CUSTOMER RISK IN ONLINE GARMENT BUYING

Customer Risk In Online Garment Buying

Customer Risk In Online Garment Buying

Introduction to the Problem

This paper expands previous research where the differences and relationships between online shopping behavior and the risks of the Consumer Buying (Kotler, pp. 191-199) in UK and the United States from two separate samples gathered in 2002 and 2004/2005 were examined (Comegys, Hannula and Väisänen, 2006). Although some differences were shown regarding the online shopping behavior between the countries, the results made it clear that online shopping has gained popularity as the range of different goods purchased has widened along with the increased purchase volume between the two sampling periods.

Background of the Study

The Risk and Trust Factors in Relation to the Consumer Buying Decision Process Model

A typical feature of electronic commerce is the fact that consumers rarely get the chance to try or compare the products in person before purchase. Another feature is the unconventional method of payment where the buyer and the seller never meet face-toface. This means that there are certain risk characteristics specifically associated with the online shopping experience. These risks include concerns over delivery and return, lack of physical examination and being victim to a fraud or exposure to a computer virus. Electronic commerce is considered to be more risky than traditional commerce, although the perception of risk is found to decrease with the amount of internet experience.

Internet experience also affects the attitudes towards web shopping, as heavy Internet users tend to buy more online than lighter users). Thus, it seems that even though the awareness of the risks associated with electronic shopping may grow with Internet experience, it does not hinder its popularity. In an online environment consumers tend to reduce risks by selecting an e-vendor they believe can be trusted or brands they are familiar with.

Therefore the concepts of risk and trust are bound together. Usually if the customer is more aware of the possible risks, the lower the level of trust and higher the need to control the transaction. Internet vendors can counteract this by increasing the company's integrity in the customers' eyes. Internet usage, however, does reduce the existence of concerns about privacy as well as security issues, thus increasing the trust factor. How do the concepts of risk and trust relate to and integrate with the five-risk Consumer Purchasing Decision Process? Cases (2002) and Forsythe and Shi (2003) specify eight risk-dimensions specific to internet shopping that have been found from four different risk sources.

The product itself poses a performance risk which is best described as disappointment that the product did not perform as well as the customer thought it would. In conventional shopping, the disappointment might have been avoided by trying the product beforehand. The remote transaction involves risks associated with time (time may be wasted in contrast with conventional shopping), financial (the absolute cost may be higher than in conventional shopping) and delivery (the product may not arrive or may arrive ...