Transcript Consumer Confusion in eCommerce Diploma Thesis Outline Martin Waiguny
Consumer Confusion in eCommerce
Diploma Thesis Outline
Martin Waiguny October 22 nd 2004 1
Consumer Confusion
Consumer Confusion is a „consumer failure to develop a correct interpretation of various facets of a product/service, during the information processing procedure. As a result this creates misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the market“ Turnbull et al., 2000 3 Forms similarity confusion overload confusion unclearity confusion
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Consumer Confusion
Environment
too similar stimuli too much stimuli ambigous stimuli complex stimuli
Confusion
SC OC UC
Behaviour
abandon/postpone clarify buying goals seek additional information narrow down the choice set share delegate the decision Rudolph/Schweizer, 2003; Mitchell et al. 2004
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Similarity Confusion
„...a lack of understanding and potential alteration of a consumer’s choice or an incorrect brand evaluation caused by the perceived physical similarity of products or services“ Mitchell et al. 2004 Antecedents brand imitation imitation of physical components information imitation equalization of products and services similar websites and webshops
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Overload Confusion
„...consumers are confronted with an overly information rich environment. This information overload inhibits the customer to process the information and to fully understand, and be confident in, the purchase situation.“ Mitchell et al., 2004 Antecedents high amount of products high amount of information high amount of shops/webshops
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Unclearity Confusion
„...when customers are “forced to re-evaluate and revise current beliefs or assumptions about product or purchasing environment” Mitchell et al. 2004 Antecedents complexity of products ambigous/conflicting information
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Confusion Reduction Strategies
used to clarify the situation and ease the decision 6 generic forms (Mitchell/Papavassiliou, 1997) do nothing/ignore abandon/postpone clarify buying goals seek additional information narrow down the choice set share delegate the decision
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Study
questionaire based on preceeding studies from Mitchell/Papavassiliou, 1997 and Walsh, 2002 online-purchase technical goods 132 participants online-hotelbooking 228 participants tourists at Innsbruck Airport focus of the study confirming consumer confusion in eCommerce explore various reduction strategies in eCommerce
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Results
confirmatory factor analysis for online-booking hotels Reliability (C.R.) Information on Hotels in online-booking-systems is so similar that you cannot do a bargain buy.
It is difficult to recognized the differences between the hotels in an online-booking-system.
Similarity Confusion 0,64 0,58 0,78 Overload Confusion 0,80 There are so many hotels you can book that you are really confused. As there are so many reservation systems and hotel homepages that it is difficult to decide which one you should chose. You get so much information about hotels in the internet that you lose orientation.
Hotels have so many additional services (e.g. swimming pool, sauna) and characteristics (view, room size, etc.) that you can not compare the hotels.
If you book online you do not have the impression that you have enough information on the hotel. Hotels have so many additional services (e.g. swimming pool, sauna) and characteristics (view, room size, etc.) that you don’t know on what you should focus.
0,73 0,75 0,78 Unclearity Confusion 0,74 0,64 0,71 0,68
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Results
confirmatory factor analysis for online-purchasing dvd-player Reliability (C.R.) Information on dvd-players in webshops is so similar that you cannot do a bargain buy.
Similarity Confusion 0,71 0,89 Overload Confusion 0,91 It is difficult to recognized the differences between the dvd-players in a webshop.
There are so many dvd-player you can buy online that you are really confused. As there are so many webshops/auctionsites where dvd players to buy, that it is difficult to decide which one you should chose. You get so much information about dvd-players in the internet that you lose orientation.
Dvd-players have so many additional functions that you can not compare the hotels.
0,92 0,97 0,92 0,79 Unclearity Confusion 0,83 0,93 Dvd-Player have so many functions and characteristics that you don’t know on what you should focus.
0,84
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Results
used reduction strategies for online-booking hotels
Reduction Strategy
Rely on familar brand Make a quick decision I don't book online Rely on familar reservation system Seek additional Information from other media Share/delegate the decision Rely on classic attributes (stars, pictures)
r²
0,03
Similarity Confusion Stand. Coefficient p
-0,02 0,84 n.s.
Overload Confusion Stand. Coefficient p
-135,00 0,14 n.s.
Unclearity Confusion Stand. Coefficient p 0,20 0,04**
0,04 0,20 0,06 0,03 0,02 0,05
-0,13
0,09 0,02
-0,18
-0,06
-0,19 0,09*
0,19 n.s.
0,80 n.s.
0,02**
0,47 n.s.
0,02**
-0,07
0,21
-0,04 0,09 -0,03 -0,06 0,463 n.s.
0,01**
0,63 n.s.
0,31 n.s.
0,72 n.s.
0,24 n.s.
0,27 0,23 -0,23
-0,01
-0,18
0,06
0,01** 0,01** 0,02**
0,93 n.s.
0,06*
0,55 n.s.
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Results
used reduction strategies for online-purchasing dvd-player
Reduction Strategy
Make a quick decision Rely on familar/trustfull Web-Shop Abandon the online purchase Share/delegate the decision Rely on expensive/familar brand Cheapest offer Seek addtional Information in the Internet Seek additional Information from other media
r²
0,05
Similarity Confusion Stand. Coefficient p
-0,09 0,39 n.s.
Overload Confusion Stand. Coefficient p 0,26 0,03** Unclearity Confusion Stand. Coefficient p
-0,01 0,97 n.s.
0,03 -0,11 0,32 n.s.
0,19 0,11 n.s.
0,01 0,97 n.s.
0,29 0,04 0,03 0,02 0,07 0,03
0,30
0,13 -0,14 0,40
-0,17
-0,10
0,00***
0,22 n.s.
0,19 n.s.
0,73 n.s.
0,10*
0,37 n.s.
0,15 0,07 0,15 0,12
0,35
0,13 0,14 n.s.
0,53 n.s.
0,19 n.s.
0,31n.s.
0,01**
0,28 n.s.
0,21
0,30 -0,09 0,02 -0,17 0,11
0,03**
0,79 n.s.
0,40 n.s.
0,88 n.s.
0,12 n.s.
0,316 n.s.
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Conclusion and limitations
Conclusion consumer confusion occurs in eCommerce reduction strategies are rather special for the situation Limitations moderating variables not tested convenience sample low reliability of scales
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Thank‘s for your attention
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