Want to Market to People Who Shop on the Internet? Survey on Online Shopping Habits

To determine peoples' online shopping habits, I interviewed 34 people in person, over the phone, and by Internet e-mail (which fits well with the topic). My base questions were: 1) Do you shop online? 2) How much do you buy and spend online? 3) Do you shop online in addition to or in place of your normal purchases? 4) If you shop online, why do you shop online? If you don't, then why don't you? 5) Do you have any other thoughts, comments, or stories about shopping on the Internet? I made the final question open-ended to allow respondents to share their personal feelings and to spur on additional conversation.

28 of the 34 people I interviewed had made online purchases, while 6 had not. Of those 28 Internet shoppers, 14 generally shopped in addition to their normal purchases while only 6 used Internet shopping to replace their mall shopping. The other 8 showed elements of both or were not sure. The open-ended question spurred many people to tell what they love and hate about Internet shopping, helping me outline online shopping's benefits and detriments. Question 2, regarding the amount people spent online, helped me most in determining if Internet shopping is replacing mall shopping.

Why Do Consumers Choose to Shop Online?

But why do consumers choose to shop online? My fieldwork and my research discovered many reasons why shoppers are choosing the Internet over the mall.

Convenience is Key

An overwhelming majority of the Internet shoppers I interviewed cited convenience as their main reason for Internet shopping. While only a few of these people actively dislike going to malls, 11 people mentioned preferring the Internet because it is more convenient than the mall.

Wall Street Journal editor Chris Gay believes the Internet makes shopping "a whole lot easier. Perhaps too easy." He argues that Internet shopping is so convenient that it can ruin compulsive spenders. His claims appear accurate since most of the shoppers I interviewed prefer the Internet's convenience to the mall.