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Online grocery shopping: the influence of situational factors

Online grocery shopping: the influence of situational factors
Online grocery shopping: the influence of situational factors
Purpose : this paper seeks to understand the triggers which influence the adoption (and the discontinuation) of online grocery shopping. Specifically, the research aims to establish the role of situational factors in the process of adoption.

Design/methodology/approach: a two-step research process is employed. First, exploratory qualitative research is carried out, with the purpose of gaining an in-depth understanding of consumers' online grocery shopping behaviour. This is followed by a large-scale quantitative survey extending the findings of the qualitative research and validating the role of situational factors in instigating the commencement (and discontinuation) of online grocery buying. Cluster analysis is used to segment consumers based on the importance of specific types of situations.

Findings: both qualitative and quantitative results establish the importance of situational factors, such as having a baby or developing health problems, as triggers for starting to buy groceries online. Many shoppers are found to discontinue online grocery shopping once the initial trigger has disappeared or they have experienced a problem with the service.

Practical implications: while situational factors are beyond a marketer's control, they could be used as a basis for marketing communications content and target advertising, for instance, by using magazines directed at new parents.

Originality/value: the importance of situational factors as triggers for the adoption of online grocery shopping suggests an erratic adoption process, driven by circumstances rather than by a cognitive elaboration and decision. The adoption of online shopping seems to be contingent and may be discontinued when the initiating circumstances change.
0309-0566
1205-1219
Hand, Chris
e266d7ce-06f4-4fd0-8390-2e3bc796488b
Riley, Francesca Dall'Olmo
96fbbe50-e8d6-47a5-acdf-f54b45d328ad
Harris, Patricia
a2b2a375-4035-404a-a166-133a266e30d6
Singh, Jaywant
db6316ed-e404-4c5a-873c-6e97c94fe531
Rettie, Ruth
0783f011-f2a9-48cc-9fea-98cfdd7a3836
Hand, Chris
e266d7ce-06f4-4fd0-8390-2e3bc796488b
Riley, Francesca Dall'Olmo
96fbbe50-e8d6-47a5-acdf-f54b45d328ad
Harris, Patricia
a2b2a375-4035-404a-a166-133a266e30d6
Singh, Jaywant
db6316ed-e404-4c5a-873c-6e97c94fe531
Rettie, Ruth
0783f011-f2a9-48cc-9fea-98cfdd7a3836

Hand, Chris, Riley, Francesca Dall'Olmo, Harris, Patricia, Singh, Jaywant and Rettie, Ruth (2009) Online grocery shopping: the influence of situational factors. European Journal of Marketing, 43 (9/10), 1205-1219. (doi:10.1108/03090560910976447).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Purpose : this paper seeks to understand the triggers which influence the adoption (and the discontinuation) of online grocery shopping. Specifically, the research aims to establish the role of situational factors in the process of adoption.

Design/methodology/approach: a two-step research process is employed. First, exploratory qualitative research is carried out, with the purpose of gaining an in-depth understanding of consumers' online grocery shopping behaviour. This is followed by a large-scale quantitative survey extending the findings of the qualitative research and validating the role of situational factors in instigating the commencement (and discontinuation) of online grocery buying. Cluster analysis is used to segment consumers based on the importance of specific types of situations.

Findings: both qualitative and quantitative results establish the importance of situational factors, such as having a baby or developing health problems, as triggers for starting to buy groceries online. Many shoppers are found to discontinue online grocery shopping once the initial trigger has disappeared or they have experienced a problem with the service.

Practical implications: while situational factors are beyond a marketer's control, they could be used as a basis for marketing communications content and target advertising, for instance, by using magazines directed at new parents.

Originality/value: the importance of situational factors as triggers for the adoption of online grocery shopping suggests an erratic adoption process, driven by circumstances rather than by a cognitive elaboration and decision. The adoption of online shopping seems to be contingent and may be discontinued when the initiating circumstances change.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 1 August 2008
Published date: 18 September 2009

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 436038
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/436038
ISSN: 0309-0566
PURE UUID: 5563b97a-725d-481b-a295-1946101ffff4
ORCID for Jaywant Singh: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-0766-0162

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 26 Nov 2019 17:30
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:59

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Contributors

Author: Chris Hand
Author: Francesca Dall'Olmo Riley
Author: Patricia Harris
Author: Jaywant Singh ORCID iD
Author: Ruth Rettie

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