International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management

ISSN: 0959-0552

Keywords : Attitude, buying online, buying experience, age

Purpose :

This paper examines the shopping and buying behavior of younger and older online shoppers as mediated by their attitudes toward internet shopping.

Design/methodology/approach :

Over 300 students and staff from a US university completed a survey regarding their online shopping and buying experiences for 17 products.

Findings :

The results show that, while older online shoppers search for significantly fewer products than their younger counterparts, they actually purchase as much as younger consumers. Attitudinal factors explained more variance in online searching behavior. Age explained more variance in purchasing behavior if the consumer had first searched for the product online.

Research limitations/implications :

The limitations of the present research are threefold. First, the sample was restricted to university faculty, staff and students. Second, a better measure of the hedonic motivation construct is needed. Third, additional independent measures such as income should be included to understand the additional demographic factors related to online purchase.