. Thus, upon the evaluation of the gathered data and discovered findings, the market acceptance and share of TNCs services can be increased if these services considered the factors affecting the consumers\u27 intention that mentioned earlier

Consumer Decision-Making on Golf Equipment: Impact of Emerging Strategic Organizational Goals and Supply Chain Intricacies

The game of golf is incredibly historic and enjoyed by many people from numerous different age groups across many parts of the world. The research involving the game of golf is often limited to the topics of golf club engineering and injury prevention within the game. The consumer decision-making process for golf equipment has been primarily under-researched. This study explores the consumer decision-making process involving golf equipment and provides propositions to achieve strategic organizational goals. Propositions are made concerning supply chain intricacies containing the inclusion of personalization and customization and including women\u27s equipment displayed in marketing activities. There is room for further research regarding the consumer decision-making process for golf equipment, such as golf clubs and clothing, and encouraged empirical studies comparing multiple consumer demographics such as age, gender, and location. The marketing aspect of the game of golf is a promising endeavor for the growth and advancement of golf equipment manufacturers, specifically as the consumer decision-making process for this industry is further discovered