Shopping Preference: A Comparative Study of American and Taiwanese Perceptions

INTRODUCTION The Internet explosion has opened the door to a new electronic world. Consumers are now able to use the Internet for a variety of purposes such as research, communication, online banking, and even shopping. As a result of these advantages, the Internet is rapidly becoming a main method of communication and of conveniently conducting business. As Internet usage increases globally, the e-commerce market also increases, particularly in countries with well-developed marketing infrastructures. Many online shoppers are attracted to the ease and convenience that shopping via the Internet can provide (Shang, Chen, & Shen, 2005). Pew Internet, Inc. (2014) reported that 86% of American adults used the Internet in 2013, up from 14% in 1995. The explosive growth and popularity of social media like Facebook and MySpace, coupled with applications offered with mobile smart phones, contributes to the increasing popularity and purchases of virtual goods, which has been a boom for e-commerce sites and mobile commerce (Thompson, 2010). Social media works in tandem with trust perception as online consumers are more willing to purchase goods and services via word of mouth recommendation from someone they know through a social media website or via a recommendation from an online stranger (Hird, 2009). Fueling the online consumer social media explosion is the increased power of cell phone applications. Between 2008 and 2009, mobile payments leaped from $1 million dollars to $24.8 million dollars due to new options to purchase virtual items and products from cell phones such as software, games, music, and online books, instead of having to be in front of a desktop PC or laptop (Thompson, 2010). Although there are increasing number of businesses establishing a website, not all consumers are participating in online transactions as part of the Internet boom ((Betts, 2001; Changchit & Cutshall, 2011). As more and more businesses continue to establish an online presence, they are finding that some consumers are still reluctant to shift in that same direction. For various consumers there are still concerns with security and passing personal data over the Internet. There is a disparity between the number of consumers who visit a site and the number of actual purchases being made. This suggests that large portions of the Internet population are non-participants in online transactions as opposed to those who fully complete transactions online and make purchases. Instead, these non-participants may completely abandon the purchase or finish the transaction in an offline setting. For this reason, it is important for online businesses or offline businesses interested in venturing into the online market to understand not only their consumers' perceptions, online and offline, but also which factors influence their shopping decisions. With a better understanding of the factors that play into the consumer's decision making process while completing transactions online or offline, retailers and businesses can better prepare themselves to serve their customers in either of these shopping venues. Many brick and mortar companies have decided to enter the e-commerce marketplace, but the success of e-commerce on individual businesses are varied based on several conditions. The ability to attract and retain customers is important to the success of online businesses. This study intends to explore which factors are perceived as important to online customers in the U.S. and Taiwan when shopping on the Internet. The better an online business understands the perceptions of these shoppers, the higher the chance they can attract and retain customers. LITERATURE REVIEW Online Shopping in the United States A recent study reported that the number of Internet users in the U.S. has almost doubled over the last eight years to approximately 220 million in 2008 (Hannah & Lybecker, 2010). However, not all consumers are turning to the Internet for shopping. …