Shopping Behavior in the Context of the Digital Economy

Abstract

Consumers shop to meet their needs. When buying, they always compare and evaluate the available alternatives to the goods. The purchasing process involves various factors. These factors can also be described as attributes that can affect consumers during the purchasing process. Identifying important attributes can be really challenging for the digital economy and global markets. Most retailers do not have accurate knowledge of the attitudes and characteristics of their customers, which greatly affects purchasing processes. Combining accurate knowledge of the combination of attributes can increase revenue and improve retailers’ market position. The aim of this paper is to present the results of primary research, processed by reducing the number of attributes influencing purchasing behavior using factor analysis. The target group of the primary research was women who bought mostly online. The most important factors influencing women’s shopping behavior are traditional influences such as online payment for orders, diversity of delivery options, nicely crafted sites, and store reviews, but also the influences of social networks. Another important factor is the possibility of in-store purchases and payments for cash purchases. The results of this research will complement the view of women’s consumer behavior, thus creating the conditions for retailers to react to this target group.