Methodology To examine the hypotheses data needs to be collected. With this data the hypotheses can be tested. How this data is collected is important for their reliability and accuracy . With the questions in the questionnaire and their corresponding data an acceptable analysis can be accomplished. Data Collection According to CBS (Central Bureau of Statistic of The Netherlands) 94 percent of all households (Appendix B) in The Netherlands in 2011 have access to the internet. Income might be a dependent factor of internet access. However CBS states that 87 percent of all households (Appendix C) with the lowest weighed income have access to the internet. Internet access does also not depend on gender. With these numbers it can be assumed that it is not necessary to construct a target group for the questionnaire in terms of income nor gender and education. Another focus point of this research concerns buying decisions and purchasing products on the internet. The focus in terms of age lies above 15 years. People under the age of 15 generally don’t buy products without their parents. Also, they generally don’t own money but get an allowance from their parents. Therefore the first age group respondents can select is from 16-20 years. The last age group is 50 years and older. There is no limit in age in terms of buying decisions and use of the internet. The questionnaire was distributed in The Netherlands and was send through the internet. When we take a look at Europe we can see that The Netherlands is a country with a relatively high amount of households with internet access (Appendix D). This implies that the internet is very well integrated in the lives of the people living in the Netherlands. Various people received an with the questionnaire. The email states not only the internet address but also the request to forward the address to the questionnaire to people above the age of 15. This request ensures fast answers to the questionnaire. This method is called ‘the snowball-sampling method’ .
multiple means are not significant different than the means of the information websites. Therefore hypothesis 1 is rejected. To test hypothesis 2 the question ‘Assume the following; you have found the right product after using the media from question 2. However you are not sure if this product is the best in its category. What are the chances of you using the media below to find the additional information?’ is asked. To answer this question, respondents were given the same nine channels for comparing products. As stated before in the theoretical background comparison websites are seen as websites for comparing products. If the channel comparison websites have significant higher means than the other channels the hypothesis can be accepted. ANOVA Probability of consumers using a certain channel for comparing products Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Between Groups 1077,621 8 134,703 36,156 ,000 Within Groups 3487,200 936 3,726 Total 4564,821 944 As shown in the table above the significance of the one-way ANOVA is 0,001. This means that there is a significant difference between the channels thus there is a significant difference between the probability of using a channels for comparing products.
Descriptives Probability of consumers using a certain channel for comparing products N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error 95% Confidence Interval for Mean Minimum Maximum Lower Bound Upper Bound physical stores 105 5,28 1,757 ,171 4,94 5,62 1 7 telephonic information services 105 1,51 1,178 ,115 1,29 1,74 0 6 corporate websites 105 3,72 1,959 ,191 3,34 4,10 0 7 comparison websites 105 4,56 2,236 ,218 4,13 4,99 0 7 review websites 105 4,22 2,295 ,224 3,77 4,66 1 7 internet forums and social media 105 3,06 2,084 ,203 2,65 3,46 1 7 all-in-one websites 105 3,30 1,996 ,195 2,92 3,69 0 7 friends and family 105 3,90 1,746 ,170 3,57 4,24 1 7 catalogs and folders 105 3,51 1,892 ,185 3,15 3,88 1 7 945 3,67 2,199 ,072 3,31 4,03 0 7 Multiple Comparisons Dependent Variable: probability of consumers using a certain channel for comparing products (I) channel (J) channel Mean Difference Std. Error Sig. 95% Confidence Interval Bound Upper Bound comparison websites physical stores -,714 ,277 ,316 -1,61 ,18 telephonic information services 3,048* ,247 ,000 2,25 3,85 corporate websites ,838 ,290 ,141 -,10 1,78 review websites ,343 ,313 1,000 -,67 1,35 Internet forums and social media 1,505* ,298 ,000 ,54 2,47 all-in-one websites 1,257* ,292 ,001 ,31 2,20 friends and family ,343 ,277 1,000 -1,24 ,55
Independent Samples Test - comparison websites Levene's Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means F Sig. t df Sig. Mean Difference Std. Error Difference 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper comparison websites variances assumed 1,510 ,222 4,613 103 ,000 2,074 ,450 1,182 2,966 Equal variances not assumed 4,247 33,708 ,000 2,074 ,488 1,081 3,067 Levene’s Test shows a significance of 0,222 for comparison websites. The 2-tailed significance of equal variance assumed is 0,001. This means that there is significant no difference between the means of the two different product groups. Independent Samples Test - review websites Levene's Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means F Sig. t df Sig. Mean Difference Std. Error Difference 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper review websites Equal variances assumed ,851 ,358 4,606 103 ,000 2,275 ,494 1,295 3,254 variances not assumed 4,955 42,443 ,000 2,275 ,459 1,349 3,201 The significance level of Levene’s Test is 0,358. The 2-tailed significance of equal variance assumed is 0,001. This means that there is significant no difference between the means of the two different product groups.
Further Discussion Because information websites and comparison websites are not significantly more used than other channels it is possible that consumers nowadays are using a broad set of channels to obtain information. To examine this further another test was done to see whether there is a difference between the product chosen by the respondents and the chance of using a particular channel for gathering information and comparing products. The following is a conclusion per channel regarding this analysis. Physical stores The mean for products without distinctive specifications is higher. Thus it can be assumed that people searching for these products are more likely to use physical stores to gather information. This conclusion can be explained by the fact that subjective attributes (e.g. if the colour of clothing is desirable) are easier to evaluate in physical stores. Furthermore there are no results that implicate that consumers are more likely to use physical stores to compare products without distinctive specifications. Telephonic information services Telephonic information services are used more for products with distinctive specifications. This could be because subjective attributes are more difficult to transfer over the phone than objective attributes. All in all telephonic information services are not used very often (low mean). On the other side telephonic information services are not used more for products with distinctive specifications. This could be because telephonic information services are generally not used to compare products but only to gather information about one product. Products that are comparable (such as mortgages) are more often compared on appointment with an expert than over a telephone connection. Corporate websites Consumers who search for products with distinctive specifications are not significantly more likely to use corporate websites. This could be due to the fact corporate websites have more information about their products and brand than just specifications.
Likelihood of ordering a product in an online store Reliability Statistics Cronbach's Alpha Cronbach's Alpha Based on Standardized Items N of Items ,880 ,881 3 Appendix I: Channels used for gathering information Group Statistics product_chosen N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean physical store Products with distinctive specifications 81 4,02 1,789 ,199 Products without distinctive specifications 24 5,25 1,327 ,271 telephonic information services Products with distinctive specifications 81 1,69 1,348 ,150 Products without distinctive specifications 24 1,21 ,658 ,134 corporate websites Products with distinctive specifications 81 4,65 1,872 ,208 Products without distinctive specifications 24 4,58 1,909 ,390 comparison websites Products with distinctive specifications 81 5,07 1,863 ,207 Products without distinctive specifications 24 3,00 2,167 ,442 review websites Products with distinctive specifications 81 4,69 2,183 ,243 Products without distinctive specifications 24 2,42 1,909 ,390 internet forums and social Products with distinctive specifications 81 3,25 1,972 ,219 Products without distinctive specifications 24 1,63 1,096 ,224 all-in-one websites Products with distinctive specifications 81 4,07 1,961 ,218
Products without distinctive specifications 24 3,79 2,226 ,454 friend and family Products with distinctive specifications 81 4,12 1,452 ,161 Products without distinctive specifications 24 2,92 1,886 ,385 catalogs and folders Products with distinctive specifications 81 3,89 1,949 ,217 Products without distinctive specifications 24 4,17 1,880 ,384 Appendix J: Channels used for comparing products Group Statistics product_chosen N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Mean physical Products with distinctive specifications 81 5,17 1,672 ,186 Products without distinctive specifications 24 5,63 2,018 ,412 telephonic information services Products with distinctive specifications 81 1,60 1,252 ,139 Products without distinctive specifications 24 1,21 ,833 ,170 corporate websites Products with distinctive specifications 81 3,73 1,871 ,208 Products without distinctive specifications 24 3,71 2,274 ,464 comparison websites Products with distinctive specifications 81 4,89 2,127 ,236 Products without distinctive specifications 24 3,46 2,284 ,466 review websites Products with distinctive specifications 81 4,52 2,335 ,259 Products without distinctive specifications 24 3,21 1,865 ,381 internet forums and social media Products with distinctive specifications 81 3,36 2,164 ,240 Products without distinctive specifications 24 2,04 1,398 ,285 all-in-one websites Products with distinctive specifications 81 3,46 1,930 ,214
Products without distinctive specifications 24 2,79 2,167 ,442 friend and family Products with distinctive specifications 81 4,05 1,680 ,187 Products without distinctive specifications 24 3,42 1,909 ,390 catalogs and folders Products with distinctive specifications 81 3,48 1,956 ,217 Products without distinctive specifications 24 3,63 1,689 ,345