The Online Presence And Consumer Buying Behavior (A Case Study Of Three Selected Online Stores In Owerri, Imo State – Nigeria).

Description

ABSTRACT

Consumers are the kings of markets. No business enterprise can operate without the presence of the consumer, and with the advancement of technology, consumers tend to make countless decisions in purchasing with the use of online means – online shops. The study examined the influence of efficient use of online presence, online shopping, effective communication, and on-time delivery on the regularity of visits and consumer patronage of the three selected online stores in Owerri, Imo State. It was guided by six research questions and six hypotheses. The sample size was 300 respondents two sets of structured questionnaire were used for data collection. Mean statistics was used to analyze the responses of the research questions, while Z-test analysis was applied to test the hypotheses for this study. A Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software was used to analyse the data.   The findings of the study showed that online presence is a viable marketing communication channel techniques which has significant effect on the regularity of visits and consumer patronage of online stores. Based on the findings, it was recommended that companies should ascribe to market their goods and services via online shopping stores and/or develop and launch indigenous websites where customers can make purchases. For further testing of the impact of shopping websites on behaviour of electronic devices buyers, further studies should replicate the theory and methodology used in this study, with other products and websites.

 TABLE OF CONTENT

COVER PAGE

APPROVAL PAGE

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

TABLE OF CONTENT

• INTRODUCTION
• BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
• STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
• OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
• RESEARCH QUESTION
• RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
• SIGNIFICANT OF THE STUDY
• SCOPE OF THE STUDY
• LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
• OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

 

CHAPTER TWO

2.0   INTRODUCTION

2.1   CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

2.2   THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

2.3   WHO IS A CONSUMER?

2.4   TYPES OF CONSUMER

2.5   EVANTUATION OF CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOURS

2.6   FACTORS INFLUENCING ON CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR

2.7   BENEFITS OF USING ONLINE PRESENCE

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.0   INTRODUCTION:

3.1   RESEARCH DESIGN

3.2   POPULATION

• SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUES

3.4   MEASURING INSTRUMENT

3.5     RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENT

3.6     DATA COLLECTION

3.7     PROCEDURE AND ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0   RESULT AND DISCUSSION

CHAPTER FIVE

5.0   SUMMARY

5.1   SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

5.2   CONCLUSIONS

5.3   RECOMMENDATIONS

REFERENCES

CHAPTER ONE

1.0                                        INTRODUCTION

1.1                          BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Consumers are the kings of markets. No business enterprise can operate without the presence of the consumer. The analysis of customer behavior is focused on consumer buying behavior, with the customer playing the three distinct users, payer and buyer positions (Peighambari et al, 2016). Consumer buying behavior refers to the behaviors of when, why, how, and where goods are purchased or not bought before buying a product or service by customers (both on and offline) [Team, 2020]. In any field of business and services, consumer behavior is the most concentrated sector. Nowadays, discovering the changing needs and desires of consumers in today’s world is the main deciding factor for every business.

Uturu (1998), states that marketing communication is the key element of the marketing mix which deals with communicating the wants and satisfying attributes of a product to a target audience. When a new product comes into existence, consumers need to be informed. For products that are already in existence, consumers need to be reminded and persuaded. Marketing communication is the tool for achieving these objectives. From April 1995 to April 2000, online marketing was known as dot.com boom. During this 5-year period, hundreds of businesses tended to use internet as a primary means of doing their transaction with their consumers. Consequently, many of the firms terminated their operation and many others tried to exist with adequate business change. (Wikipedia, 2014).

Meanwhile e-tailers developed and introduced new internet based marketing aspect and as a result a new world for marketing was born. Internet marketing as a part of e-marketing led to the development of websites for business. Internet marketing in recent decade has very huge movement forward and companies all over the world use internet for advertisements or for corporate promotion activities. Beside, not many companies fully utilise their system with recruiting the power of Internet in business as new channel of doing transactions (Kiang, Raghu, and Shang, 2000). Also media consumption is changing too. The rise of convergent technology and social media is growing. Consumers online are growing rapidly because the internet makes their lifestyle easier as they tend to shop around more because they have access to several other points of information. They use the internet to research before committing to purchase and are early adopters of technology because they have a world view (Asoto, 2010).

Delafrooz, Paim, and Khatibi (2010), opined that online shopping has been a growing phenomenon in all four corners of the world, in particular amongst countries possessing highly developed infrastructure available for marketing activities through the internet. Marketing over the internet creates a basic change not only in business but also in customers` behaviour. Internet marketing provides a unique platform for firms to understand the need of the customers and make them free from the time and place encumbrances. It also reduces cost by omitting unnecessary transaction cost (Sheth and Sharma, 2005). Integrating competitive strategies and internet are progressively becoming a crucial factor for firms not only in physical market place but also in electronic environment (Goodarz, Samin, Muhammad, Firoozeh, Neda, & Samaneh, 2012). According to Ayo (2006), ―virtually all organisations in Nigeria have online presence and internet access. Their goods and services are displayed online similarly; internet access is fairly popular among the citizens, particularly for sending mails and sourcing for information. This is primarily due to the high number of cybercafés that offer internet access to all and sundry for a fee.

In the digital age, it is absolutely essential for your business to have an online presence. Whether it’s a website, an e-commerce platform, a social media page or a combination of all three, getting your company online will reap major benefits. Even if your company does not conduct business online, customers and potential customers are expecting to see you online. If they don’t see you there, you could be losing out on the opportunity to increase your customer base and get the word out about your business.

In the Nigerian landscape, marketers and their clients are becoming aware of the need and underlying effects of online marketing via the internet; the trend has started to build where agencies ignorantly advise clients to use banner ads and display ads for campaign on Facebook, Yahoo, local news and entertainment sites, as opposed to looking critically at what the clients want to achieve and advising them on all the various digital marketing platforms available and what each of them can achieve and how to use them (Asoto, 2010). Based on the facts above, it is pertinent to ask if online marketing is important for Nigeria while discovering the influence of this means of marketing on individuals to make purchases of electronic devices.

 

            1.2            Statement of the Problem

Efficient and effective online marketing influences consumer behaviour in terms of purchase frequency and regular visits to online shopping stores. This generates the problem of discovering the effect of efficient on-line marketing, effective communication, and on-line delivery on the regularity of visits and consumer patronage to shopping sites.In some studies in other countries like India & China (Li and Zhang, 2002; Xiao, 2004; Delafrooz, et. al., 2010; Bhatt and Bhatt, 2012), it has been established that online marketing communication has effect on consumer behaviour. This assertion may have been verified and established in Nigeria, but we have not come across it, hence the need to evaluate the effect of online marketing sites on Nigerians who purchase electronic devices.

            1.3            Aim and Objectives of the Study

The main aim of the study was to examine the influence of efficient online marketing, effective communication, and on-time delivery on the regularity of visits and consumer patronage of the three online stores in Owerri, Imo State

The specific objectives were to:

1. To determine the influence of efficient on-line presence on the regularity of visits to the
2. To determine the influence of efficient on-line marketing on the consumer patronage of the
3. To determine the influence of effective communication on the regularity of visits to the sites.
4. To determine the influence of effective communication on the consumer patronage of the
5. To determine the influence of on-line delivery on the regularity of visits to the

            1.4            Research Questions

Six research questions guided the study.

1. To what extent does on-line marketing influence the regularity of visits to the sites?
2. In what ways has online presence influenced the consumer patronage of the sites?
3. How does effective communication influence the regularity of visits to the sites?
4. How does effective communication influence the consumer patronage of the sites?
5. How does on-line delivery influence the regularity of visits to the sites?

            1.5            Research Hypotheses

The following research hypotheses, in null form, were tested to answer the research questions posed in this study:

1. Efficient on-line marketing has no influence on the regularity of visits of consumers to the
2. Efficient on-line marketing has no influence on consumer patronage of the
3. Effective communication has no influence on the regularity of visits of consumers to the
4. Effective communication has no influence on consumer patronage of the
5. On-line delivery has no influence on the regularity of visits of consumers to the
6. On-time delivery has no influence on consumer patronage the

 

            1.6            Significance of the Study

The findings of this research will significantly create awareness of the impact of online marketing on the buying behaviour of individuals especially students who wish to purchase electronic devices via online shopping stores. The study will serve as a piece of motivation to organisations wishing to market their products via websites. It will also be beneficial to web designers who are instrumental in the designing and launching of online stores. Finally, this study will be of importance to academia as additional literature in the understanding of online marketing and its effect on people’s buying behaviour.

            1.7            Scope of the Study

This study covered three selected websites namely; Amazon.com, jumia.com and Konga.com. These shopping store are strategically located in Owerri Imo State.

Subject and Variable Scope: The study’s subject scope was delimited to online marketing via afore-mentioned websites and purchase of electronic devices. This is domiciled in the area of electronic marketing. The variables of interest in the study are the three afore-mentioned online shopping sites and their impact on the purchase of electronic devices. The three online marketing sites were the independent variables while buying behaviour of consumers, who purchase electronic devices, was the dependent variable.

Geographical Scope: Owerri, the Igbo heartland of Imo State in the South East geo-political zone of Nigeria is the geographical area of study.

 

Study Unit Scope/Brand of Interest: The units of study in this research work consisted of undergraduates, graduates, and postgraduates who patronise the websites under study, who at the time of this study visit the online sites to make purchases. Respondents comprised individuals who patronise these sites to discover which of the websites (if any) is responsible for the purchase of electronic devices.

            1.8            Limitations of the Study

The sample of respondents can be seen as limitation of this study because it was limited by the number of respondents who successfully completed the questionnaire. Also, the chosen sample limited the generalisation of population to tertiary students in Owerri, Imo State. The websites were limited to three which are as follows: Amazon.com, Jumia.com, and Konga.com. These online sites were selected based on level of popularity. Time was also a constraint, as the respondents had to take out time from attending to both curricular and non- curricular activities to answer the questionnaire items. Research on online and internet marketing in Nigeria has not been tapped into extensively; hence related literature in the Nigerian context was limited and not readily available. Despite these limitations, the researcher made effort to minimise their negative impact by utilising validated research instrument.