Teleshopping or store shopping? A choice model for forecasting the use of new telecommunications-based services

Abstract

Teleshopping provides an option to shop from home. To date, the adoption of such services by the residential sector has been slower than expected by many forecasters. In this paper teleshopping is considered within a framework of shopping behavior, including both in-home and out-of-home alternatives. Shopping is defined as the activity of gathering information that precedes the purchase decision. This definition focuses attention on the informational attributes of alternative shopping modes. It is hypothesized that, in addition to a demand for information, shopping activities also fulfill other recreational and social objectives. Consumers will choose a shopping mode that satisfies both the informational and the recreational needs, given the costs of shopping. A method is presented for forecasting the use of new technologies, by using teleshopping as a case study. The approach combines a qualitative analysis of consumers' responses to alternative shopping modes and a quantitative approach. A stated preference choice model is presented. Preliminary model results indicate that socioeconomic characteristics, within the upper-middle-class sample surveyed, do not affect shopping mode choice, whereas ratings of shopping attributes and attitudes towards shopping activities are major factors in explaining shopping choice.