The influence of the Internet on consumer behavior. Influence of e-commerce on consumer behavior. Need help with a topic

25.11.2019

For most companies nowadays, the issue of attracting consumers who buy the company's products or services comes up rather abruptly. This is due to the growing competition for consumer demand and the availability of substitutes.

In addition, in the current economic environment, in order to maintain sales volume and end-user demand, the company must meet new challenges to implement effective marketing technologies that affect consumers.

It is worth saying that consumer behavior has changed a lot in a relatively short period of time, which is explained by the multiplicity of choice of goods and services, now they can be purchased all over the world without changing the location of the consumer, and increasing the sophistication of customers, as well as enhancing advertising and other marketing activities which have turned into a global information pressure on people's minds.

The behavior of consumers in a particular market is subject to study, their motivation and consumer intentions have been analyzed in the scientific literature on economics and sociology. The famous classics in their writings tried to bring a rational motive to justify the behavior of most people in relation to the choice and further purchase of goods and services, but with the advent of marketing communications at the electronic level, which greatly changed consumer behavior, it was more difficult to record such an impact, which is not well understood.

Accordingly, we can conclude that mass communications, including electronic media, create a market characterized by the same type of consumption of a large number of goods and services that are not the main need, even if the basic needs of people are not fully satisfied.

Thus, the behavior of the consumer changes, which performs a number of rational behavioral actions under the influence of external factors influence. There is a change in the psychotype of the average member of society and its value orientations.

In the mind of the consumer, irrational motives for making a purchase arise thanks to modern communications. Therefore, it is not surprising that a person has a desire for self-affirmation, which can be realized through shopping. Thus, a person can see a certain trajectory for the purchase of goods or services, which combines the desire to join social group, which attracts him, or vice versa, will stand out (again, creating an identity through increased consumption of certain goods and services).

However, in most cases, a person has a desire to rationally spend their resources and minimize their costs. Here, the media influence the wider society by offering unsustainable consumption in the form of "life on credit" with the slogan "Consume now - you will pay later."

It should be emphasized that we do not consider pressure on communication and use electronic means mass media that change consumer consciousness as a negative phenomenon. This is the reality of the current situation, and companies must use the competent resource of influence that is being generated by them.

Until recently, marketing and sales were considered solely as the distribution, sale and management of brands, but today the latest Information Technology changing the nature of marketing tools. E-commerce and online sales have become a leading role in all areas of Western business. Not only traditional retailers, but also wholesalers are experimenting with social networks. A new type of marketing tool allows any entrepreneur who has an idea, product or service to reach the widest possible audience.

In Russia, only the last five or six years can be associated with the beginning of the real use of Internet sales marketing. The gradual development of elements of search marketing, media advertising, branding in in social networks etc. Innovations in e-commerce allow you to get significant savings for rationalization at all stages of the business - from the design and production of products with orders, storage, delivery of goods to the end user (see Figure 1).

And yet, the world's advances in online sales marketing have very little in common with most Russian companies. However, it is this tool that opens a new stage in business development, increases sales efficiency, since it requires minimal funds for market segmentation, promotion of goods and obtaining the necessary target audience.

Using innovative online selling tools, small and medium business gains a chance to compete effectively.

Thus, the study of marketing tools for online sales is relevant, has theoretical and practical significance.

With the development of the Internet technology network, approaches to organizational forms of sale are changing rapidly. According to the European Association for Omnichannel and Online Commerce, the size of the European market ecommerce is about $500,000,000,000. Despite the current economic crisis, Russian entrepreneurs are gradually spending their money on online marketing. However, there are a number of factors hindering this process, in particular, the imperfect legal framework for regulating online sales, underdeveloped national system electronic payments, the lack of transparency in the processes of sale and purchase for both buyers and sellers, and the like. To a large extent, the development of online sales marketing is limited by the lack of knowledge of modern relevant tools.

It is quite clear that the whole range of marketing tools in the field of online sales should be considered from the point of view of the specifics of its application in the Internet environment. Internet marketing is defined in the literature as a marketing process carried out with the help of tools using Internet technologies. That is, the marketing toolkit for online sales affects all the main elements of the marketing combination and is a means of e-commerce. Western enterprises checked a large number of Internet marketing tools that may be of interest to a Russian entrepreneur because they are more efficient and cost-effective than similar traditional marketing tools. The choice of specific tools can have different goals, first of all - reducing overhead costs by saving money to support sales and advertising departments, as well as expanding the market for companies, that is, moving from a local market to a national or international markets. We will consider the main types of instruments that are intensively developing in the world and are the most promising in the conditions of the Russian economy.

Internet sales are carried out on the basis of electronic forms communicative interaction in a virtual environment. The main one needs to serve as an online order with the possibility of foreign economic activity. Note that retail giant Walmart was one of the first to provide such a service. competitive advantage. As part of this service, goods from different trading partners are combined in one order, and the goods are purchased at the place where it is convenient for the consumer.

Today, the innovative Internet ordering service is becoming the standard for the entire retail industry and is rapidly being introduced to Russia (see Figure 2). In Western practice, online sales intensification tools are very popular. To increase interest in a product, various stocks and sales flashes are widely used. In flash sales for a short period of time (from several hours to several days), individual goods can be bought very cheaply - at 10-15% of their value.

Special sites selling spam offer to subscribe to e-mails, after which the recipients send e-mails that they are being sold.

The main purpose of this group of tools is to strengthen the interest of consumers, create a positive image and positioning, win the favor of consumers. The whole series of SMM tools is little known for Russian marketing. For example, using the RSS (Really Simple Syndication) format is useful in that it renders news feeds in a user-friendly format; customers receive new information (press releases, comments, new articles) without visiting the site itself, and subscriptions to news by e-mail are also not needed.

After getting started with social media, marketers choose Facebook and then move on to Twitter. The YouTube platform is usually used later. In addition, all marketers noted that they plan to increase the use of YouTube, Facebook and blogs; only two of them will expand the use of forums. In this case, all marketers do not plan to use podcasts, social tabs, geosocial networks and Q&A sites. The biggest growth of knowledge marketers is the desire to use blogs, Google+ and LinkedIn. Among other forms of marketing, marketing was the most popular. Email and mobile marketing.

Thus, a successful set of marketing tools must be complemented by a factor in a successful online sales process. With its help, marketers will be able to get significant business support, increase traffic, better understand the dynamics of the market, attract additional clients and open up opportunities to enter new markets.

However, today the potential of marketing tools is not fully used, and online sales do not acquire the possible volume. There are certain disadvantages and limitations that limit the use of marketing tools for online sales. They are mainly related to the shortcomings of the legislation regulating the volume of sales on the Internet, the inadequate quality of the development of tools and significant gaps in the knowledge of marketers about the capabilities of modern tools.

Within the framework of economic sociology, many approaches to the study of consumption have developed. Consumption was considered as a means of social differentiation and building a space of lifestyles, the symbolic side of consumption was studied, the trends of the modern consumer society with its alienating and innovative practices were analyzed. In modern society, computer technology is becoming the main means and environment of economic activity. The Internet is being commercialized while absorbing the real economy. More and more people resort to the services of online stores with their virtual storefronts, while paying with electronic money. Consumer behavior on the Internet, due to the special environment, differs from traditional consumer behavior.

This environment has its drawbacks that limit the development of Internet commerce. Firstly, the consumer cannot physically assess the quality of the product, which is very important when buying so-called sensory goods (cars, certain household items, cosmetics, clothing). In order to make a decision to buy this type of goods, you need to get more information than is available on the Internet. Secondly, the purchase and the possibility of direct consumption of the goods are separated in time. It should also take into account the fact that the consumer on the Internet does not have direct contact with the seller. However, in return, he has the widest possible choice, not limited by physical space and time. Search engines help the consumer to find the right product on the Internet, the space is practically unlimited. Making a choice in favor of a particular product, he can refer to the experience of people who have already made a purchase, or to experts, for example, visiting specialized forums.

The consumer behavior of a person on the Internet, due to the opportunities that this type of communication gives him, is characterized by a wide choice of behavior strategies. Of course, a certain competence is required from the consumer in the algorithm for searching and selecting goods. In turn, online stores strive to create the most convenient navigation on their sites, to facilitate the ordering process. So-called "aggregator sites" are being created, which greatly facilitate the search, offering the consumer in a convenient form to get acquainted with the offers of many online stores, being on one site.

Online consumption involves more uncertainty and risk than buying in traditional stores. There is a problem of trust in the development of Internet commerce, since Internet consumption includes not only trust between the Internet store and the consumer, but also between the consumer and computer system through which operations are performed. Online shopping is a relatively new phenomenon with huge potential. There is a need to revisit the concept of trust and identify its determinants in a new context, in different markets and in different cultures.

Is the Internet swallowing traditional commerce? There is no need to talk about it now. Online and offline trading harmoniously complement each other. Searching for information about a product on the Internet may result in a purchase in a traditional store, and vice versa. Different stages of consumer behavior can thus be realized in different environments.

The spread of online consumption has become a clear trend in our country. But still, the Ukrainian consumer market in Ukraine is poorly studied. The current situation and prospects for the development of Internet consumption in Ukraine should be assessed. Within the framework of a sociological study of this phenomenon, it is relevant to create a portrait of the Ukrainian online consumer, to compile a list of the main goods purchased on the Internet; study of the motivational complex that determines the choice of goods and online stores and the implementation of various stages of consumer behavior on the Internet. Problems and prospects of online consumption in Ukraine are associated with the rapid development of social networks and smartphones.

Usenkov Mikhail

Kharkiv National University named after V.N. Karazin

(Ukraine, Kharkov)

We conducted a large-scale study of the consumer behavior of Russians when shopping in online stores. The object of analysis was 1.2 million users of the service and their consumer activity in the first half of 2017.

According to the results of the study, in the first half of 2017, online shoppers most often purchased goods in the “Appliances and Electronics” category (55.17%). The second most popular category “Clothes and Shoes” (21.28%), as well as “Sporting Goods” (10.77%) are significantly behind the leader of user sympathies. It is interesting that Russian Internet users most often prefer to order equipment and electronics in the Ulmart network (32.15%), but the Wildberries RU online store (41.37%) unexpectedly became the leader in the clothing segment, ahead of strong competitors Lamoda RU (20.34% ) and bonprix (19.46%). At the same time, over the calendar year, the share of buyers who choose clothes and shoes on the Internet has almost halved - from 41.83% to 21.28%.

All categories	2016	2017
Engineering and electronics	33.10%	55.17%
Clothing and footwear	41.83%	21.28%
Sporting goods	4.97%	10.77%
Food/food delivery	4.13%	6.96%
Books	3.61%	2.44%
Travels	2.20%	1.24%
Cosmetics and perfumery	6.08%	0.95%
Children and toys	2.57%	0.78%
Household products	0.80%	0.24%
Services	0.32%	0.14%
Games	0.03%	0.02%
Present	0.22%	0.01%
Pets	0.07%	0.01%
Pharmacies	0.07%	0.00%

The category “Smartphones and phones” brought the greatest profit to sellers in 2017: here the average size of the consumer basket was 12,817 rubles. The 152% growth for the calendar year was undoubtedly driven by the introduction of new flagship smartphones from Apple and Samsung. Interestingly, 14.4% of all consumers prefer to purchase smartphones in Svyaznoy stores. Approximately 7.5% each prefer branded stores of telecom operators MTS and Beeline. But only 6.84% of fans of innovative gadgets save on taxes and Rostest certification by ordering phones on AliExpress.

The decline in the popularity of online orders for cosmetics and perfumery looks inexplicable: if in 2016 the share of their popularity in the structure of Russian online orders was very significant (6.08%), then in 2017 it dropped to the level (0.95%). Equally modest were the positions of eBay RU. The Internet auction, which was once the most popular among Russians, in 2017 managed to provide only 1.18% of sales of the most popular category of goods "Appliances and Electronics".

Popular stores

Clothing and footwear	2017
Wildberries EN	41.37%
Lamoda EN	20.34%
bonprix	19.46%
ASOS EN	6.09%
BUTIK	4.84%
KupiVIP	2.77%
Finnflare	1.69%
O "STIN	1.60%
La redoute	0.93%
YOUR	0.93%

“The depreciation of the national currency continues to be a key factor in the refusal of Russians from shopping in foreign online stores. An exception is made only for AliExpress, which always offers the widest range of products for every taste. A large-scale increase in demand for one product category and a drop in interest in another should not be given much importance. Such fluctuations in demand are due to both the appearance of long-awaited new products on the market and attractive discount promotions of sellers that stimulate the growth of consumer activity,” sums up Gulnaz Sharipova, Project Development Director for Promokodabra.ru.

Electronic marketing today is a different direction in the marketing field, because its development, like its emergence, took place separately from other areas of marketing. Electronic marketing arose as a result of the development of information communications and the Internet, separating itself from the concept of information marketing and turning into a separate marketing direction related to the activity commercial organizations.

E-commerce first appeared in 1960 when two American companies American Airlines and IBM took the first step towards the development of online trading - they created a system for reserving seats on SABER flights. This program made the purchase of air tickets more convenient and affordable for different citizens, since the automation of the process of calculating the cost of tickets during reservation reduced the cost of the flight. In this way, main goal The first stage of the concept of electronic marketing, which lasted until 2003, was the increase in quantitative indicators.

Then, from 2003 to 2010, a new methodology for determining effectiveness was added to the main marketing strategy - improving positions in the ratings. From 2010 to the present, electronic marketing is focused on the buyer, his goals and objectives, which are studied and achieved through various modern marketing methods and tactics, and since the Internet environment and Internet technologies are developing very rapidly, e-commerce is constantly adjusting to changing market requirements, as a result of which consumer behavior is changing, which requires a new approach.

Classical approaches aimed at studying the behavior of buyers in the modern information environment, such as VALS-1, VALS-2 and LOV, do not work and are not effective, because online trading differs sharply from traditional trading not only by the store itself and the process of making a purchase, but and behavior of buyers in this environment. In the online environment, consumer behavior differs from their behavior in a brick-and-mortar store, and some new effects may arise, such as the value gap effect. electronic money.

In order for the online store to function successfully, a lot of marketing research is carried out on the behavior of buyers on the network, and models and tactics are developed to attract buyers to the seller’s website.

To date, there are many theories about the behavior of online buyers, but in this section we will consider the basic and most commonly used models in today's e-commerce. For a more convenient and visual acquaintance and study of theories about consumer behavior, the author of this work compiled a table with a complete list of key theories in this area of research, arranged for convenience in chronological order and presented in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1 Chronology of the development of theories and models of consumer behavior in the Internet environment

Model name		Key points

Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA)	M. Fishbein and I. Ajzen	Buying behavior is determined by their personal socio-behavioral characteristics.
Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)		In addition to the main factors of the TRA model, the behavior of buyers is influenced by volitional control.
The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)		Explains how a consumer chooses a particular online store before making a purchase.
Citrin's Conceptual Model		Describes the relationship between the degree of innovation of the buyer and his behavior
Model of Intention, Adoption and Continuance (MIAC)		Buyer behavior is determined by the influence of information and social networks.
A Multidisciplinary Approach		Two factors affect the buying decision process - the degree of trust and the degree of risk taking.
Electronic Consumer Decision Process model (eCDP)		The adapted CDP model includes three changes - combining the stages of decision making, choice different methods online behavior and modality change in the buying process.
Consumer Personal Characteristics Extended TAM (CPCETAM)	E. Bigne Alcaniz	Provides an understanding of innovation and highlights it as a factor influencing the behavior of the buyer.
Information Oriented Theory		A two-phase model for searching for information about a product in the Internet environment.

Community Influence Model		Consumer behavior is determined by the influence of virtual communications.
Adapted 7Cs Model		Considers seven factors - context, comfort, content, choice, convenience, communications and customer support.

The first theory about purchasing behavior, which began to be used in e-commerce became Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), which was proposed by M. Fishbein and I. Ajzen in 1975. This model assumes that consumer behavior is determined by two key factors: our attitude and subjective norms. Each group of factors includes several components, respectively. The buyer's attitude includes the evaluation and strength of belief, and his subjective norms - behavioral intentions, such as normative beliefs (the expectations of others about his behavior) and motivation for compliance with these norms (the importance of performing the expected behavior for the consumer).

After 10 years, I. Ajzen independently finalized this model, which was called Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), adding a third variable - volitional control. The author is sure that the third variable allows predicting the intention of the buyer. This model assumes that it is not the attitude of the consumer or his subjective norms that hinders the purchase, but the feeling that the consumer himself cannot perform this action.

Despite the fact that I. Ajzen improved the previous model, C. Chen found imperfections in it. He is convinced that the TRA model has some imperfections in the area of subjective intentions. During his research, he received a new theory about the behavior of buyers - Model of Intention, Adoption and Continuance (MIAC). Unlike the old model, MIAC combined the main concepts of consumer behavior, such as adaptation, intent and retention. The author considered that such a combination is possible due to the similarity of other intermediary factors, such as satisfaction and trust, due to which a basic structure was built for studying the behavior of online shoppers.

Also based on the experience of I. Ajzen, F. Davis received a new positive experience, focusing on the features of consumer evaluation of online stores. The author is convinced that the TRA model can be taken as the basis for the final choice of the consumer. Based on attitudes and subjective norms, F. Davis developed The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which explains how a consumer chooses a particular online store before making a purchase. The author also suggests that this choice may be influenced by a number of different factors, but he does not single them out.

In 2000, a new theory was proposed that describes a model of consumer behavior on the Internet - Citrin's Conceptual Model. It describes the relationship between the degree of innovation of the buyer and his behavior. A. Citrin is convinced that Internet users and consumers with a high degree innovation, but at the same time, it does not take into account a number of factors of perception of the online store itself.

It is for this reason that E. Bigne-Alcaniz does not agree with the author's point of view, despite the fact that his theory of Consumer Personal Characteristics Extended TAM (CPCETAM) provides an understanding of innovation and highlights it as a factor influencing the decision-making process about Internet store. This model is based on TAM and is its extended and improved version. She proves that the process of making a purchase decision is influenced by the external environment, which E. Bigne-Alcaniz singles out as an intermediary between the seller and the buyer.

L. Cheung looks at online shopping from a different angle. He draws attention to such an important part of the relationship between the seller and the buyer as trust. A Multidisciplinary Approach is based on two key assumptions - risk perception and trust. The author believes that the main problem is that consumers tend to trust physical evidence that they cannot find on the Internet, so this model allows you to take into account possible perceived risks in the process of analyzing customer behavior.

C. Chen has developed a model that allows you to find out what information is oriented buying behavior consumer. A large amount of various information on the Internet can influence the decision to make a purchase, changing it for the better or worse for the seller. To solve this problem, the author proposed the Information-Oriented Theory, which is able to build an information retrieval and evaluation model from two phases. By focusing on the elements of the marketing mix in each of the phases, the consumer is more willing to make purchases.

K. Valck agrees with C. Chun-An in his Community Influence Model that the Internet information flow has an impact on consumer behavior, but he notes that virtual communications have the greatest impact. In his study, the author proved that social and information networks contain certain norms that control the behavior of an individual, and also differ from traditional ones.

An important contribution to the study of Internet consumers has been the adaptation of some classic marketing models. So, in 2005, one of the classic marketing behavior models was adapted to the Internet environment - the Consumer Decision Process model (CDP), which was called the Electronic Consumer Decision Process model (eCDP). By adding just one word to the title, M. Ambaye has made three significant changes to the theory, making it effective for online trading as well. First, the author notes that in the new model, the stages of decision-making can be combined, that is, some decisions can occur simultaneously. Secondly, she introduced the concept of "variable methods", which means that different consumer intentions imply the choice of different methods of behavior in the network. Last but not least, the buyer is able to change the modality in the buying process itself.

The 7Cs Model, which was proposed by D. Begalli in 2009, was also adapted. The main idea of this model is that in the Internet environment it is quite difficult for buyers to make a purchase decision due to the lack of physical contact with the product, so buyers rely on other important factors- context, comfort, content, choice, convenience, communications and customer support. All these seven parameters form the Adapted 7Cs Model.

Thus, all these models describe shopping behavior in the network, but they evaluate it under the influence of different factors and points of view. This suggests that these models cannot be effective in the same situation, with the same customers. Of course, different target audience requires a different approach, but there are some basic factors on the basis of which the main concept of the service should be developed, for example, trust, convenience and speed of making a purchase, timely delivery. To solve this problem, it is necessary to get the opinion of buyers by identifying the key determinants that influence their decision to purchase in a particular online store. Based on the factors obtained, it is possible to develop a basic optimization strategy electronic service, which can change and be supplemented depending on the characteristics of the target audience of the online store.

Having studied and analyzed these marketing models, we can draw several important conclusions:

- Models TAM, CPCETAM and Citrin's Conceptual Model focus on the degree of buyer's Internet and computer proficiency, which initially imposes restrictions on research on consumer behavior and significantly limits the effects that arise during a real purchase.
- The Adapted 7Cs Model, Community Influence Model, Information-Oriented Theory and eCDP focus on the influence of information collected by consumers on the Internet on the consumer's purchase, but do not pay attention to other important factors, while the A Multidisciplinary Approach and MIAC models, on the contrary, they ignore the buying process itself, which makes it difficult to study the behavior of the buyer.
- The founder models - TRA, TPB and TRA, as well as models built on their basis, study many important external factors that affect consumer behavior, but do not pay attention to the marketing component in the Internet environment, which does not allow you to get a complete picture of the behavior of buyers in online store.

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