Consumer Behavior The Online Shopping Experience

1
Consumer BehaviorThe Online Shopping Experience

2
Consumer Decision-Making Process
Need Recognition
Information Search
Evaluation of Alternatives
Purchase
Post Purchase Behavior
Lamb, p. 143
3
Customers Criteria for Evaluating Products and
Services

• Cost
• Quality
• Responsiveness
• Reliability
• Conformance to standards and regulations
• Atler p. 244-245

4
Cost

• Typical Measures
• Purchase price
• Total cost of ownership (TCO)
• Amount of time and attention required
• E-Business Roles
• Reduce internal cost, time or effort of business
  process, increase productivity, ease methods to
  charge or allocate lower prices to customers
  ATMs, MCI market share growth in 90s friends and
  family rates, insurance transaction data
• Improve product performance reducing customers
  internal costs

5
Quality

• Typical Measures
• Production Consistency of production process,
  cycle times
• Criterion by which customer evaluates product ie.
  Features in line with products costs
• Information Products accessibility and
  usefulness
• Service complete and delivered attentively
• E-Business Roles
• Production Systems improving process and
  cycle-times
• 24/7/365 customer service and product information
  via self-service, chat, telephony

6
Responsiveness

• Typical Measures
• Speed, accuracy, effectiveness, modification
  based on customer requests or desires
• E-Business Roles
• Reviewing company-wide inventory system to locate
  out-of-stock item for customer
• Computer-aided simulated walk-throughs of
  proposed buildings
• Modifying service in response to customer
  feedback

7
Reliability

• Typical Measures
• Accuracy and consistency
• E-Business Roles
• Increase accuracy and consistency
• Provide uninterrupted information access and
  customer support
• E-business challenged by the dependency on
  computer systems when system outage or failure
  occurs.

8

Conformance to Standards and Regulations

• Typical Measures
• Adherence to standards and regulations imposed by
  major customers, industry groups, governments
• E-Business Roles
• Trend towards not just company proprietary EDI,
  but even more standardized web-enabled EDI
  streamlining automated paperwork transactions
• Speed and accuracy to system changes

9
Opportunities to Increase Customer Benefits
Across the Stages of the Customer Shopping
Experience

• Requirements
• Acquisition
• Usage
• Maintenance
• Retirement

10
Determining Requirements

• Increase product awareness
• Help define what the customer wants
• Help the customer identify the product that fits
  best ex.
• Customize the product to fit the customers needs
• Web Advantage
• Brochureware to specify requirement in database
  search, ranking of preference
• Can provide pictures and animated demos or
  interactive demos LandsEnd My Model
  www.LandsEnd.com
• Virtual makeovers by sending digital photo to
  cosmetic sites www.MakeoverStudio.com and
  www.Ezface.com
• Trend towards mass customization Atler, p. 236

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Acquiring the Product

• Improve timeliness of product availability
• Expedite the purchase transaction
• Provide discounts or other adjustments
• Simplify delivery of the product
• Web Advantage
• Finding a good price
• Some sites offer direct comparisons between
  prices at different vendors ex.
  www.Lendingtree.com (loan offers from 4 lenders)
• Auction bidding, albeit delays and uncertainty
  www.ebay.com , www.priceline.com
• Performing Purchase Transactions
• Credit cards or electronic cash, InternetCash
• Allowing suppliers to control their customers
  inventories WalMart/PG
• Taking Deliverykey issue in e-commerce
• Steps to exert tighter control of order
  fulfillment processes. FedEx tracking,ebusiness
  tools and UPS tracking reassures customers
• Information delivery options include online
  downloads ex. IRS forms, software Atler p.
  241

12
Using Product or Receiving Service

• Provide training and/or information about product
  usage
• Make the product easy to use
• Provide information about product use
• Web Advantage
• Incorporating Electronic Enhancements
• Wireless communication, security systems with
  electronic Ids, cars with GPS, jet fighters
• Providing Better Service
• Handheld terminals at Car Rental Agencies,
  Restaurants
• Providing Product Information or Knowledge about
  the Product
• Product owner manual info on the web
• Internet chat rooms for product trouble-shooting
  AOL
• Customer self-service help desk access to
  product info Cisco Systems

13
Maintenance

• Provide ways to monitor product usage and
  operating cost
• Provide additional service to a base product
• Help maintain the product
• Web Advantage
• Supporting maintenance and Repair Processes
• Field Service Operation communication, data
  storage/history, data analysis Otis Elevator,
  Intergraph
• Links to computerized parts inventory
• Computer chip analysis for cars Mercedes
• Using Remote Monitoring
• Building operation, burglar or fire alarms,
  childcare, computer system updates Windows

14
Retirement

• Help the customer dispose of the product when it
  is no longer used
• Help the customer dispose of product-related
  waste
• Web Advantage
• Retiring Obsolete Products Gateway
• Upgrading to New Versions Nortons Anti-virus
  Live Updates, Windows upgrades etc.
• Atler p.44

15
Predicting Future Online Customer Behavior

• Time and convenience increasingly important
• Recorded personal profiles, models, preferences,
  customization
• Increased accuracy of personal measurements
• More emphasis on online cash, Smart Cards, secure
  transaction methodologies
• More demand for immediacy
• Greater demand for effective Customer Service