Consumer characteristics and their effect on accepting online shopping, in the context of different product types

Online shopping is among the most popular activities of the internet, yet the reasons why consumers buy online are still unclear. Although it is implied that consumer acceptance of online shopping is affected by different products not many studies have adopted this view. This study attempts to examine consumers’ attitude when making online purchases in the context of different product types. A theoretical framework is proposed based on the determinants of consumer behaviour and user acceptance of online shopping, as well as online product classification. The factors that were selected to be tested are Personal Innovativeness of Information Technology (PIIT), Self-efficacy, Perceived security, Privacy, Product involvement and how they affect consumer attitude towards online shopping. Correlation analysis, at first, to determine the relationships among the variables and regression analysis afterwards to verify the extent of the variable interaction were used to test the hypotheses. Based on the aforementioned analyses, results were drawn and compared to the results found by Lian and Lin (2008) in a similar study. It has been found that PIIT, perceived security and product involvement have an effect on the attitude towards online shopping, yet the results vary among the different product types.

shopping activities. Still, many internet users avoid purchasing online due to privacy and security concerns. In spite of this, online shopping is continuing to grow as online enterprises become more sophisticated (Lian and Lin, 2008), which results in the dramatic change of how consumers buy products and services (Li, Kuo and Russell, 1999;Shergill and Chen, 2003).
Wu (2003) mentions that approximately half the internet users have bought a product or service through the internet and according to Li and Zhang (2002), online shopping is the third most popular internet activity.
Understanding the opportunities this new market has to offer is crucial for any business that wants to participate in it and be competitive.
In the first section a review of the literature is made, involving determinants of consumer characteristics, factors that determine the consumer acceptance of online shopping, product classifications and previous studies.

Theoretical background
The internet is developing rapidly and while its popularity is growing, more and more users become familiar with it and adopt it as a medium to search for information and shop online (Hou and Rego, 2002;Farag et al., 2007). This section summarises the determinants that construct the consumer behaviour, the factors that determine the user acceptance of online shopping and a brief review of previously conducted researches concerning the aforementioned.

Determinants of consumer behaviour
Consumer behaviour is affected by four categories of factors. The first one is the category of cultural factors, which includes terms such as culture, subculture and social class (Hawkins, Best and Coney, 1995;Armstrong and Kotler, 2003;Peter andDonnelly, 2001, Wu, 2003). The second category refers to social factors and includes reference groups, family, social roles and social status (Armstrong and Kotler, 2003;Wu, 2003 (Armstrong and Kotler, 2003;Adcock et al, 1995;Armstrong, 1996, Hawkins, Best andConey, 1995;Wu, 2003). The fourth category consists of psychological factors like motivation, perception, learning, beliefs and attitudes (Kotler and Armstrong, 1996;Armstrong and Kotler, 2003;Wu, 2003).

Factors which determine user acceptance of online shopping
Four factors were found that determine user acceptance of online shopping and are presented in Table   International Journal of Research   Eastin, 2002;Childers et al, 2001;Bakos, 1991;England et al, 1999 Belanger, Hiller andSmith, 2002;Liao and Cheung, 2001; security Ranganathan and Grandon, 2002;Swaminathan, Lepkowska-White and Rao, 1999;Mummalaneni, 2005;Youn,

Online product classifications
There are several different  Low differentiation potential From ""Exploring the Implications of the Internet for Consumer Marketing"", by Peterson, Balasubramanian and Bronnenberg (1997).
The first dimension ranges from low cost, frequently purchased goods to high cost, rarely purchased goods.
The second dimension involves from tangible and physical goods to intangible services. The third dimension refers to the product degree of differentiation, which allows companies to gain a competitive advantage.

Research model and hypotheses
Based on the above discussion Lian and Lin (2008)

Self-efficacy
Internet self-efficacy derives from the social cognitive theory proposed by Bandura (1997

Product involvement
Product involvement represents a concern with a product that the consumer brings into a purchase decision (Bei and Widdows, 1999;Pedersen and Nysveen, 2005).
In this study it is expected that high product involvement levels positively influence consumer behaviour towards shopping online and thus, the following hypothesis is stated: H3: High product involvement levels positively affect consumer attitude towards online shopping.

Sample selection
The sample of this study consists of internet users who know how to make an online purchase, possibly have made one or are willing to make one in the future. This study will try to resolve the relationships between consumer characteristics and their attitude towards online shopping in the context of different product types. A total of 232 internet users were selected to complete a questionnaire.

Measurement development
The  and Varimax rotation were used.
The results of this analysis (Table 4) show that the use of exploratory  Table. Table

Regression analysis
As mentioned before, correlation