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Keywords Marketing, Consumer behaviour, Book publishing, Customer satisfaction
Abstract This study proposes and tests several social and perceptual motivations for shopping online. Using online textbook purchasing as a model, we outline predictors of online purchasing based on motivation theories drawn from traditional online consumer motivation research, social motivation theory, social influence theory and uses and gratifications theory. Our research adds a social and perceptual dimension to much of the typical online motivation research that deals with availability and cost issues. Data were collected using a pencil-and-paper survey of 156 students from a large Northeastern university. Findings of this study indicated that previous online purchase, positive social environment, professor support, knowledge of online retailers, and perception that needs will be met online are all predictors of online textbook purchasing. Implications for advertisers, online textbook retailers, and e-commerce, more generally, are discussed.
Sales of textbooks more than $6.8 billion
Each semester, college students purchase millions of textbooks. In 2001, The National Association of College Stores estimated the sales of textbooks in college bookstores to total more than $6.8 billion (National Association of College Stores, 2001). In addition to bookstores, however, online retailers, such as varsitybooks.com and bigwords.com, are now capturing more and more of the textbook market. What is motivating this behavior change, that is, what causes students to break out of the traditional pattern of purchasing textbooks at the campus store and instead purchase them online? Can likelihood to make purchases online be predicted by various social and personal characteristics of consumers?
More viable platform
Each year the Internet becomes a more viable product-marketing platform. Many marketing sectors, including books and textbooks, are experiencing rapid growth in online sales, with total Internet sales topping $37 billion in 2000 (Meeker and Pearson, 1997; eMarketer, 2000). Although this is still only a fraction of the sales generated by brick-and-mortar stores, Internet growth is allowing online retailers to capture a substantial portion of sales in some sectors. For example, 11 percent of all book sales are expected to occur online by 2002 (Roe, 1999). The rapidly expanding electronic marketplace has opened the doors for new genres of consumer research. The question most commonly asked in this research is what motivates consumers to shop on the Web. Although...