Study profiles Internet users
By Brian Carroll -- Furniture Today, October 15, 2001
SALT LAKE CITY — A study and analysis by Brigham Young University's business school identifies about 30% of Internet users as desirable e-commerce consumers, based on their willingness to buy online and their fear of conducting business via the Web.
Supported by IBM, the study describes eight psychological profiles, ranging from nonshoppers to shopping lovers.
William R. Swinyard, who conducted the study with fellow BYU professor Scott M. Smith, said online shoppers and nonshoppers are divided by a basic consideration — fear of using credit cards on the Web. Nonshoppers are "fearful of the computer and are afraid they won't get their merchandise or that their credit card will be stolen," he said.
The study, conducted in the fourth quarter of last year, looked at 4,000 adults with Internet access at home. Based on more than 1,700 returned surveys, the researchers classified users into these eight categories:
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Shopping Lovers (11% of Web users). They like to shop online and do it often, and encourage friends to buy online. This group is the most desirable to e-commerce companies.
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Adventurous Explorers (9%). Although these users think online shopping is basically enjoyable, they use the Web for other activities as well. Some selling is required to lure this group.
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Suspicious Learners (10%). Because this group is less savvy about computers and online retailing and shopping, some prodding by retailers is necessary. The researchers did not associate this group with fear regarding credit card use, however.
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Business Users (12%). This group is computer literate, but uses the Web mainly for business and not for shopping or pleasure buying.
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Fearful Browsers (11%). These users have reasonable computer skills but are fearful of divulging personally identifiable information via the Internet. They might shop, but they are unlikely to buy online, especially products they have not seen in person.
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Fun Seekers (12%). The entertainment aspects of the Web attract this group, but it's the least wealthy, least educated market segment of the eight. They are wary of shopping online.
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Technology Muddlers (20%). Because this group isn't computer- or Web-savvy, members report spending less time online than any other profiled group. They also report little interest in becoming more savvy.
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Shopping Avoiders (16%). Although they have enough income to be desirable to marketers, they would rather go to a store, see the merchandise and deal with a person. Marketers are wasting their time with this group, according to the researchers.
"Other segmentation studies have been done by commercial research companies, but they focus on demographics like age, income and location," Swinyard said. "They scarcely look at the lifestyles or attitudinal characteristics that are the true identifiers for the way people behave."
Smith said, "In this study we track not only the actual amount of online purchasing people do, we profile individuals using a broad variety of computer literacy and lifestyle variables directed at understanding the psychology of online shopping. We anticipate that somewhere between 65% and 70% of all people on the Internet have the potential to become online shoppers, with more than 40% someday shopping regularly."
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