The Efficacy of Online Purchases in Influencing Buying Habits

Table of Contents

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
1.2 STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.5 SCOPE OF STUDY
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS

CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1 CONCEPT OF ONLINE SHOPPING
2.2 ONLINE SHOPPING IN AFRICA (NIGERIA)
2.3 AN OVERVIEW OF ONLINE MALLS
2.4 ONLINE MALLS IN NIGERIA
2.5 CONSUMERS ONLINE SHOPPING BEHAVIOUR AND BUYING HABITS
2.6 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 STUDY DESIGN
3.2 STUDY POPULATION
3.3 SAMPLE AND SAMPLING PROCEDURE
3.4 RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
3.5 MEASURABLE VARIABLES
3.6 PRE-TEST AND VALIDATION OF RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
3.7 DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE
3.8 DATA ANALYSIS METHOD

CHAPTER FOUR DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
4.1 DATA PRESENTATION
4.2 ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS
4.3 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATIONS AND LIMITATION OF STUDY
5.1 SUMMARY
5.2 CONCLUSION
5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS
5.4 LIMITATIONS OF STUDY

REFERENCES

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Globalization and the growth in new technological developments (Ramayah & Ignatius, 2005) has commenced a new era of e-commerce which is viewed by Kalakota and Whinston ( 1997) as trading of information, goods and services mostly via the Internet, leading to the growth of online shopping or e-shopping. Shopping which used to take place in a brick and mortar environment has evolved into a virtual shopping environment, an online phenomenon that gave rise to the concept and buzzword, online shopping.

With more consumers making purchases via the internet, a means of transaction that does not allow for face- to-face interaction between a retailer and a customer, nor inspect merchandise before it gets to the customer, because of the nature of the transaction, implies that there is a tendency that some of them are likely to have the wrong product/service delivered to them; or worse still, a damaged or inferior product delivered, hence resulting to dissatisfaction with service delivery from consumers.

Whether this has an influence on the buying habits of Nigerian youths is what this study set out to investigate.

1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY

The introduction and implementation of internet technologies has created new market for manufacturers and service providers and also has provided new arena for innovative marketing strategies by professionals. The internet is becoming an increasingly popular medium to facilitate information search, choice, and purchase (Masoud, 2013). Also, Gefen, Karahanna and Straub (2003); Yu, (2005) and Hsu, Ju and Chang (2007) posit that the growth of the internet as a shopping medium has revealed the evolution of the behavior of e-customers as they acquire e-purchasing experience.

In our time, internet is acknowledged as noteworthy valuable communication channel coupled with the traditional ones, such as walkie-talkie, magazines, and small screen. With the spread of the Internet, the amount of trade that is conducted electronically has seen extraordinary growth; and has led to innovations and development in areas such as electronic funds transfer; electronic data interchange, internet marketing and online shopping (MasterCard worldwide Insight, 2008).

Online shopping, part of the activities in e-commerce, is a single, homogenous activity¾ the selling of goods and services via the World Wide Web (WWW), (Birkin & Clarke, 2002). Online shopping can also be described as the process of purchasing goods or services over the internet. Again, it is a major part of the overall electronic commerce, or e-commerce industry which consists of all the buying and selling of goods and services over electronic systems such as the internet and other computer networks by households, businesses and other agencies, (MasterCard Worldwide Insights, 2008).

From the past few years, online shopping has been the prevalent way of dealings in the field of E-Business. The increasing consumer base, principally of youths, is playing a significant role in online shopping. Modern day young adults constitute an important shopper segment due to their own current spending power, influence on their parents’ spending, and their own potential spending in the future. Furthermore, they are considered to be brand loyal and portrayed as early adopters of an innovation (Future Pages, 2002). They are considered to adapt faster to new changes due to the absence of any established habits and behavior.

However, surveys of online customers continue to indicate that many remain unsatisfied with their online purchase experiences. Consequently, online shopping adoption has remained low in some countries, especially, developing countries. The study conducted by Alley in 2010, “comparison of online shopping behaviours of Nigerian students in Sheffield and Nigeria,” revealed that developing countries like Nigeria seem to be lagging behind in adopting online shopping despite the global popularity and growth of e-commerce. The study found out that this unwillingness by many Nigerians to trade in e-commerce is as a result of fear of internet fraud, internet security and ordering over the internet that has led to lack of trust on the part of the customers. These customers’ fears about internet security and ordering over the internet have been revealed by Wiley (2008) to be capable of influencing buying behaviors.

Meanwhile, most people prefer to carry out their transactions traditionally than on the internet, this is because conclusion of contract offline is done with personal interaction, unlike on the internet where conclusion of contract is done without personal interaction, and the consumer sitting in front of a computer/screen tends not to think over or consider his/her intention of buying. Personal communications are, by definition, always interactive, (Jill, 2009). And the online environment is an impersonal medium and, as such, does not allow for direct personal communication.

The consumer being a layman and not a professional player of the deal is in a more defenseless situation. This is manifested in a twofold information deficit concerning on one hand the product to be bought and on the other hand, the identity of the trader. The consumer and the trader do not meet during the transaction, so it is dubious whether the trader selling the product does actually exist or not, how reliable it is and whether the trader possesses all the necessary permits for carrying out business activity. Buying medicines or food supplements online may entail health risks for consumers. It may happen that traders try to sell products endangering health and safety of consumers, which are withdrawn from the market or recalled from consumers, thus these products are illegally sold on the Internet. Furthermore, as a result of the absence of the parties the risk of purchasing counterfeit is extremely high (European Consumer Centre, 2014).

Emphasizing on the importance of personal communication, Mpinganjira (2015) posits that building of strong relationship is difficult if not impossible in the absence of personal communication, an opportunity for a two-way interaction. Halima (2011) argued that a two-way communication is a fundamental aspect of relationship development. She noted that the reason is because it provides business with opportunities to listen and respond to customers’ queries, gain a better understanding of customers’ needs and find effective ways of meeting those needs.

Other issue found to be impeding the growth of e-commerce / online shopping is product delivery. Product delivery for online shopping has been considered to be an important part of order fulfillment that is becoming more salient to consumers (Cooke, 2004).

In the same vein, Electronic Commerce-Technology and Prospect textbook listed the issues limiting the success of e-commerce as follows:

1. Not everybody has access to a computer.
2. Buying goods over the Internet is not natural. This is because one cannot feel or see the products in real life and the interaction is unnatural, there is no salesperson present.
3. People are concerned that it is unsafe to buy over the internet.

More gruesome is the report by The Guardian (2014), which revealed that nearly half of the consumers who bought goods online over the past two years had a problem with their purchase. These problems were said to range from being overcharged, incurring unexpected fee, late or unattended delivery of the items and items arriving faulty or damaged. These problems have been said to have emerged as a result of the anonymity and the invisibility nature of online shopping that gives rise to lack of inspection of merchandise by feeling, seeing and assessing it before purchase.

However, whether online or offline shopping, one thing is crucial for any business to thrive in this cut-throat environment¾ ‘customer satisfaction.’ Its importance is such that it provides a leading indicator of consumer repurchase intentions and loyalty. Not only that, it also reduces negative word of mouth (Beard, 2014).

With people increasingly shopping online and millions experiencing problems with their purchases, there is every possibility that these problems with purchase could trigger customer dissatisfaction thereby leading to myriads of complaints and hence influence their buying habit, i.e. whether to purchase a product or not, whether to make purchase at a particular store or not, whether to be loyal to a particular brand or not and whether to continue shopping online or return to traditional shopping ¾brick and mortar shopping.

1.2 STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM

Electronic commerce has become as common place as watching television. Some marketing scholars believe that easy access to internet has driven consumer to shop online. In fact according to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Communication Policy (2001), online shopping is the third most popular activity on the internet after email using and web browsing. Its popularity in recent times has grown tremendously such that it’s on the verge of outstripping other internet-related activities such as: seeking out entertainment, information and news, which are presumably the foremost activities that come to mind when considering what Internet users do when online.

Online shopping is believed to be the most convenient, time saving and cost effective way of making purchases in recent times. These reasons and many other ones have put the business on the fore front of today’s commercial transaction.

Although the advantages could be said to be huge, there are still some downsides to this new shopping trend.

Among the downsides is the touch and feel of product that is impossible. An online shopper cannot feel or touch the product and judge the quality of it before making the final decision or purchasing. They have to rely on the images and description of products and that might lead to dissatisfactions of the customers if the products do not meet up to their expectation or tally with the information provided by online retailers on their website regarding such products when they finally get to them. A study of efficacy of online purchase in influencing buying habits among youths is a ripe area for research because satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a former purchase could potentially have a consequence on latter purchasing decision.

Against this backdrop, the question is: to what extent does online purchase meet up and satisfy consumers’ demands and expectations of quality and efficacy?

This study therefore stands to evaluate product/ service quality and satisfaction problems encountered during this e- transaction by customers and what influence they have on customers buying habits.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

The general purpose of this study is to ascertain who; among the users of internet shopping have made purchases that made them skeptical about online shopping. Against this backdrop, this study was necessitated by the need to find a link between online purchase and buying habits. The specific objectives are as follows:

- To establish the level of online participation among youths in Awka municipality.
- To find out if these youths make online purchases.
- To determine what type of product these youths shop for online.
- To establish these youths’ perception of online purchases/ e-commerce.
- To find out if online purchase efficacy motivates these youths to continue shopping.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The focal phenomenon for this study was probed using the following research questions:

Research Question 1: What is the level of online participation among youths in Awka Municipality?

Research Question 2: How many of these youths make online purchases?

Research Question 3: What type of product do these youths shop for online?

Research Question 4: What are these youths perception of online purchases?

Research Question 5: How many of these youths are their buying habits motivated by online purchase efficacy?

1.5 SCOPE OF STUDY

The phenomenon of online shopping or internet shopping is a vast domain for research in recent times. This study sought to determine whether online purchases have an influence on youth buying habits.

The audience mentioned here refers to youths in Awka. As youths, within the age bracket (16-34), they have been purposively chosen because of their inclination towards using the internet.

A purposively decision was made to choose Awka as a rapid and suitable assessment content. Any other municipality could have sufficed for the purpose of this study but the belief was that the result of this study could be replicated in other municipalities to establish what is obtained in those areas.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

With the technological advancement and widespread use of computers, smart phones and other hand-held computer devices, people are doing online shopping nowadays more than ever. More store owners are going online with their products and because of the convenient shopping mechanism, customers are opting to this new trends.

This study is therefore significant because in establishing the extent to which dissatisfaction with a purchase can influence further purchasing decision, it is drawing attention to the need that efficacy of online purchase can determine whether or not consumers would continue to shop online or revert to physical store. It also suggests to academic institutions, the need to encourage researchers to spend more time and money on exploring this issue to be able to find ways to improve the system and to further consolidate the need to establish acceptance and loyalty to Internet shopping.

1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS

For the purpose of clarity, some terms used in this study were defined. They are as follows:

Brick and Mortar shop/ Offline stores: This refers to a traditional business serving customers in a physical building as contrasted to an online or virtual business.

Buying habit: This refers to purchase of the same brand over and over again, more due to absence of dissatisfaction than because of a positive loyalty.

E-commerce: This refers to commercial transactions conducted electronically on the internet.

Efficacy: This refers to the ability to produce the desired or intended result and meet the needs and expectations of customers.

Online purchases: This refers to the products or services purchased over the internet.

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

This chapter reviews literature on online shopping, an overview of online malls, online malls in Nigeria, consumers’ online shopping behavior/buying habits, and ServQual Model of Customer Satisfaction Models.

Concept of online shopping will be discussed in details. This will be followed by a look at online shopping in Africa (Nigeria); then a look at various online stores in Nigeria. Subsequently, will be a look at consumer online shopping behavior. Finally, the ServQual Model of Customer Satisfaction Models upon which the study is anchored.

2.1 CONCEPT OF ONLINE SHOPPING

The internet has changed the way people shop (Ellis-Chadwick, 2015). And with the ready availability of mass communication media means that many more consumers in far-flung places can be told about the existence of products.

Online shopping, a part of e-commerce activities was first invented by British inventor, Michael Aldrich in 1979. It has a lot of connotations which are used interchangeably in literature. These are Internet shopping, Internet marketing electronic shopping, and web shopping.

Online shopping is a single, homogenous activity¾ the selling of goods and services via the World Wide Web (WWW), (Birkin & Clarke, 2002).

Online shopping can also be described as the process of purchasing goods or services over the internet. Also, it is a major part of the overall electronic commerce, or e-commerce industry which consists of all the buying and selling of goods and services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks by households, businesses and other agencies, (MasterCard Worldwide Insights, 2008).

Monsuwe, Dellaert and Ruyter (2004) defined online shopping as the use of online stores by consumers up until the transactional stage of purchasing and logistics

Meanwhile Ling, Chai and Piew (2010) gave their own definition of web shopping, another connotation of online shopping, to be an e-commerce system used by shoppers in the context of business-to- consumer (B2C) or business-to-business (B2B).

Adding to the definition of online shopping, Lee & Johnson (2002) having referred to it as internet purchase, defined it as obtaining a product or service by paying money or making use of credit card on the Internet.

Finally, Jusoh (2012) described online shopping as the process a customer takes to purchase a service or product over the internet.

These definitions imply that online shopping requires existence of retailers’ websites through which shopping is done in a virtual environment devoid of physical contact between sellers and buyers. To attract shoppers, keep them longer on, and make them return to the sites, e-retailer must design and promote a user- friendly websites. This explains the main goal of online shopping which ultimately is to provide a platform for shopper to make exchange of goods and services with retailers (American Institute of Policy Development, 2013), In a user- friendly environment (Lee & Johnson, 2002).

From the past few years, online shopping has been the prevalent way of dealings in the field of E-Business. The increasing consumer base, principally of youths, is playing a significant role in online shopping. Modern day young adults constitute an important shopper segment due to their own current spending power, influence on their parents’ spending, and their own potential spending in the future. Furthermore, they are considered to be brand loyal and portrayed as early adopters of an innovation (Future Pages, 2002). They are considered to adapt faster to new changes due to the absence of any established habits and behavior.

In shopping online, the consumer in front of a screen orders the selected product by clicking in the web store or by sending an e-mail. The process of virtual purchasing in most cases includes the preliminary registration on the website, the studying of the offers, the selection of the products and putting them into the basket (shopping cart), the possibility of refreshing and cancelling the content of the basket, the selection of the conditions of the performance and delivery (such as address, date, other special conditions) and also the submission of the order. Upon receiving the order, the trader is obliged to send an electronic confirmation to the consumer. These are carried out in any of the communication channels used for marketing and shopping such as social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, foursquare, Google+, Vine, Tumblr, Linkenin), direct web browsing, referrals, e-mail, search engine and online display ads.

The online display advertisements appear in the form of banner advertisements and contain some type of graphic, video or audio element. This advertisement is believed to have the ability to target specific niche audiences and provide them with detailed metrics that will help them track their investment, (Olson, 2012). It can also come in form of pop-ups, also known as transitional online ads. These ads technically, appear during web page loading (interstitials) and during closing (superstitials) (Gay, 2007). It is believed that they are intended to appear as relief to the boredom that can set in when downloading files take a long time. In that sense, they were regarded as supportive communications (Jill, 2009).

Advertising basically has been seen as a communication campaign or task and a promotional effort that stands to create awareness or positive attitudes towards an organization or product. The advertisement effects can create a favourable liking, or attitude, toward a brand, purchasing action. This has been attributed to the various persuasive techniques in advertising, which include “image’’-the creation of association, appeal for attention, and the recognition factor, which when people look at, are being won over; consequently, people are made to want to purchase the product or service regardless of whether they need it or not, (Bartra, Myers & Aaker, 2007).

The social media has played a role in this process alongside search engine, direct web browsing, referral, e-mails and online display ads (eMarketer, 2013).

Previous studies have shown that certain types of goods are suitable for online shopping. For example, it was stated that suitability of the internet to market a product or service depends on the product or service characteristics, (Peterson, Balasubramaniam, & Bronnenberg, 1997). There are two categories of this product.

These products range from computers to compact discs to canned goods and can be evaluated by using text, pictures and other digitally communicable information. This category of products can be purchased online. The second category of products refers to experience products, which consumers prefer to see and touch before purchasing. It includes clothes and groceries (Legard, 1998).

Irrespective of this classification, majority of e-tailers in Nigeria offer a wide range of assorted products and services online and give their customers the benefits of conveniently selecting and purchasing from this range and on regular basis. For example, a survey of online shoppers in Malaysia by Nielsen Company (2012) found that 55 percent of people purchased airline tickets and made reservations online, representing the highest; 41 percent purchased tours or made hotel reservations online; 22 percent bought computer hardware online; 22 have purchased books online and 18 percent utilized Internet to buy event tickets.

The growth of online shopping globally has been reported by researchers to be unsteady. In 2006, online sales in the US, excluding travel, rose to 29% to reach $146.4 billion, representing 6% of overall retail sales; but in 2007 the growth decreased to 18% to reach 259.1 billion, even with the inclusion of travel sales. According to a Forrester Research report in January, 2008, this slight deceleration in growth marks the beginning of a slower trend reflecting the maturing of e-commerce and online shopping in the US.

However, growth is poised to accelerate in Asia/Pacific region. And China is poised to overtake the US in the sheer volume of Internet Transaction this year (MasterCard Worldwide Insight, 2008).

Somewhere in Europe, France, it has been reported that the number of people using the Internet for buying doubled between 2006 and 2008, and continues to grow. Between 2008 and 2010, the percentage of people who have bought online has grown from 51% to 58% (McKinley & Sakiman, 2012). Purchasing has become the sixth largest activity on the internet among young population after research (95%), email (81%), videos (80%), social networks (78%), instant messages (71%), (Credoc ,2010).

2.2 ONLINE SHOPPING IN AFRICA (NIGERIA)

Rapid penetration of the internet in Africa is quickly transforming not only the way people interact and search for information, but also how business transactions are conducted.

According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Internet-user penetration in sub- Saharan Africa has grown from 0.5% in 2000 to 10.6%.

Although the figure is still far behind the world average of about 30%, an increasing number of Africans are becoming more and more familiar with online shopping (Kermeliotis, 2011).

Kermelotis pointed out that proliferation of mobile phones and the rollout of faster internet networks¾ like the fibre-optic cables launched in areas such as east Africa¾ have helped the expansion of e-commerce activities in countries such as Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya.

In South Africa, 51% of those with access to the internet are shopping online, according to a 2011 MasterCard Worldwide survey. In Kenya, a recent survey by TNS Research International and the Kenya ICT Board found that18% and 24% of the 1,700 respondents go online to purchase music and movies, and electronic books.

In Nigeria, Africa most populous country, Internet penetration is about 28%, according to ITU figures, boosted by the rapid growth in the country’s telecom sector. In recent years, the number of mobile cellular subscriptions has skyrocketed from 30,000 in 2000 to over 87 million in 2010 (ITU figures, 2010).

“While Internet usage has hugely increased in Nigeria over the past few years, the online shopping market is still quite small by world standards,” says Loy Okezie, founder of Techloy.com, a Lagos-based technology news and research startup.

Okezie believes that there is still hope for online shopping, and that it has got huge potential to explode in the coming years despite the slow and low growth of this new shopping trend.

This big potential has been revealed by Kermelotis as the factor that has prompted the emergence of a new crop of Internet developers in the country to be eager to tap the money-making opportunities available online.

One of the Internet developers is Sim Shagaya, a Nigerian technology entrepreneur who has founded DealDey, a Groupon style group- buying site that offers its members in Lagos discounted deals on a range of products and services.

Shagaya says that it is not easy to promote e-commerce in a country with high Internet costs, slow connectivity and a bad reputation for online scams. For him, starting an Internet business is not all about a web browser or a mobile phone browser, “many times the Internet is an enabler of a business but you still need an offline component, strong logistics, physical present in front of a developing country customer to keep that customer thinking that you are real and are here for a long-run.”

Similarly, Okezie noted that Nigerian consumers with reliable Internet access are still skeptical about shopping online, since there is a feeling that such transactions are risky and prone to fraud. He stated that most consumers prefer to visit their favourite retail shops and make purchases, where payments are usually made with cash.

Samuel Abdulazeez, head of Nigerian operations for Kalahari, a South Africa-Based online retailer asserts that shifting consumer behavior toward e-commerce and building trust is a gradual process. To him “The experience has been that when people come in, they try to test with a little amount of order and then when we deliver to them they consider buying and in turn increase their amount”, “That shows us that a lot of people have fear.”

For some young shoppers, e-commerce has come to stay “Online shopping has already become a success story in Nigeria, especially among the youths of today.” (Akinremi, in Kermelotis, 2010).

A recent statistics show that at the end of 2012 business to consumer e-commerce, sales worldwide stood at $ 1 trillion US dollars and forecasts were that by the end of 2013, the sales figures would be at around $1.3 trillion (E-Marketer, 2013). While only 1.9% of the stated 2012 sales figures were from Africa and the Middle Eastern region, forecasts point to steady growth in online sales from the region. The region share of total online sales is expected to grow from 1.9% in 2012 to 2.3 % by the end of 2015 (E-Marketer, 2013).

2.3 AN OVERVIEW OF ONLINE MALLS

Online malls are the places people make purchases online. Compared to physical stores, online stores are said to be convenient and time saving. They are readily accessible anytime and anywhere.

These malls provide consumers with free and rich information about products and services. They also have some tools to help consumers compare and make purchase decisions among various products and services. Hoffman and Novak (1996) indicated that interactivity is the key distinguishing feature between consumers and product/ service providers as well as greater availability of information about products and services, Geissler and Zinkhan (1998) claimed that the internet shifted the balance of power in favour of consumers as it became very easy for them to make shopping comparisons and evaluate alternatives without being pressured by salespersons. Online malls reduce transaction costs and have advantage for both consumers and vendors.

However, online malls also have disadvantages compare to brick-and-mortar/ offline stores. In online malls customers can’t have a sense about the product they see on the Internet (seeing, touching, tasting, smelling, and hearing) as they search for and purchase products (Asadollahi, 2012). In online stores, consumers may develop low trust and perceive elevated risk highly because of the lack of face-to-face communication. Although this difficulty can be reduced by using certain software tools such as the online recommendation agent (Haubl & Murray, 2003; Xiao & Benbasat, 2007) and the online negotiation agent (Huang & Sycara, 2002; Huang & Lin, 2007), Jill (2009) still argues that online environment cannot be as personal as the physical environment. To Jill, the online environment is an impersonal environment which does not allow for direct personal communication.

These online stores are: Amazon.com; payPal, Alibaba, Dell.com, Business.com, DealDey, Jumia, Konga and many others.

2.4 ONLINE MALLS IN NIGERIA

Nigeria is witnessing upsurge of e-tailers (online stores), who are trying to promote online buying behaviours among consumers in the country. These e-tailers attract shoppers into their well-crafted websites and encourage them to do window shopping, locate products, compare prices, make purchase, drop product in e-shopping cart, make payment and get the product delivered at their door steps. According to American Research Institute for Policy Development (2013), some of these e-tailers in Nigeria are:

1. www.234world.com: they offer a range of products including beauty and fragrance, books and magazines, clothing, accessories and shoes, computers, food and drinks, and so forth.
2. www.yesidefashionstore.com: they offer online fashion store for shopping online for shoes, clothing, bags, watches, jewelries, and all fashion accessories.
3. www.buyright.biz: stocking and offering mostly electronic and electrical appliance products such as inverters, UPS, mobile phones, cameras, camcorders, storage devices, notebooks, and so on.
4. www.walahi.com: offering online books including a best seller category.
5. www.awoofshop.com: offering assorted products, ranging from mobile phones, books, clothing, video games, computers etc.
6. www.tafoo.com: offering fashion products such as shirts, trousers, shoes, belts and spectacles both for male and female customers.
7. www.glamour.com.ng: dealing in perfume, jewelry, sunglasses and beauty products.
8. www.jumia.com.ng: stocking and selling women’s clothing, women’s shoes, men’s clothing, men’s shoes, watches and sunglasses, health and beauty products.
9. www.egoleshopping.com: offering books, confectionaries, electronics and appliances, groceries, health and beauty products, music and movies.
10. www.konga.com: dealing in clothing, phones, computers and electronics, watches, books and stationery, music, movies and games, home and kitchen equipment.
11. www.mannastores.com: selling babies/kids wears, electrical appliances, home/kitchen equipment, motors, sports and women’s products.
12 www.onstentationclothing.com: specializing in dresses, pants and leggings, shirts, handbags, shoes and perfume. Others include: PayPorte, Olx etc.

With improved Internet infrastructure and penetration in the country, there is prospect for more e-tailers’ presence in the Nigeria’s cyberspace. However, little or nothing is known about these e-tailers in the country. This is because many of them hardly promote their websites to attract shoppers.

Meanwhile on the part of the consumers, research suggested that most consumers fear the risk of misused credit card information (Bhimani, 1996; Fram & Grady, 1995; Gupta & Chatterjee, 1996; Houston, 1998; Kuczmarski, 1996; Poel &Leunis, 1996, cited in Kim, 2004). To increase online shopping, merchants need to take the proactive steps to minimize the consumer’s feeling of risk (Houston, 1998; Salisbury, 2001).

2.5 CONSUMERS ONLINE SHOPPING BEHAVIOUR AND BUYING HABITS

Online shopping behavior also called online buying behavior refers to the process of purchasing products or services via the Internet. According to Cambridge Dictionary (2015), consumer behavior refers to the buying habits of the general public and their pattern of product acquisition and usage. Meanwhile, buying habit refers to the purchase of a brand or shopping at a particular place as a result of the absence of dissatisfaction and not necessary as a result of brand royalty (Business Dictionary, 2015). Financial Times Lexicon (2015) defines buying habits as, what kinds of things people buy, what are their reasons for them, how much they spend.

There are a lot of researches about online shopping. Most studies intended to investigate factors affecting consumers’ purchasing behavior on the web.

Some research shows that intention to use the Internet to search for information is not only the most significant driver of Internet purchase but also that factors play a role, e.g. attitude toward Internet shopping, perceived behavioural control, and previous Internet purchase experience (Liao & Cheung, 2001).

Compared with the customers who do not buy online, online shoppers have higher levels of education and income (Li; Kuo & Russel, 1999). Personality, product involvement, lifestyle, purpose of Internet use, need specificity, and interpersonal influence (e.g., influence from mass media, friends, relatives etc.) would foster an online purchase (Liang & Lai, 2002).

Again, Swaminathan, Lepkowska-White, & Rao (1999) pointed out vendor characteristics, security of transactions, content for privacy, and customer characteristics as factors influencing electronic exchange.

Wolfinbarger & Gilly suggested that consumers purchase and shop online with both reasons: goal-oriented and experience-oriented. According to Miyazaki & Fernandez (2001), perceived risk affected consumer online purchasing behavior negatively. They also found that internet experience is negatively related to the existence of concerns regarding the privacy and security of online purchase and the perceived risks of conducting online purchases.

Donthu & Garcia (1999) proposed that risk aversion, innovativeness, brand consciousness, price consciousness, importance of convenience, variety-seeking propensity, impulsiveness, attitude toward direct marketing, and attitude toward advertising were factors influencing online shopping behavior.

Li; Kuo & Russell (1999) found that “Consumers who make online purchase perceive the web to have higher utilities in communication, distribution, and accessibility than those who do not make online purchases, and frequent online purchasers perceive higher utility than occasional online purchasers” and “Consumers who make online purchases consider themselves more knowledgeable about the web as a channel than those who do not make online purchases, and frequent online buyers consider themselves more knowledgeable than occasional online buyer.” According to Jarvenpaa; Tractinsky & Vitale (2000), perceived store size, perceived reputation, trust in store, attitude, and risk perception would be factors affecting online purchasing behavior. Wallace (2001) argues that trust might be undermined in electronic interaction and transactions because the reduced communication channel makes it harder to observe vital non-verbal physical cues, such as facial expressions and body language.

Jarvenpaa, Tractinsky & Vitale (2000) discovered that there is a positive relationship between consumer trust in Internet stores and store’s reputation and size. Higher consumer trust also reduces perceived risks associated with Internet shopping and generates more favourable attitudes towards shopping at a particular store, which in turn increases willingness to purchase from that store.

2.6 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

This study is anchored on ServQual Model of Customer Satisfaction models. The ServQual model of customer satisfaction models by Zeithaml (2009) stipulates that customer tends to make repurchases when product or service meets the customer’s needs and expectations.

Moreso, that five factors drive customers’ satisfaction; they are service quality, product quality, and price, situational and personal factors (such as emotions and moods). These in general if achieved effectively tend to describe the efficacy of a purchase in meeting up customers’ expectations.

Customers who are satisfied with a company’s offering may make repurchases, tell others about it. In the same vein, dissatisfied customers may tell others negatively about it, and this could lead to negative word of mouth.

In line with this, youths who are in Awka who have purchased via the internet must have reason (s) for doing so. Similarly, experiences they have had in online purchasing could have been either satisfactory or dissatisfactory to make them to continue shopping online or revert to offline stores (conventional way of shopping).

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter explains the research method used to orient this study. Accordingly, the key components discussed includes: the study design, study population, sample and sampling procedure, research instrument, measurable variables, pre-test and validation of research instrument, data collection procedure and data analysis method.

3.1 STUDY DESIGN

This study was designed as a survey. This was chosen based on the nature of the research in question. Survey is a type of research design in which respondents or participants are asked to answer certain questions or are surveyed. The survey questions were in regards to the respondents’ level of online participation, knowledge of and participation in online purchase, preferred online store, type of products shopped for, perception of online purchase and influence of online purchase efficacy on their buying habits.

3.2 STUDY POPULATION

The population for this study comprises of the youths in all the nine towns in Awka South (Amawbia, Awka; Ezinato, Isiagu, Mbaukwu, Nibo, Nise, Okpuno, and Umuawulu) drawn from the overall population of Awka South numbering 189,049 (National Population Commission Census, 2006).

3.3 SAMPLE AND SAMPLING PROCEDURE

A sample of 400 was draw from the study population of 189,049. This sample size had been arrived at by using Taro Yamane’s formula stipulates:

n = N

1+N (e) [2]

Where n= sample size

N= population

1= constant

e= margin of error – 0.05

Therefore, for a population of 189,049, the calculation was thus:

n= 189, 049

1 + 189,049(0.05)[2]

n= 189,049

1 + 189,049(0. 0025)

n= 189,049

1+ 472.623

n= 189,049

473.623

n= 399.16 approximately, 400.

The logic of 400 was based on the suggestion of Nwuneli (1991) that “the bigger the sample, the better the statistical inference.”

The sampling frame for the population of study is shown in the community distribution in table 1.

Table 1: Population Distribution

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

National Population Census, 2006.

The sampling procedure for the study was multi-stage sampling procedure. The multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select a sample of 400 respondents from the study population of this study. The first stage involved the random selection of four towns among the nine towns in Awka South which are: Amawbia, Okpuno, Nibo and UmuawuluS. The random selection of these four towns was done through lucky dip method (probability sampling).

The second stage involved the random selection of two villages each from the four towns, through lucky dip method (probability sampling). For Amawbia, out of the six villages in it (Umueze, Ngene, Adabebe, Umukabia, Ezimezi and enu-oji), Umueze and Ngene were selected. For Okpuno which has four villages (Nodu, Okachamma, Umuodu and Ezinifite), Umuodu and Nodu were selected. For Nibo with four villages also (Ezeawulu, Umuanum, Ifite and Ezeoye), Ifite and Ezeoye were selected. For Umuawulu which has three villages (Enugwu, Umuenu and Agbana), Agbana and Umuenu were randomly selected.

In all 400 copies were administered to the respondents in the various towns. A breakdown of the distribution is as follows:

Table 2: Town Distribution

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Table 2 shows that Amawbia was allotted 148 copies of questionnaire. This was worked out as thus:

21,773 × 100

59,119 1

= 2177300

59,119

= 36.8 % ̴̲ 37%

37× 400

100 1

=14800

100

Is therefore = 148

Nibo was allotted 172 copies of the questionnaire. This was worked out as follows:

25,663 × 100

59,119 1

= 2566300

59,119

= 43%

43× 400

100 1

=17200

100

Is therefore = 172

For Okpuno, 36 copies of questionnaire were allotted. This was worked out as follows:

5294 × 100

59,119 1

= 529400

59,119

= 8.9% ̴̲ 9%

9 × 400

100 1

=3600

100

Is therefore = 36

Finally, Umuawulu was allotted 44 copies of the questionnaire. This was worked out as follows:

6389 × 100

59,119

= 638900

59,119

= 10.8% ̴̲ 11%

11 × 400

100 1

=4400

100

Is therefore = 44

Table 3: Village Distribution

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Table 3 shows the number of questionnaire distributed to each village based on the total questionnaire allotted to their town. This was arrived at by dividing the overall questionnaire allotted to each town by two.

3.4 RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

A pre-coded 26 item questionnaire was used as the data collection instrument for this study. The survey questions addressed variables directly related to the research questions. It was constructed in both closed-ended and open-ended format in such a way that the respondents will be able to understand and at the same time all aspect of the respondents’ views would be well gathered. The questionnaire was divided into seven segments.

The first segment sought the respondents’ demographic data. These include, gender, age, occupation, educational qualification, income level and place of residence.

The second segment consisted of 3 question item (7-10), seeking to establish the respondents’ level of online participation.

The third segment consisted of 2 question item (11-12), which sought to know if the respondents make purchases online.

The fourth segment consisted of 4 question item (13-17), which sought to determine respondents’ online purchase making preference.

The fifth segment consisted of 5 question item (18-20), it sought to know the type of products respondents purchase online.

The sixth segment consisted of 2 question item (21-23), seeking to know respondents’ perception of online purchase.

The seventh segment consisted of 3 question item (24-26), which sought to know if online purchases are efficient enough to influence respondents’ buying habits.

3.5 MEASURABLE VARIABLES

The measurable variables for this research included the independent variables also known as socio- economic status.

The independent variables included; gender, age, occupation, level of education and place of residence. These were measured by asking questions that sought demographic (question items 1-6).

Some dependent variables measured included:

- Level of online participation. This was measured by asking respondents questions that sought to determine how often they access the internet (question items 7-10).
- Knowledge and status of online purchasing. This was measured by asking respondents’ questions that sought to determine how many have made online purchases (11-12).
- Preferred mall. This was measured by asking respondents’ questions that sought to determine their preferred site(s) for making online purchases (13-17).
- Preferred purchase. This was measured by asking respondents’ questions that sought to find out preferred products shopped for online (18-20).
- Perception. This was measured by asking respondents’ questions that sought to establish their perception of online shopping (21-23).
- Motivation. This was measured by asking respondents’ questions that sought to establish what motivates them to make online purchases (24-26).

3.6 PRE-TEST AND VALIDATION OF RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

Pre-test of the research instrument was carried out among 30 members of the study population. This was to:

- Determine the precision of the survey questions
- Determine if there are any ambiguities
- To fine tune the research

3.7 DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE

Data for this study was collected within a period of two weeks. Two research assistants were recruited and trained for this purpose as each helped in distributing and collecting copies of the questionnaire from the respondents which were administered based on accidental and convenience sampling. The rate of return of the questionnaire on the average is 98 percent.

3.8 DATA ANALYSIS METHOD

Data collected were organized and analyzed using SPSS.

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

This dwells on the presentation of data, analysis of data and discussion of findings. In this chapter, data analysis was done using SPSS (Statistical Packaging for the Social Sciences) and presented in tables and pie charts.

This study sought to establish who among the youths in Awka South deems online purchases efficient enough to be cable of influencing his or her buying habit.

4.1 DATA PRESENTATION

Data entries on SPSS, which ran the gamut of response rate, demographic variables, level of online participation, rate of online purchasing, preferred online mall or store, type of product purchased, perception of online purchase and motivation of online purchase.

4.1.1 RESPONSE RATE

A total of 400 copies of the questionnaire were distributed. The copies were shared bearing in mind the numerical strength of the four towns that were randomly selected. Thus a total of 148 copies of the questionnaire were proportionally allotted to Amawbia; 172 to Nibo; 36 to Okpuno; and 44 to Umuawulu. No copy of the questionnaire was lost in the course of administration because the researcher was present to retrieve the questionnaire once respondents were done with filling in. Therefore, a 100 per cent return rate was achieved.

4.1.2 DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES

The respondents’ demographic variables were measured using question items 1-6 in the questionnaire (see Appendix A). Data generated from their responses were presented in the following tables.

Figure 1

Respondents' Sex

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Figure 1 shows a wide gap between the number of male and female gender among the respondents. Out of 400 respondents, 42 percent were male and 58 were female.

Figure 2

Respondents' Age

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The analysis in figure 2 shows that respondents within the age bracket 22-27 were predominant at 47.8 percent, more than any other age bracket. They were closely followed by the 16-21 age brackets at 28.3 percent. Age brackets of 28-33 comprised of 18.5 percent of the respondents. Those within the age bracket of 34 and above made up 5.5 percent of the respondents.

Figure 3

Respondents' Occupation

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As shown in figure 3, majority of the respondents, at 40.3 percent were civil servant. They were closely followed by students at 37.3 percent. Traders made up 22.5 percent of the respondents.

Figure 4

Respondents' Level of Education

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Figure 4 shows that respondents with first school leaving were less, and at 2.0 percent. Respondents with WAEC were the highest, and at 44.3 percent. This was closely followed by respondents who have OND/HND/B.Sc./NCE, at 40.3 percent. 13.5 percent of the respondents were Master’s degree holders.

Figure 5

Respondents' Level of Income

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

The analysis in figure 5 shows that 2.0 percent of the respondents earn very high. However, majority of the respondents at 70.5 percent were low income earners. They were followed by the high income earners at 26.5 percent.

Figure 6

Respondents' Place of Residence

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Figure 6 shows that a greater number of the respondents, 77.0 percent, live in urban areas, while 23.0 percent are rural dwellers. This suggests that a greater number among the respondents are urban dwellers.

4.1.3 LEVEL OF ONLINE PARTICIPATION

In this section the primary goal was to determine internet connectivity, accessibility and use among the respondents. And the questions on this issue were measured using question items 7-10 in the questionnaire (see Appendix 1). The data generated are presented below.

Table 4

Respondents who own or have access to internet-enabled devices

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

The analysis in table 4 shows that about 88 percent of the respondents own and have access to an internet-enabled device, while 12 percent of the respondents do not. Also, 83.8 percent of the respondents browse with them, while 16.3 percent do not. About 45 percent of the respondents have e-mail, while 55 percent do not have. The picture here suggests that there is a high level of access/ownership as well as use of the internet enabled to communicate online. This could be as a result of the relatively low cost of these devices or necessity factor of these devices.

Figure 7

Respondents' Frequency of Browsing

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

In figure 7, the frequency of browsing among the respondents was established. Display data shows that more respondents, at 42% browse occasionally. This is followed by 40% of the respondents who browse regularly. Then, 16.8% of the respondents rarely browse. This is simply because they own and have access to internet-enabled devices.

4.1.4 ONLINE PURCHASE STATUS

Attempt was made to find out respondents of online purchasing as well as their online purchase status. This was done by using items 11-12 in the questionnaire (see Appendix 1). The data generated are as presented below.

Figure 8

Respondents' Knowledge of Online Shopping

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Data in figure 8 shows that 64 percent of the respondents have a higher knowledge about online shopping. 22 percent of the respondents no little about online shopping, while 14 percent of the respondents do not have any knowledge about it at all.

Figure 9

Respondents Online Purchase Status Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

The data in figure 9 shows that 77 percent of the respondents have not made purchase online, while 23 percent of the respondents have made. This indicates a low level of adoption and acceptance of online shopping in the region.

4.1.5 PREFERRED ONLINE MALL

In this section, the goal was to establish respondents’ knowledge of the various online malls, their visit rates and to gauge respondents’ most preferred online store. This was done by using items 13-17 in the questionnaire (see Appendix 1). The data generated are as presented below.

Figure 10

Respondents' Knowledge of Online Malls

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Based on the analysis in figure 10, the percentage of respondents that have knowledge of online malls is at 34 percent, while the percentage of respondents who do not know stands at 66 percent. The indication here is that online malls knowledge is low.

Figure 11

Respondents' Number of Online Malls Visited

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

The data in figure 11 shows that respondents who have not visited any online malls are many and the statistic stands at 78 percent. 22 percent of the respondents have visited few of the online malls, while none has visited all of the online malls.

Table 5

RESPONDENTS’ REASONS FOR NOT PURCHASING ONLINE

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Analysis in table 5 shows that 30 percent of the respondents are not interested in online shopping. 20 percent of the respondents prefer to inspect products before purchasing. 17.5 percent of the respondents do not trust online purchases, while 17.5 percent also do not purchase because of security concerns.

Table 6

Respondents’ Preferred Online Mall

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Data in table 6 indicates that majority of the respondents; at 37.5 percent prefer to shop on Jumia. This was followed by 25 percent of the respondents that prefer to shop on Konga. 17.5 percent of the respondents prefer Alibaba, 12.5 percent of the respondents prefer Olx.com, while the least percent of the respondents, 7.5 percent prefer Slot Nigeria.

Table 7

Reasons for the preference of a particular online mall

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

The analysis in table 7 shows that the most prominent reason for the preference of a particular online mall is that of product variety. And the percentage of respondents that subscribed to this reason is at 47.5 percent. This was followed by 17.5 percent of the respondents that subscribed to all of the reasons enlisted. 15 percent subscribed to reasons of affordable products; 12.5 percent shopped because of reason of good quality products, while the smallest number of the respondents at 7.5 percent subscribed to reason of fast service delivery.

4.1.6 TYPE OF GOODS AND SERVICES PURCHASED AND SOUGHT AFTER ONLINE

The aim of this section is to establish the type of thing sought after at the online stores. This was carried out by using items 18-20 in the questionnaire (see Appendix 1). The data generated are as presented below.

Table 8

What Category of Goods and Services Respondents go for and Purchase over the Internet

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

The analysis in table 8 indicates that about 5 percent of the respondents shop for consumable/perishable goods, while 95 percent of the respondents do not. Also, 34 percent of the respondents shop for non-perishable goods, while 66 percent of the respondents do not. This simply shows that even with low rate of adoption that few respondents that shop online go for non-perishable goods than the consumable/perishable ones.

Table 9

Products and Services Frequently Shopped For Online

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Table 9 shows that 8 percent of the respondents purchase plane tickets online, while 25 percent of the respondents purchase mobile phones. Also, 31 percent of the respondents, constituting the highest number of respondents, purchase laptops the most, while 1 percent of the respondents purchase drugs online. 7.5 percent of the respondents purchase books, while 0.5 percent of the respondents purchase food stuff, making it the least purchased product online. More so, 4 percent of the respondents purchase software application, while 15.5 percent of the respondents purchase clothes and accessories online. 7.5 percent of the respondents purchase home and office equipment/appliances.

4.1.7 PERCEPTION OF ONLINE PURCHASES

In this section, the aim is to find out how the respondents perceive online purchase as well E-commerce in general. This was done by using items 21-23 in the questionnaire (see Appendix 1). The data generated are as presented below.

Figure 12

Respondents’ Perception of Online Purchases

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Figure 12 indicates that about 39 percent of the respondents believe that online purchases are efficient, while the majority of the respondents, at 61 percent believe online purchases are inefficient.

Figure 13

Respondents’ Perception of Online Shopping Efficiency

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

The analysis in figure 13 shows that 37 percent of the respondents believe that online shopping in general is efficient enough for business transactions, while 63 percent of the respondents, who also constituted the majority, contrast this.

Table 10

Respondents’ Views on Online Shopping

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Analysis in table 10 indicates that 10 percent of the respondents believe that online shopping is cost effective. 25 percent of the respondents believe that online shopping is convenient and time saving. 10 percent of the respondents believe online shopping renders a fast service delivery, while 5 percent believes online shopping involves a rigorous process. Also, 30 percent of the respondents, constituting the majority here, believe online shopping is risky. 20 percent of the respondents believe that there are issues of delay delivery and non-delivery of products and services in online shopping.

4.1.8 PURCHASE EFFICACY INFLUENCE ON BUYING HABIT

The goal sought to achieve in this section is to know if efficacy of products and services purchased online influence the buying habits of the respondents. This was carried out by using items 24-26 in the questionnaire (see Appendix 1). The data generated are as presented below.

Figure 14

Respondents' Knowledge of Buying Habits

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Data in figure 14 shows that 36 percent of the respondents know what buying habit is, while 64 percent of the respondents do not know. And from all indications, it appears that it’s the respondents with higher level of education that know what buying habit literally mean.

Figure 15

Respondents' Online Purchase Experience

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

In figure 15, the data display shows that 47 percent of respondents who have purchased over the Internet are satisfied with their overall purchase experience, while on the other hand, 53 percent of the respondents are saying otherwise, instead of being satisfied, they are dissatisfied with their overall purchase experience.

Figure 16

Respondents who Online Purchases Motivate their Buying Habits

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

The analysis in figure 16 indicates that more respondents at 78 percent believe online purchases are not efficient enough and hence, they do not influence their buying habits, while 22 percent of the respondents believe that online purchase are efficient enough and hence, they influence their buying habits.

4.2 ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This study had six specific objectives: 1) to establish level of online participation among youths in Awka South; 2) to find out these youths preferred online store; 3) to find out if these youths make online purchases; 4) to determine what type of products these youths shop for online; 5) to establish these youths perception of online purchases; 6) to find out if purchase efficacy motivates these youths to continue shopping. The six research questions posed in this study revolved around these objectives. Data interpretations were used to answer research questions.

4.2.1 ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The first research question of this study sought to establish how many among the youths in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State engage in online activities.

Findings in Table 4 and Figure 7 reveal that over 88 percent of the respondents own and have access to Internet enabled devices. Also, 83.8 percent of the respondents browse with their Internet-enabled devices and that 42 percent of the respondents browse occasionally. This leads to the conclusion that a greater number of the youths studied own and have access to Internet-enabled PCs, laptops and mobile phones and a greater number of the youths participate online. Those who browse on a regular basis are 40 percent, while those who rarely browse are 18 percent.

The second research question sought to find out how many of these respondents have made purchases online. The analysis of the respondents’ online purchase status as depicted in Figure 8 and Figure 9 reveal that over 64 percent of the respondents know what online shopping is all about, and 25 percent have made online purchases, while a good number of the respondents, at 77 percent have not made any online purchases despite the knowledge they have about it. This leads us to the conclusion that the level of adoption is very low in this region.

The third research question sought to know these respondents preferred online stores. Figure 10 show that 64 percent of the respondents know the online stores. Figure 11 show that 22 percent have visited few of the online stores, while a huge number of the respondents about 78 percent have not. Table 5 indicates that a good number of the respondents, about 30 percent are not interested in making online purchases; while 20 percent prefer to inspect merchandise before purchasing, and 17 percent of them do not trust online purchases. Also, table 6 shows that majority of the respondents; about 38 percent of them who have made online purchases prefer to shop on Jumia than on the other online malls. And table 7 shows that the prime reason from most of them for preference of a particular mall was that of product variety. These foregoing findings would suggest that majority of the respondents don’t have enough interest in online stores and as such don’t transact business in them. Also, they still don’t trust products sold online and hence prefer to shop offline because of the opportunity it affords them to inspect merchandise before purchasing.

The fourth research question asked to know what type of products the respondents shop for the most. Table 8 reveals that the respondents who shop online go for non- perishable products and other services the most than consumable or perishable products. Respondents about 34 percent buy non- perishable products, while 25.3 percent buy plane tickets, this is way too far from the 5 percent that shop for consumable or perishable goods (food stuff, drinks, drugs etc.). Table 9 reveals that the most purchased products from majority of the respondents; at 31 percent were laptops, while the least purchased product by 0.5 percent of the respondents were food stuff. This leads to the conclusion that products that are not consumable and do not perish faster, most especially, electronics are the most sought after.

The fifth research question sought to find out what the youths perceptions are about efficacy of online purchases. Looking at the analysis in Figure 12, the result shows that 39 percent of the respondents perceive online purchases to be efficient, while 61 percent perceive online purchases to be inefficient. Also Figure 13 shows that 37 percent of the respondents perceive online shopping to be efficient, while 63 percent do not. This result suggests that the respondents are still skeptical about online shopping as well as online purchases.

The sixth research question asked to know if online purchases influence these respondents buying habits. Figure 14 shows that respondents’ knowledge of buying habit is higher and is at 64 percent. Figure 15 show that 47 percent of the respondents are satisfied with their online purchases, while 53 percent of the respondents are dissatisfied with their online purchases. And Figure 16 shows that a huge number of the respondents’ buying habits, at 78 percent are not influenced by online purchases because they believe they are not efficient enough, while 22 percent believe online purchases are efficient enough and hence, they are influenced by it. These findings therefore suggest that online purchases do not have influence on buying habits of respondents (consumers).

4.3 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

The data analyzed in this study was obtained from 400 youths spread across the four towns out of nine towns in Awka South Local Government of Anambra State, Nigeria. The overall results offer a wide range of conclusions.

The key research question is to know how many of the youths in Awka South are their buying habits influenced by online purchase efficacy. Findings from the study led to the conclusion that the youth respondents studied have a huge number of them that are yet to make online purchases even though they have Internet-enabled devices and are active online. Also that a great number of these respondents are low income earners, and as such don’t think they can afford to shop online. Hence, they see online shopping as a business for the wealthy people and not for ordinary low class people in the society.

The findings that 61 percent of the respondents perceive online purchases as inefficient; and 63 percent perceive online shopping as inefficient as well explain the reason for the low level of adoption as well as higher level of lack of Interest in this new shopping trend. This agrees with Alley (2010) that online shopping level of adoption is very low in the developing countries and this can be attributed to factors of lack of inspection of merchandise before purchase, fraud/financial risk, late delivery of products, product risk, and the absence of interpersonal interaction between buyer and seller.

Also, the stance of these 61 and 63 percent agrees with Jarvenpaa, Tractinsky & Vitale (2000) that, perceived risk, trust in store, perceived reputation, and satisfaction with a purchase influence greatly purchasing behavior as well as buying habit.

This is more so, because according to ServQual model of consumer satisfaction models, consumers tend to make repurchases when they are satisfied with a purchase, as well as the entire shopping process. The model points out service quality, product quality and price, situational and personal factors as drivers of consumers’ satisfaction and repeat purchase intention.

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATIONS AND LIMITATION OF STUDY

5.1 SUMMARY

This study sought to establish online purchase efficacy influence on buying habits of the youths in Awka South. In line with this, six research questions were posed for investigation as follows: 1) what is the level of these youths online participation? 2) How many of these youths have made online purchases? 3) What are these youths preferred online mall? 4) What type of product do these youths shop for online? 5) What are these youths perception of online purchases? 6) How many of these youths are there buying habit influenced by purchase efficacy?

The study was designed as a survey. Survey data was collected from 400, drawn from a population of 189,049, spread across the four towns in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra state, Nigeria. Results from analyzed data show that the youth respondents studied own and have access to Internet-enabled devices; they are active online but majority of their online activity is not online shopping. Hence, majority of them have not made any online purchases nor visited any online mall at all. This is as because they lack interest in online purchases as well as online shopping in general which they consider to be inefficient.

5.2 CONCLUSION

Online perceived risk, particularly product risk has become an important issue in e-commerce. This study showed that online shopping is still considered a risky proposition in spite of its numerous benefits. Based on the data obtained from 400 youth respondents spread across the four towns in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra state, Nigeria over 88 percent of the respondents participate online by virtue of the regularity of their online activities. However, most of their online activities do not involve online shopping. This therefore reveals that online shopping level of adoption in this region is very low. And this can be attributed to fear to shop online because of the invisibility nature of the transaction, lack of inspection of merchandise, product risk, delivery risk and financial risk. This has therefore resulted greatly to lack of interest on the part of the respondents. Again, the fear of product risk by the respondents indicates that product efficacy is becoming a significant factor affecting e-shopping expansion; this is because so many respondents believe that most of online purchases do not meet up to the expectations and needs of customers, hence, they prefer to shop offline to online. However, few of the respondents who make online purchases believe that any product or service that meet their needs and expectations influence them to keep buying the product or service; and they tend to make purchases only on the shop that provides them with such efficient product or service online. On the contrary, a small number of the online shoppers explained that purchase efficacy is not the major factor that influences their online purchase habit, but convenience, price, and product variety influence their buying habits.

5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS

The impact of the internet can be seen in almost all human endeavors as a very formidable tool for easy and an improved standard of living. However, considering the invisibility and anonymity nature of the internet which has made inspection of merchandise in order to assess it before purchase impossible; the need therefore arises to establish a very conducive, safe online environment for online customers to do businesses effectively without suffering any risk that could decrease the rate of adoption. Based on the foregoing, this study suggests.

- Merchants need to introduce a mechanism that would improve safety, and privacy that would minimize the consumers’ feeling of risk.
- An appropriate delivery model (or a mix of various delivery methods) needs to be developed to satisfy consumer’s different needs.
- Online retailers should deal with the best and most trusted shipping service providers, to avoid delay or damage during delivery of the goods.
- Online retailers should provide good quality products and services that will be efficient and affordable by all in order to accommodate low income earners who want to buy quality products. This is because, it appears that some of the cheapest products sold online are already used products that are no longer performing effectively and are nearing their expiration period.
- Future researchers should further scope to replicate the study in different environment and different geographical locations in order to compare differences in product efficacy influence.

5.4 LIMITATIONS OF STUDY

The study has some limitations that need to be considered. First, because of time constraints this study clearly did not include all variables that might relate to online purchase efficacy. In this study, the researcher just discussed product quality, and product risk. However, other variables such as: performance, product characteristics, website design style and quality, store reputation and delivery pattern can be examined in future researches. Besides, this study shows the need to attempt future studies, to consider the influences of individual characteristics of the respondents such as gender, socio-demographics, pattern of buying, purchase perception and experience on buying habit.

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