A Psychographic Approach to Segmenting the Electronic Shopper

Abstract

Shopping Orientations are psychographic measures that have been used to discern consumers’ preferences for shopping media. In this study, shopping orientations and their relationship with consumers’ actual use and intention to use online shopping are examined. Data for the study were collected through a survey that was mailed to a stratified sample of 800 consumers. Usable responses were received from 281 survey participants, who were classified into three shopping segments—home, community, and apathetic—based on their shopping orientations. The three shopping segments were found to differ on online shopping measures. Specifically, the home shopping segment was found to be positively associated with online shopping in contrast to the community and apathetic shopping segments. Further analysis revealed that there were no significant associations between shopping segments and commonly used demographic variables including gender, age, income, and education. Implications of these findings are discussed, along with suggestions for future research.