E-commerce : A study on women's online purchasing behavior

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JÖNKÖPING UNIVERSITY

E - c o m m e r c e

A study of women’s online purchasing behavior

Thesis within Business Administration Author: Eliasson, Malin

Holkko Lafourcade, Johanna Smajovic, Senida

Acknowledgements

The authors of this thesis would like to thank our tutor Olga Sasinovskaya for her guidance and commitment during the process of writing this thesis. We would also like to thank our fellow students for their valuable feedback during seminar sessions.

To Hemtex AB, all respondents of the survey and focus group members- a big thank you! This thesis would not have been possible without your involvement.

Malin Eliasson Johanna Holkko Lafourcade Senida Smajovic

Jönköping International Business School

Abstract

Key words: E-commerce, women, online purchasing behavior, online shopping, Internet shopping

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to map out the present behavior of women between 40-55 years concerning Internet shopping. Fur-thermore, the research aims at finding and analyzing factors that might help marketers when persuading the target group to increase their usage of Internet as a purchasing channel for home textile and decorations.

Background: Along with the increasing usage of computers, E-commerce has emerged as a sales channel, and grows rapidly in Sweden. Due to the high growth rate many companies start up web sites for E-commerce. Hemtex AB followed this trend and started their web shop in October 2008 (S. Lindström, personal communication, 2008-10-30). Studies have shown younger consumers to be more frequent online shoppers than older consumers (HUI, 2006) and men to make more online purchases than women (Belanger et al, 2002). This might imply some difficulties for Hemtex concerning their start up of a web shop, since their main target group conists of women in the age 40-55 years. This demographic group is however large and has a high purchasing power (SCB, 2008), which mean it is a profitable group to target for marketers in various industries. One major difficulty with online shopping is the inability to touch the product before purchasing it, which can be a difficulty to overcome when selling textiles on the Internet (Forsythe & Shi, 2003). There-fore it is interesting to conduct research of the online purchasing behavior and habits of women age 40-55 years concerning the home textile industry.

Method: The purpose of this thesis was achieved by using customers of Hemtex AB as a critical case to take part in a survey as well as in a focus group. Two models concerning consumers‟ intention to make purchases in an online environment were used to analyse the out-come of the survey and the focus group.

Conclusion: The thesis determined computer experience and age of women to have an impact on whether they make online purchases or not. The largest obstacle for online shopping was payment discomfort and the largest benefit of shopping online was the conveniece factor. Several factors that could increase the probability for women of making online purchases age 40-55 was discovered, and specific rec-ommendations for marketers which target women in this age group were developed. Furthermore, one of the models concerning con-sumers‟ intention to make purchases‟ in an online environment was modified to focus the intentions of women to shop online.

Sammanfattning

Sökord: E-handel, kvinnor, Internet köpbeteende, Internet handel

Syfte: Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att kartlägga det nuvarande köpbe-teendet bland kvinnor i åldern 40-55 år beträffande Internet shop-ping. Vidare ämnar forskningen att hitta och analysera faktorer som kan hjälpa marknadsförare att få målgruppen att öka sitt användan-de av Internet som ett medium för att handla hemtextilier och in-redning.

Bakgrund: Samtidigt som användandet av datorer ökar så har E-handeln ut-vecklats som säljkanal och ökar snabbt i Sverige. På grund av den höga tillväxten väljer många företag att starta webbsidor för E-handel. Hemtex AB har följt trenden och startade sin Webbutik i Oktober 2008 (S. Lindström, personlig kommunikation, 2008-10-30). Studier har visat att yngre konsumenter tenderar att handla mer på Internet än äldre konsumenter (HUI, 2006) och att män handlar mer än kvinnor (Belanger et al, 2002). Detta skulle kunna innebära svårigheter för Hemtex när de startar upp en Webbutik eftersom deras huvudmålgrupp består av kvinnor i åldern 40-55 år. Denna demografiska grupp är stor och har stark köpkraft (SCB, 2008), vil-ket betyder att det är en lönsam grupp att rikta sig mot för mark-nadsförare i olika branscher. En stor svårighet med E-handel är att man inte kan undersöka varan före köp, detta kan vara en svårighet att överkomma när man ska sälja särskilt textiler över Internet (For-sythe & Shi, 2003). Därför är det intressant att forska i köpbeteen-det på Internet bland kvinnor i åldern 40-55 år beträffande hemtex-tilbranschen.

Metod: Syftet med uppsatsen uppfylldes genom att ett urval av Hemtex kunder fick delta i en enkätundersökning samt i en fokusgrupp. Två modeller om konsumenters avsikt att göra köp i på Internet använ-des för att analysera resultatet av enkäten och fokusgruppen.

Slutsats: Uppsatsens resultat var att datavana och ålder hade en effekt på om kvinnorna genomförde ett köp på internet eller inte. Det största hindret för köp på Internet var osäkerhet kring betalning och den största fördelen med Internet köp var bekvämlighet. Flera faktorer som kunde öka sannolikheten för kvinnor i åldern 40-55 att göra In-ternet köp var identifierade, och specifika rekommendationer fast-ställdes för marknadsförare som riktar sig till den här åldersgruppen. Vidare utvecklades en av de teoretiska modellerna om ‟konsumen-ters avsikt att göra köp i en Internet miljö‟ för att fokusera på kvin-nors avsikter att handla på Internet.

Table of Contents

1

Introduction ... 1

2

Frame of reference ... 8

2.2 Technology Acceptance Model, (TAM) ... 9

2.2.1 Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use ... 10

2.3 Applying TAM in B2C E-commerce ... 11

2.3.1 Trust ... 11

2.3.2 Social Presence ... 12

2.3.3 Perceived Enjoyment ... 12

2.4 Framework for consumers’ intention to shop online ... 12

2.4.1 Usefulness ... 13

2.4.2 Ease of Use ... 14

2.4.3 Enjoyment ... 14

2.4.4 Consumer traits ... 14

2.4.5 Situational factors ... 15

2.4.6 Previous online shopping experiences ... 15

2.4.7 Product characteristics ... 16

2.4.8 Trust in online shopping ... 16

3

Method ... 17

3.1 Research approach ... 17

3.2 Choice of data collection ... 18

3.2.1 Primary Data Collection ... 18

3.2.2 Secondary Data Collection ... 19

3.3 Sampling ... 19

3.3.1 Critical case sampling ... 19

3.4 Pre study ... 21

3.5 Questionnaire design ... 21

3.5.1 How the empirical material of the survey was derived ... 22

3.6 The focus group ... 23

3.6.1 How the empirical material of the focus group was derived ... 24

3.6.2 Limitations of a focus group as a qualitative sampling method ... 25

3.7 Data analysis ... 25

3.8 Generalizability ... 26

3.9 Validity ... 26

3.10 Reliability ... 27

3.11 Trustworthiness and dependability ... 28

3.12 Limitations ... 29

4

Empirical findings ... 31

4.1.1 Computer and Internet experience ... 31

4.1.2 Difficulties concerning online purchases ... 35

4.1.3 Advantages concerning Internet shopping ... 38

4.2 Empirical findings of focus group ... 41

5

Analysis ... 46

5.1 Research question 1 ... 46

5.2 Research question 2 ... 50

5.3 Research question 3 ... 55

5.4 Research question 4 ... 58

5.5 Concluding analysis with a focus on the modified TAM’s ... 61

5.6 Recommendations for marketers ... 63

6

Conclusion ... 66

References ... 67

Appendix ... 71

Pre study: ... 71

Empirical findings appendix... 75

Table of figures

Figure 2 Extended TAM for online shopping ... 11

Figure 3 Framework of consumers' intentions to shop online ... 13

Figure 4 Computer experience level of shoppers and non-shoppers ... 32

Figure 5 Main use of Internet ... 33

Figure 6 Shoppers and non-shoppers ... 33

Figure 7 Main reason for not shopping online ... 34

Figure 8 Shoppers and non-shoppers divided in age group ... 35

Figure 9 Extent of payment discomfort for shopper and non-shoppers ... 36

Figure 10 Difficulties of Internet shopping ... 38

Figure 11 Main advantage of online shopping... 39

Figure 12 Importance of various factors for online shopping ... 40

Figure 13 The framework for women's intention to shop online ... 63

Table 1 Previous research and the main findings ... 9

1

Introduction

During the last 30 years the access of personal computers has increased all over the world. Along with the development of new technology and computers, the ability to connect computers all over the world emerged in the 1970s. This worldwide computer network was called the Internet (Laudon & Traver, 2008). Along with the Internet an opportunity has emerged; the possibility to make purchases online (Joines, Scherer & Scheufele, 2003), which is called Electronic commerce (E-commerce), and is defined as;

“Maintaining business relationships and selling information, services and commodities by means of computer telecommunications networks.” (Encyclopedia of Britannica, 2008).

In Sweden the annual growth rate of E-commerce is 30 percent, which add up to 4 percent of total retail sales in 2008 (Handelns utredningsinstitut, HUI, 2008). Although E-commerce only makes up a fraction of total retail sales in Sweden, it is still an interesting field for research due to its fast growth rate. E-commerce is developing into an important sales channel for companies in diverse industries, and it is essential for marketers to gain increased knowledge of their target groups‟ behavior on the Internet. With better knowl-edge of how and why consumers shop online, marketers will be able to plan their market-ing efforts in a better and more efficient manner.

More than 80 percent of the Swedish population between 16 and 74 years have access to Internet from their home (Statistiska Centralbyrån, SCB, 2007) and 62 percent use it every day (HUI, 2006). Over 70 percent of the Internet access is accessible through broadband (SCB, 2007), reliable and fast Internet access is essential for rapid growth of E-commerce (HUI, 2006). This argument is supported of Lian & Ling (2008), who state the growth of E-commerce is dependent of the increasing popularity of the Internet.

Generally, men make purchases online more frequently than women do (Belanger, Comunale & Slyke, 2002), and younger consumers purchase online products more often than older consumers (HUI, 2006). Based on this, older women should be the least prob-able consumers in an online environment. What does older women‟s Internet purchasing behavior actually look like, and how can it be increased?

The recent rapid growth of E-commerce has resulted in that many companies have decided to start up web sites for E-commerce (S. Lindström, personal communication, 2008-10-30). For companies targeting a younger audience, the start up of a web site for E-commerce is probably a good strategic move, since young adults are frequent Internet users. But for companies targeting an older group, the success of the web site depend of the ability and willingness of middle aged consumers to shop online.

The focus of this study is the online shopping behavior of women between the age of 40-55 years in Sweden, as well as factors that would influence an increase of their online pur-chasing. The study is conducted on Hemtex AB‟s customers as a critical case, and includes a questionnaire to map out the target groups‟ online purchasing behavior and a focus group to collect more in-depth information about how to increase their level of online purchas-ing. The report is a bachelor thesis within marketing, at Jönköping International Business School, Sweden.

1.1 Definitions

Business-to-Business (B2B) e-commerce - “Online businesses selling to other

busi-nesses” (Laudon & Traver, 2008, p.15)

Business-to-Consumer (B2C) e-commerce - “Online businesses selling to individual

consumers” (Laudon & Traver, 2008, p.15)

Electronic business (E-business) - “The digital enabling of transactions and processes

within a firm, involving information systems under the control of the firm” (Laudon & Traver, 2008, p.11)

Electronic commerce (E-commerce) - “Maintaining business relationships and selling

information, services, and commodities by means of computer telecommunications net-works” (Encyclopedia of Britannica, 2008)

Electronic shopping / Internet shopping/ Online shopping - “The buying of goods

or services over the Internet, using either a computer or an Internet television” (Oxford Reference Online, 2008).

Mail-order - “Retailers offering all kinds of products that can be ordered over the phone.

The goods are often delivered within forty-eight hours” (Kalakota & Whinston, 1997, p.221).

Non-shoppers - Based on the survey, the authors of this thesis refer to people who have

never conducted an online purchase, as „non-shoppers‟

Shoppers - Based on the survey, the authors refer „shoppers‟ to people who do have

con-ducted an online purchase.

Web shop - “A web site that offers the ability to purchase goods or services to

consum-ers” (S. Lindström, personal communication, 2008-10-30)

Web site - “A set of texts and/or images usually sharing a common theme, accessible via

the Internet by keying in the address of the site, known as a uniform (or universal) resource locator ( URL ), or by using a hyperlink from another site” (Oxford Reference Online, 2008)

1.2 Background

In 2006, nearly 2000 Swedish companies used E-business, although only 200-300 of the companies had any substantial turnover. The most successful companies when it comes to E-commerce is pure E-businesses, that is; they only operate on the web and has no physi-cal store, and mail order companies (HUI, 2006). The average purchase ranges between 201-500 SEK and the total retail sales added up to 18 billion SEK in 2007. The rate of in-crease in turnover was from 2003 to 2005 30 percent annually (HUI, 2008).

There are many advantages for a firm to conduct business on the Internet, for example; the possibility to reach a broader customer group, potential for rapid growth, and that the company can obtain more information about the customer than they could in a normal re-tail environment. Another benefit is the fact that consumers consider E-commerce to have several advantages. In order of importance; low price, simple, convenient, broad supply, not available close to consumer and to save time. The most successful online products are clothing, books, CD‟s, trips, and movies (HUI, 2006). One reason for why for example books are popular to purchase online is that consumers know what they get (Lian & Ling, 2008). Important aspects for successful E-commerce is the credibility of the company, the web site, fast delivery, build up customer loyalty, supply, safety concerning payments and the price (HUI, 2006).

Naturally there are disadvantages of shopping online; according to Gefen & Straub (2002) trust is very important in E-commerce and the lack of it is the major factor for consumers to avoid online purchases (Emurian & Wang, 2005; Gefen & Straub, 2002). Humans must decrease their social uncertainty, that is, to try to control their environment and behavior of other people. This is usually done by rules and customs. As Internet is a new sales channel, there are few established customs and rules, which is why trust is so important in E-commerce (Gefen & Straub, 2002).

For companies considering to enter the E-commerce market, knowledge about the online consumer behavior is crucial. The demographic group most positive towards shopping online is the consumers in the range 20 to 29 years, where 74 percent made an online pur-chase in 2006. Older consumers do not make purpur-chases as frequently as the younger ones; 60 percent between age 40 to 49, and 41 percent between age 50 to 59 had made at least one Internet purchase in 2006. The consumer group that increases their level of purchasing on the Internet the most from one year to another is the age group 40 to 49 years (HUI, 2006). One interpretation of these facts could be that older consumers generally shop less than younger consumers in online stores.

Men purchase products through the Internet more often than women do, 55 percent of men bought a product online in 2006 versus 46 percent of women. The reason for this dif-ference might be the focus of most Internet business, which mostly has men as their target group (HUI, 2006). The research of Belanger et al (2002), support the notion of men as more frequent online buyers than women. Their research also concluded computer use, email use, prior web use and access to a credit card as significant determinants of online purchasing (Belanger et al, 2002). The gender issue is also supported by study which re-vealed women to be less content with online shopping than men, which according to Har-ris and Rodgers (2003) was the main factor to why fewer women than men shop online. The common finding in all these studies made by various authors and HUI, is that women make online purchases more seldom than men.

If interpreted together, the two paragraphs above imply that older women are the least probable consumers in the online environment. Therefore, it would be interesting to duct research on this particular group. Further, a recent study show, that the older a con-sumer is, the larger is his or her purchasing power. The reasons for the high purchasing power are high income and assets, combined with low level of debts (HUI, 2008). SCB (2008) show nearly a 100 percent increase in net fortune between the age range 30-49 and 50-64. The age range 40-49 is the one that increases their online purchasing the most form one year to another (HUI, 2006). Due to the assumption of women being the least prob-able online consumers, combined with high purchasing power, it would be interesting to investigate the behavior of older women, concerning Internet and Internet shopping. This demographic group, which conduct a relatively small amount of online shopping and has high purchasing power, would be an interesting group to target for marketers, since it would have a potential to generate large turnover for a company. To conduct a study, the age group need to be further narrowed down, and for this purpose the researchers‟ have chosen to investigate women between 40-55, since they represent a demographic group with high purchasing power, and low level of Internet purchases combined with a trend of increasing their purchasing online.

The last ten years Sweden has experienced an increasing trend in the interest of home de-cor, home furnishing, and home textiles. This can be seen for example by the increase of TV programmes concerning home design, such as “Äntligen hemma”, “Room service”, and “Design Simon and Thomas”. The competition in the market for home textiles and home decor has increased during the past years, and more companies in the retail trade have started to broaden their range of products to also include home textiles (Hemtex, 2008). Recently Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), a worldwide fashion store with Headquarters in Stockholm recently announced that they were also going to enter the market of interior de-sign by offering home textiles as a complement to their regular range of products, which are clothing (Elmblad, 2008). According to the New Wave Group (2008), the market for home textiles in Sweden has an annual turnover around 6,8 billion SEK, and the market has increased during the past years and this trend seems to be continuing (New Wave Group, 2008). That the market for home textiles and home decor is one of the fastest growing retail trade markets is also confirmed by Hemtex (2008). The past five years this market has increased by 3-4 percent in Sweden and the other Nordic countries (Hemtex, 2008).

Textiles and clothing have since long been sold through mail-order in Sweden, by the use of a catalog sent to the customers. Today many mail-order companies use both a catalog and the Internet as the purchasing medium for their customers. The existence of mail-ordering could imply that it exists an interest from consumers to purchase clothing and tex-tiles using distance purchasing (Sanna Lindström, Head of the project group launching Hemtex web shop, personal communication, 2008-10-30). Therefore, it should be equally possible to successfully sell clothing and textiles using the Internet, as it would be to sell it by using mail-ordering. Moreover, the competition increases from the mail-ordering indus-try as well, who are using Internet as a more common tool for customers to shop from (Hemtex, 2008).

Forsythe and Shi (2003), claim the transcendently most common reason for not purchasing products on the Internet, is the inability of the consumer to be able to touch the product before the purchase (Forsythe & Shi, 2003). If the inability to touch the good before a pur-chase really is the major reason for why consumers hesitate to shop on the Internet, it

could be difficult to sell for example clothing and textiles through the Internet, since one of the major factor when choosing those kind of goods are the structure of the fabric.

The recent rapid growth of E-commerce has resulted in that many companies, in various industries have decided to start up web sites for E-commerce. One of the most recent companies to start up a web site for E-commerce is Hemtex, which is a Swedish retail chain within home decor, and with a focus of home textiles (S. Lindström, personal com-munication, 2008-10-30). Hemtex is today the market leader, with 26 percent of the market for home textiles in Sweden. Due to Hemtex‟s recent start-up of a web shop, the research-ers‟ decided that investigating Hemtex‟s customers as a critical case for this study could be interesting and relevant for the study. Hemtex‟s main target group is 40-55 years, which correspond to the group the researchers‟ had aimed to make the investigation within (S. Lindström, personal communication, 2008-10-30). Due to this, the researchers‟ consider Hemtex as a representative case for this study.

Women are the main target group of Hemtex, and as mentioned above, women purchase products online rather seldom. One reason for less satisfaction among women concerning E-commerce might be that they purchase more emotionally charged products, such as clothing, perfume and makeup, whereas men primary shop books, magazines and CD´s, which is perceived as practical rather than emotional products (Harris & Rodgers, 2003). For women, more than men, shopping is a social activity, and shopping through the web is done unaccompanied, which might increase women‟s discontent with the purchasing chan-nel. Belanger et al. (2002) suggest women might not be ready to leave their usual way of shopping quite yet (Belanger et al, 2002). Women perceive online shopping as more haz-ardous than men do, and are more affected by word of mouth to fulfil a purchase. Market-ers might want to reduce women‟s perception of risk associated with online purchases, to increase their online purchasing (Garbarino & Strahilevitz, 2004).

The aim of this study was to investigate the online behavior of women between 40-55, both concerning their behavior online and their habits of purchasing goods on the Internet. This was studied on the home textile industry, by using Hemtex consumers as a critical case (Patton, 2002). The authors‟ ambition of this thesis was that the outcome of the study might be useful for marketing managers, since it could provide them with more knowledge of the target group‟s behavior concerning Internet shopping and what factors could induce their level of shopping on the Internet. During the literature review for this thesis, the au-thors found that much research has been done concerning the differences in purchasing behavior related to gender and age when it comes to E-commerce. However, only a rela-tively small amount of previous research with focus on the purchasing behavior of older women was discovered. This is another reason why it is interesting to investigate this par-ticular demographic group.

1.3 Hemtex information

In the process of reviewing material with the intent to write a thesis within the field of E-commerce, the authors became aware of Hemtex‟s intentions to open a web shop in late October 2008. The authors considered this as an interesting strategy of the company, since their target group consisted mainly of middle-aged women, who the authors perceived to not conduct much shopping online. Therefore using the customers of Hemtex as a critical case seemed to be an interesting topic for research. Hemtex was approached, and the au-thors asked for their permission to investigate their customers, which was granted. A small

collaboration with Hemtex was established and maintained during the process of writing the thesis.

Hemtex operates over 200 stores in the Nordic countries, where of 145 are situated in Sweden. The major part is owned and operated by the corporate group, while 27 stores are operated as franchises. Hemtex has expanded strongly the past eight years and is today the market leader within home textiles and control 26 percent of the market. Their market po-sition has its focus on the middle-price segment with a certain part of the range of products in the higher-price segments. Hemtex is the actor on the market that offers the broadest range of products for home textiles. The main competitors in the market are Jysk, IKEA, and Kid Interior (Hemtex, 2008).

Hemtex AB has achieved better sales figures than expected the past five years, but the end of 2007 and beginning of 2008 they showed declining sales figures, and the board consid-ered new ways of increasing sales. In the spring of 2008 the board decided Hemtex should start a web site for E-commerce. Their web shop was introduced in the end of October 2008. The decision to start a web shop was mostly based on a willingness to catch up with competitors, rather than a discovered customer need for a web shop of the target group, from extensive marketing research. The mail-ordering company Ellos has operated a web shop for svereral years, selling clothing and home textiles. They are Hemtex‟s main com-petitor in the online market. Hemtex target group is 25-60 years (Hemtex, 2008), although their main target group is women between 40 to 55 years (S. Lindström, personal commu-nication, 2008-10-30).

1.4 Problem

With an annual turnover growth of 30 percent, E-commerce is turning into an important retail channel in Sweden (HUI, 2006). Due to the high annual growth rate of E-commerce it is an interesting area for research. To keep up with the competition many Swedish com-panies make the decision to start a web shop (S. Lindström, personal communication, 2008-10-30) and in 2006 it was possible to make online purchases from more than 2000 Swedish companies (HUI, 2006). However, not all consumers embrace the new sales chan-nel to the extent the companies‟ managing the web shops would like them to. Research has shown younger consumers to be more frequent online shoppers than older consumers (HUI, 2006) and men to make more online purchases than women do (Belanger et al, 2002). As discussed in the background section, this implies that older women are the least frequent buyers in the online environment. Still, the demographic group in the ages be-tween 40 to 49 years is the one that increases their frequency of online shopping the most annually (HUI, 2006). To summarize; middle aged women make few purchases online but belong to a group that increases their online shopping the most annually. Combined with a strong purchasing power (SCB, 2008), this makes middle-aged women an interesting group to investigate in the context of E-commerce, since companies targeting this group might have a possibility to increase their sales. If entering the online market as a pioneer, a com-pany can position themselves in the top of the customer‟s mind, and thus become an online market leader.

A major drawback with E-commerce is the intangibility of the products sold online, which can increase the difficulty for the customers to decide whether or not the product fits their needs (Forsythe & Shi, 2003). This implies it would be difficult to sell clothing and textiles using the Internet as a sales channel, since for these products a customer decision is based on the fabric, colour, fit and quality of the textile or garment. The home textile industry is

an industry in which competition has increased during the past years due to both the entry of new actors (Hemtex, 2008b), as well as an expansion of the market into the E-commerce context (S. Lindström, personal communication, 2008-10-30). During the past years the interest of design and home décor has increased rapidly in Sweden mostly with women as the main customers (Hemtex, 2008b). The increased competition, the entry into the E-commerce context combined with the difficulty of selling those products online makes the industry an interesting area for research. Hemtex is a company in the home tex-tile industry, and opened a web shop in October 2008 (S. Lindström, personal communica-tion, 2008-10-30). Their main target group consists of women between the ages 40-55 years. The age of the target group might be an obstacle to having a profitable web shop, since women in this age belong to one of the demographic groups conducting the least amount of online shopping.

The problem of this thesis is how companies in the home textile industry could circumvent the intangibility problem experienced by consumers in relation to online shopping. Further, the problem involves a difficulty for the marketers of companies within home textiles, to convince customers with a low frequency of online purchasing behavior to increase their level of online purchasing. This thesis aims at describing the online purchasing behavior of women in the age 40-55 years as well as to uncover factors that might increase their level of online shopping. The contents of these findings might facilitate for marketers from com-panies with a web shop within the home textile industry, who target women in the investi-gated age. The purpose of this thesis will be achieved be using customers of Hemtex as a critical case.

1.5 Purpose

The purpose of this thesis is to map out the present behavior of women between 40-55 years concerning Internet shopping. Furthermore, the research aims at finding and analyz-ing factors that might help marketers when persuadanalyz-ing the target group to increase their usage of Internet as a purchasing channel for home textile and decorations.

1.6 Research questions

1. How does the level of computer and Internet experience of the target group relate to the level of Internet purchases?

2. Which factors does the target group perceive as the most important obstacles regarding Internet shopping and why?

3. Which are the most important benefits according to the target group regarding Internet shopping, and why?

2

Frame of reference

2.1 Previous research

The authors of this thesis have reviewed a large amount of previous research within the fields of online purchasing behavior, trust and gender. There were little or no research found that have investigated the online purchasing behavior of middle aged women. In ta-ble 1 previous research that is relevant to this thesis have been summarized.

Author; Main findings;

Harcourt, W. (Ed.). (1999). Women at

Inter-net: creating new cultures in cyberspace. United

Kingdom: Biddles Ltd.

Explores women‟s access to and knowledge of the Internet, across the world, and sug-gest concrete implications in order to crease women‟s engagement with new in-formation technologies.

Gittler, M. A. (1990). Mapping women‟s global communications and networking. In W. Harcourt. (Ed.), Women at Internet (p. 91-101). United Kingdom: Biddles Ltd.

Investigating the communication and net-working abilities of women from a global perspective.

Jack Neff, (2008). “Wired women an un-tapped goldmine for package goods”

Advertising Age (Midwest region edition).

Chica-go: Vol. 79, No. 41; p. 21

Women do spend time chatting about and buying low-involvement products online.

Claire Cain Miller, (2008) “Woman to woman online (Business/financial desk)” New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.: Aug 14, pg. C.1

Advertisers think that products that are dis-cussed on blog posts or in articles in tradi-tional women‟s magazines will increase in sale due to the power of word of mouth. Harris, M., & Rodgers, S. (2003). Gender

and E-Commerce: An Explanatory Study.

Journal of advertising research, 322-329.

This study implies that women are less emotionally content with online shopping than men are, this since women found it less convenient. Women also had less trust in online shopping than men.

Garbarino, E., & Strahilevitz, M. (2004). Gender differences in the perceived risk of buying online and the effects of receiving a site recommendation. Journal of business

re-search, 57, 768-775.

Women perceive it more risky to make online purchases than men. Women are slightly more affected by recommendations from friends concerning Internet shopping, both concerning perceived risk and pur-chasing intention.

Smith, S., & Whitlark, D. (2001). Men and women online: What makes them click?

Marketing research. Summer. 13(2), 20-25.

Recognise that marketers in the digital envi-ronment need to understand what drives men and women online in order to make web site decisions. Women and men differ in online needs and motivations. 5 male and 5 female type of Internet users are

identi-fied. Sorce, P., Perotti, V., & Widrick, S. (2005).

Attitude and age differences in online buy-ing. International journal retail & distribution

management. 33(2). 122-132.

Older consumers find online shopping less convenient than younger do. Younger con-sumers search more frequently about prod-uct information than older do, but purchase to similar extent.

Holsapple, C., & Sasidhara, A. (2005). The dynamics of trust in B2C E-commerce.

ISeB. 3. 377-403.

Trust is one of the most important factors for successful B2C E-commerce.

Kolsaker, A., & Payne, C. (2002). Engen-dering trust in E-commerce; a study of gender-based concerns. Marketing intelligence

and planning. 20(4). 206-214.

Men and women are discovered to attribute high levels of concern regarding security of online payment, the confidentiality of their personal information and the integrity of the e-tailers.

Choudhury, V., Kacmar, C., & McKnight, D. (2002). Developing and validating trust measures for E-commerce: an integrative typology. Information systems research, 13, 334-359.

Trust helps online consumers to overcome perceived risk and insecurity.

Chiu, Y., Lin, C., & Tang, L. (2005). Gend-er diffGend-ers: assessing a model of online pur-chase intentions in e-tail service. International

journal of service industry management. 16(5).

416-435

A model is tested to see how it influences the attitudes and the online purchase inten-tions of males and females. A gender differ-ence was discovered.

Table 1 Previous research and the main findings

2.2 Technology Acceptance Model, (TAM)

The authors chose to include the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), firstly because it is a well-known, acknowledged model, especially in information studies. Secondly, the au-thors have chosen to include the model since it can be well applied to the research findings in terms of a foundation for women‟s computer knowledge and their ability to take on the online purchasing technique. Thirdly, the model is introduced as a base for the other two following models that are both an extension of the original TAM and applied to the online B2C context.

The aim of the TAM is “[…] to provide an explanation of the determinants of computer acceptance that is general, capable of explaining user behavior across a broad range of end-user computing technologies and end-user populations, while at the same time being both par-simonious and theoretically justified” (Davis et al, 1989, p. 985). In 1989, Davis developed scales for two specific variables that were hypothesized to be basic determinants of user ac-ceptance of computers. These two variables were referred to as „perceived usefulness‟ and „perceived ease of use‟. The purpose of the study was to, through the use of these two

va-riables to investigate why certain people tend to accept information technology and some do not (Davis, 1989).

Figure 1 Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) Source: Davis et al. (1989)

One of the most significant purposes of TAM was to provide a foundation for outlining the impact of specific external factors on the internal beliefs, intentions and attitudes. By identifying a small number of basic variables suggested by previous research, TAM was de-veloped as an attempt to achieve the purposes mentioned above (Davis et al, 1989).

2.2.1 Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use

Davis (1989), refers to perceived usefulness as “[…] people tend to use or not use an appli-cation to the extent they believe it will help them perform their job better” (Davis, 1989, p 320). However, even though potential users perceive a given application to be useful, they may at the same time regard the system to be too difficult to use and that the effort of us-ing the application outweighs the benefits. This is referred to as „perceived ease of use‟ ac-cording to Davis (1989). In the study, Davis could demonstrate that the new scales that he had developed for „perceived usefulness‟ and „perceived ease of use‟ were found to have strong empirical relationships with the self-reported measures in the study of usage beha-vior. He also found that „usefulness‟ was considerably more strongly linked to usage com-pared to „ease of use‟ (Davis, 1989). This technology acceptance model has been cited in various research since it was introduced by Davis in 1989. Since Internet was introduced and the market for E-commerce started to emerge, some research has tried to apply the technology acceptance model in the E-commerce setting (Li and Qiu, 2008; Dellaert, Mon-suwé and Ruyter, 2004).

The authors of this thesis have chosen two different models that have been further devel-oped from the TAM model and applied in an E-commerce setting. These two models,the „extended TAM for online shopping‟ and the „framework for consumers‟ intentions to shop online‟, have been chosen in particular because they are modifications of the TAM and are applied to the online shopping context. They will be used as a foundation for the analysis where the authors aim at applying both models to the research findings and try to evaluate which of the two models that is the best one to consider when it comes to online shopping.

2.3 Applying TAM in B2C E-commerce

This model was included in the study because it is a modified version of TAM that is ap-plied for the E-commerce context. Li and Qiu (2008) have added three additional factors, which are „social presence‟, „trust‟ and „perceived enjoyment‟ to the original TAM. The au-thors of this thesis have chosen to use this model because they believe that these three ad-ditional factors will have an important impact on women‟s attitudes towards E-commerce. The different factors in the model also relate to perceived difficulties concerning online shopping, in terms of „trust‟ issues and the absence of „social presence‟. The factors in the model also relate to advantages with online shopping, in terms of „perceived enjoyment‟ of online shopping. The „extended TAM for online shopping‟ will be used as a mean to facili-tate the analysis of the empirical data and to answer the research questions. The factors from the original TAM; „perceived usefulness‟ and „perceived ease of use‟ will be analyzed together with the empirical findings in order to answer research question one. Further, the factor „trust‟ will be discussed and analyzed more in-depth in research question two. Lastly, in research question three the factors „social presence‟ and „enjoyment‟ will be discussed in the analysis.

In their article, Li and Qiu (2008), take the technology acceptance model, TAM, and add three additional constructs to the model to make it more applicable in the study of online shopping adoption behavior. The cognition-oriented constructs (Figure 2, below) refers to „perceived usefulness‟ and „perceived ease of use‟ from the TAM.

Figure 2 Extended TAM for online shopping Source: Li and Qiu (2008)

2.3.1 Trust

In any close relationship, trust is one of the most desired qualities (Holmes, Rempel & Zanna, 1985). Gefen and Straub (2003) state that due to the lack of „social presence‟ may hold back the growth of B2C E-services and this by hampering the development of con-sumer trust that the concon-sumer seeks in the service provider. In the creation of trust, human interaction is believed to be a critical element. In fact, one of the major issues that affect the exceptional growth rate of E-commerce is trust (Gefen & Straub, 2003). According to Li and Qiu (2008), „perceived usefulness‟ can be affected by trust both in the short term and in the long term. At the same time, „perceived ease of use‟ is believed to have a positive influence on trust. This is because „perceived ease of use‟ may help promote the consum-ers‟ positive impressions of E-businesses and may improve the consumconsum-ers‟ willingness to invest and make a commitment in the buyer-seller relationship (Li & Qiu, 2008).

2.3.2 Social Presence

The term social presence refers to the feeling of being together with others. The concept of „social presence‟ is indeed relevant when it comes to the online shopping environment. Some E-commerce web sites have started so called consumer-to-service person interac-tions such as „live help‟ or instant messaging tools simulating interpersonal communicainterac-tions between shopping friends. This is done in order to provide online shoppers with similar perceptions to what they could experience in the real world (Li & Qiu, 2008). In their ex-tended model, Li and Qiu (2008) state that the „social presence‟ that a web site can contri-bute with, can positively contricontri-bute to trust among consumer. Trustworthiness in face-to-face human interactions is usually noticeable by an excess of important social cues. When a consumer interacts with a web site for the first time, they have a difficulty trying to judge the trustworthiness of the web site because they understand few of these social cues (Li & Qiu, 2008).

2.3.3 Perceived Enjoyment

According to Venkatesh (1999), a high level of intrinsic motivation (motivation that arises without any external stimulation) is likely to lead to a higher level of sustained usage beha-vior when it comes to technology. The level of intrinsic enjoyment of an activity is a com-mon measure of flow. The term flow refers to a positive feeling a person gets when he or she experience total involvement in an activity. Due to the fact that online shopping is li-mited to mostly two-dimensional pictures and text, it does not always provide the same enriching and emotionally fulfilling experience as shopping in the physical world provides (Koufaris, 2002). Li and Qiu (2008) suggests in their extended model that „perceived en-joyment‟ will apply both direct and indirect influences on the adoption intentions of those consumers that are users of an online shopping web site. If consumers perceive a web site to be fun to use, they will regard the task as less boring and therefore they are more likely to be engaged in the task, finding the right product and pay for it. This will lead to a com-pleted purchase (Li and Qiu, 2008).

2.4

Framework for consumers’ intention to shop online

Dellaert et al. (2004) have constructed the „framework for consumers‟ intentions to shop online‟. Dellaert et al (2004) developed this model based on TAM. This model was chosen to be included in the study because it is an extension of the original TAM and applied to the E-commerce context. Compared to the previous mentioned modified model, this one is more extended, as the authors of this model have added more factors to TAM than the previous mentioned one. The authors of this thesis have chosen to use this model as it re-lates to computer knowledge, and positive and negative issues with online shopping. The factors „usefulness‟ and „ease of use‟ are related to computer knowledge. „Enjoyment‟ is re-lated to the positive outcome of online shopping. Trust in online shopping is rere-lated to po-tential negative aspects of E-commerce. This model also includes „situational factors‟ and „consumer characteristics‟, which also are important factors that affects the consumer‟s on-line purchasing behavior. As this model included more factors than the „extended TAM for online shopping‟, it was used as a foundation for some of the questions in the question-naire, in which the online purchasing behavior was mapped out. Common for the both modified models are that they both have added „enjoyment‟ and „trust‟ to the original TAM. This is why the two models are interesting to compare in the analysis of the research find-ings.

The model „framework of consumers‟ intentions to shop online‟ will serve as support for the researchers‟ when analyzing empirical data and answering the research questions. The factors „usefulness‟ and „ease of use‟ will together with the factors „personal characteristics‟ and „consumer traits‟ help the researchers‟ to analyze the empirical findings and answer re-serach question one. In research question two, the factors „trust in online shopping‟ and „product characteristics‟ will be analyzed together with the empirical findings. Lastly, the factors „enjoyment‟ and „situational factors‟ will be analyzed in research questions three.

Figure 3 Framework of consumers' intentions to shop online Source: Dellaert et al., (2004)

Factors in the modified TAM such as CROI, Service Excellence, Experience, Control, Computer Playfulness and so forth, that are a part of the factors „usefulness‟, „ease of use‟ and „enjoyment‟ are disregarded in this thesis, since they are not applicable and relevant for this study.

2.4.1 Usefulness

Usefulness is defined as the perception of the individual that his or her performance will be improved or enhanced by using the new technology (Davis, 1989). Dellaert et al. (2004) classifies the new technology as shopping on the Internet and the individual‟s performance as the outcome of the online shopping experience. In their interpretation of the model, „usefulness‟ refers to the perceptions of the consumers that by using the Internet as a shopping means, the outcome of their shopping experience will be enhanced. The attitudes

of the consumers toward online shopping and their intentions to shop online are influ-enced by these perceptions (Dellaert et al, 2004).

2.4.2 Ease of Use

According to Dellaert et al. (2004), and their extension of the TAM model, „ease of use‟ implies that the consumer perceive the online shopping to require a minimum of effort. The difference between „ease of use‟ and „usefulness‟ is that „ease of use‟ is more focused on the consumers‟ perception of the process that leads to the final shopping outcome, whereas „usefulness‟ refers to only the outcome of the online shopping experience. It can be concluded, in a simplified manner, that „ease of use‟ is how easy the Internet is to use as a tool for shopping, and „usefulness‟ describes how effective online shopping is in helping consumers in completing their task. Consumers are more likely to intend to use the tech-nology the more effortless and easier they regard it to be. According to Dellaert et al. (2004) since using a computer is a necessary requirement for online shopping, the comput-er anxiety will have a negative influence on the consumcomput-ers‟ pcomput-erception of using Intcomput-ernet as a shopping tool (Dellaert et al, 2004).

2.4.3 Enjoyment

In their modified model, Dellaert et al. (2004), refer to the factor enjoyment as the out-come of the playfulness and fun of the online shopping experience. This is compared to only shopping for the completion of the task shopping in itself. According to Dellaert et al. (2004), the actual purchasing of goods might be subsidiary to the actual experience of shopping online. Due to this, consumers‟ perceptions concerning the potential entertain-ment of online shopping is reflected by the factor „enjoyentertain-ment‟ (Dellaert et al, 2004).

2.4.4 Consumer traits

To understand why consumers choose to shop online one needs to address different con-sumer traits, such as „personality characteristics‟ and „demographic factors‟ (Dellaert et al, 2004). The authors of this thesis regard the „demographic factors‟ as most relevant to their study, and therefore the „personality characteristics‟ will not be discussed. Burke (2002) has identified four „demographic factors‟ that are relevant; age, gender, education and income. According to Dellaert et al. (2004), these four factors have a considerable moderating effect on the relationship between „usefulness‟, „ease of use‟, „enjoyment‟ and the attitude of the consumers towards online shopping. The importance of age is significant, due to the fact that younger adults, in particular those under age 25, are more interested in using new technology, compared to older consumers. The younger generations tend to be more inter-ested in using the Internet to search for product information and compare and evaluate al-ternatives (Wood, 2002).

Gender is another factor that is relevant for attitudes among consumers to perform online shopping. In general, men are more interested in using different types of technologies in their shopping process. Female consumers prefer to use a catalog when shopping from their homes, whereas men are more positive towards using the Internet as a shopping means. However, those female consumers that do perform online shopping, tend to do this more frequently than men that are using the Internet as a shopping means (Burke, 2002). Education is a third factor that is relevant in the relationship between the three basic de-terminants and the attitudes of the consumers to shop online (Dellaert et al, 2004). Accord-ing to Burke (2002) consumers with higher education are more likely to feel comfortable

using non-store channels for shopping. Li, Kuo and Russel (1999) also confirm this and state that an individual‟s level of Internet literacy is positively correlated with education. The last factor is income, which also affect the relationship (Dellaert et al, 2004). According to Lohse, Bellman and Johnson (2000), high-income households often correlates positive with possessions of computers and Internet access. They also correlate positively with con-sumers with higher level of education. Concon-sumers with higher levels of income also intend to shop online to a larger extent than consumers with lower income (Lohse et al, 2000).

2.4.5 Situational factors

Dellaert et al. (2004) argue that there are a number of situational factors, which are likely to moderate the relationship between consumers‟ attitudes and their intensions to shop on-line. However, in their framework they are only regarding the most relevant. These are time pressure, lack of mobility, geographical distance, need for special items and attractiveness of alternatives (Dellaert et al, 2004) According to Wolfinbarger and Gilly (2001) conveni-ence and accessibility are the most important attributes of online shopping for customers. They are able to shop on the Internet at any time of the day and comfortably in their home environment (Wolfinbarger & Gilly, 2001). Due to this, time pressure as a situational factor has an important impact on the relationship between consumers‟ attitudes and their inten-tions to online shopping. The attitude towards online shopping becomes less important be-cause the main drive for online shopping is that it is always available and time saving (Del-laert et al, 2004). The situational factors lack of mobility and geographical distance are also important for consumers to shop online. Some consumers are not able to visit traditional stores due to illness or large travel distances. Online shopping is therefore a viable alterna-tive to help these consumers (Dellaert et al, 2004). The fourth situational factor is the „need for special items‟ (Wolfinbarger & Gilly, 2001). This refers to consumers that require tai-lored products that cannot be purchased in traditional stores. The last factor is the attrac-tiveness of alternatives. If an attractive store provides their products online, a consumer may not shop online anyway because he or she prefers the brick-and-mortar alternative. All of these five „situational factors‟ moderate the relationship between attitude and the con-sumer‟s intentions to shop online and they are indeed important. (Dellaert et al, 2004).

2.4.6 Previous online shopping experiences

Shim, Eastlick, Lotz and Warrington (2001) state that there is a positive relationship be-tween consumers‟ previous Internet shopping experience and their intensions to shop on-line. Previous research findings demonstrate that intensions towards online shopping are directly influenced by prior online shopping experience (Eastlick & Lotz, 1999). The indi-vidual will make system-specific evaluations that are based on their prior experiences with the system, depending on the extent of minimal system-specific information are given to them (Dellaert et al, 2004). Shim et al. (2001) states that consumers are likely to continue to shop online in the future when prior experiences with online shopping resulted in satisfac-tory outcomes. These positive experiences will decrease the perceived risks that the con-sumer associates with shopping on the Internet (Shim et al, 2001). On the contrary, if a consumer evaluates „previous online shopping experiences‟ in a negative way, this may make him or her unwilling to engage in online shopping in the future. Due to this, Weber and Roehl, (1999), pay attention to the importance of, through providing existing online shoppers satisfying online shopping experiences, turn them into repeat shoppers.

2.4.7 Product characteristics

According to Dellaert et al. (2004), consumers‟ attitudes towards shopping online is also in-fluenced by the characteristics of the product or service that is under consideration. In the online shopping context, there is a lack of assistance and physical contact. This factor will influence the suitability for different products and this means that some product categories are more suitable for the online shopping contexts than other categories (Dellaert et al, 2004). Grewal et al. (2004) argue that for some products, for example clothing, the custom-er has a need to feel, touch and try them on and these types of products can thcustom-erefore be difficult to purchase over the Internet. This entails that more standardized products like books, CD‟s and videotapes are more likely to be considered for online shopping (Dellaert et al, 2004).

2.4.8 Trust in online shopping

According to Lee and Turban, (2001), online shopping involves more uncertainty and risk than traditional shopping and the lack of „trust‟ in Internet shopping is still an unresolved issue for consumers who intend to shop online. Trust is also emphasized by Choudhury, Kacmar and McKnight (2002), who claim trust help E-consumers to overcome their sense of insecurity and risk. Doney and Cannon, (1997) argue that the salesperson is the most important source of trust in the retail setting. The consumer trust is dependent on the li-keability and expertise of the salesperson. Due to the fact that the consumers are not able to examine the product or control the sending of their personal and financial information when shopping online, online shopping always contains a certain level of risk (Lee & Tur-ban, 2001). As this situation creates a sense of powerlessness among consumers who shop online, trust is indeed an important factor that affects the relationship between consumers‟ attitude and their intentions towards online shopping (Dellaert et al, 2004). Due to the lo-wered risk involved in exchanging information, a high level of privacy and security in the Internet shopping experience will affect consumer trust in a positive way. The level of trust is generally positively related to the attitudes and intentions of the consumers to shop on-line. At the same time, abuse of consumers‟ trust in online shopping will have a negative ef-fect on consumers‟ attitudes towards online shopping. Abuse of their trust can be invasion of privacy or misuse of personal information and this can lead to a reluctant behavior among consumers‟ future online shopping behavior (Dellaert et al, 2004).

3

Method

3.1 Research approach

When conducting research, there are two different approaches to take. The researcher can apply the deductive reasoning, which is the logical process of getting a conclusion from something that is already known to be true. The inductive approach, on the contrary, is the logical process of, on the basis of observation of facts; establish a general proposition (Zikmund, 2000). According to Kirkeby (1990), there is a need for an additional research approach. Induction and deduction cannot give us qualitative new knowledge, which is knowledge that is not of a kind that we already have. The solution to this dilemma is the concept of abduction. The abductive approach is somewhat similar to the inductive ap-proach, and is used as a method to create new terms and methods through the analysis of facts (Kirkeby, 1990). In this thesis, the aim is to map out the behavior of women concern-ing their Internet shoppconcern-ing, as well as analyzconcern-ing the factors that may increase their frequen-cy of Internet shopping. Since there is limited information about women‟s Internet shop-ping in the age group of 40 to 55 this study takes an abductive approach to the research because there is a possibility that a general proposition can be established about the target group and their purchasing behavior online.

Research can take several different forms; it could be explanatory, descriptive or explorato-ry. According to Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2007) explanatory studies are studying a problem or situation to explain the relationship between variables. Robson (2002) explains descriptive studies as describing a correct profile of events, situations or persons. (Cited in Saunders et al, 2007) Robson (2002) mean that exploratory studies is a way to find out what is happening in a particular situation, to assess phenomena and ask questions in a new light. (Cited in Saunders et al, 2007). This study used all three methods in different ways; howev-er, the focus was on the explanatory form. When mapping out the behavior of women concerning their Internet shopping, a descriptive form was used, since the aim was to de-scribe the target group‟s attitudes toward Internet as a purchasing channel. This was achieved by using a questionnaire. The explanatory form was used when finding and ana-lyzing the factors that might increase the group‟s Internet shopping, and to explain why the target group behaves in a certain way. This was conducted through the use of a focus group. The exploratory form was used in the pre study, which aimed at gathering basic in-formation concerning the area of interest, and as a base for the questionnaire. However, the purpose of the thesis is descriptive and explanatory.

When collecting data for empirical research, there are generally two different research strat-egies to apply; the quantitative approach, which includes all data collection techniques that generate or use numerical data. The qualitative approach on the contrary, is mainly used as a synonym for all data collection techniques that generates or uses non-numerical data. It can therefore refer to data that is not only words, but also other non-numerical data such as video clips, observations and pictures (Saunders et al, 2007).

This study includes both a quantitative and qualitative approach due to the nature of our purpose, which is both descriptive and explanatory. When mapping out the behavior of women in the age of 40 to 55 concerning Internet shopping, the quantitative approach was used. By using the quantitative approach, a larger portion of the population can be investi-gated, than could have been by only using a qualitative research. Using a quantitative ap-proach enabled the results to be conceptually generalized, which mean that the findings could be applicable in the sense of the critical case. The purpose also aims at finding

fac-tors of how to increase the usage of Internet as a purchasing channel for home textiles, as well as to find the reasons behind the attitudes and behavior of the target group. To answer this part of the purpose a qualitative approach was taken by using a focus group. It would be difficult to uncover factors by using a quantitative approach because there is a need to go in depth into the subject. The intention of the qualitative research approach was to un-cover factors that can motivate and influence the target group to increase their purchasing online.

3.2 Choice of data collection

To answer the purpose of the thesis, both primary and secondary data had to be collected. Primary data is data collected especially to answer the purpose and research questions of the current study. This data must be gathered by the researcher of the study at hand and can be done by observation, interviews or questionnaires. Secondary data is data that has been collected earlier, to fulfill the purpose of some other study. This data can be gathered from books, articles, reports and many others sources (Saunders et al, 2007). How primary and secondary was collected to this study will be described in the two following sections.

3.2.1 Primary Data Collection

In this study, primary data was collected through standardized interviewer-administered questionnaires. However, data was also collected through a focus group where several par-ticipants could discuss a specific subject more in depth. Before the questionnaire was com-piled, a pre study was conducted.

There are four types of interviews that can be conducted; personal interviews where only a single person is being interviewed, focus groups where several people are being interviewed at the same time, telephone interviews where the interview is conducted through a tele-phone conversation or convenience interviews where the interview is conducted in a place with many people (Christensen, Engdahl, Grääs & Haglund, 2003). In order to design the questionnaire, a pre study had to be conducted to attain relevant information. The pre study was conducted in the form of personal interviews with open answer questions, which also is a type of qualitative sampling. To conduct the qualitative part of the data collection, a focus group was used to find out how to increase the usage of Internet as a purchasing channel for home textiles. A focus group is characterized by having several participants at the same time discussing a specific subject. The group discussion is lead by a moderator. The aim with the focus group is to create a discussion where unpredicted reasoning can be detected (Christensen et al, 2003). It would have been difficult to uncover factors of how and why Internet shopping can be increased by only using the quantitative approach. By having a qualitative approach too, the study can go more in-depth within this subject. The decision to use a focus group was based on the belief that a discussion between several res-pondents would let more feelings and thoughts arise, than if the same questions would be discussed with only one respondent in an ordinary interview. By listening to each other, the respondents in the focus group could come up with ideas they would not have done in a one-to-one setting.

There are two types of questionnaires, interviewer-administered and self-administered questionnaires. When conducting an interviewer-administered questionnaire an interviewer needs to be present, while in the self-administered questionnaires the respondents com-plete the form by themselves (Christensen et al, 2003). For this data collection the decision was to use an interviewer-administered questionnaire, since it would decrease bias resulting

from respondents who might have skipped one or more questions, which would have made the analyzes less credible. In addition, if any questions or difficulties arose an expla-nation could be given and thus reassure that the correct information was collected.

3.2.2 Secondary Data Collection

To be able to build a frame of reference and gather information about the background to the problem there was a need for secondary data. The main source of secondary data con-sisted of scientific articles that were found in several databases available through the Uni-versity Library, such as; Emerald, Google scholar, ABI/inform, and Scopus. Books from the library, statistics from SCB and reports from Handelns Utredningsinstitut were also used in the secondary data collection.

3.3 Sampling

The target group for this study is women in the age of 40 to 55, since they are a demo-graphic group, which do not conduct much purchasing online, combined with having strong purchasing power. This combination makes the mentioned target group especially interesting to investigate. This target group also was a special interest to Hemtex since they autumn 2008 opened a web site targeting women in this age group.

Sampling of primary data can be divided in two groups, probability sampling and non-probability sampling. In non-probability sampling, each case has an equal chance of being se-lected. To use probability sampling the researcher needs a sampling frame, that is; a list of all cases in the population, and must select cases randomly. When a sampling frame is not available, non-probability sampling is one alternative method for sampling. Non-probability sampling includes; quota sampling, purposive sampling, snowball sampling, self-selection sampling and convenience sampling. The latter means cases are selected haphazardly and are most appropriate when for example interviewing customers at a shopping centre for a marketing survey. Gathering respondents will be continued until the sample size has been reached (Saunders et al, 2007). In this case, a sampling frame was not available, which meant that probabaility sampling could not be used. Instead the researchers‟ decided to use convenience sampling, which is a type of non-probability sampling since it seemed suitable as the questionnaire would take place in a shopping mall.

3.3.1 Critical case sampling

The critical case sampling method is a strategy for selecting purposeful samples. Critical cases can also be used to represent particularly important things. They are also representa-tive to prove that if something happens here, it will happen anywhere, or the opposite, if it does not happen here, it will not happen anywhere. What is crucial in the data collection for this type of sampling is the understanding of what is happening in the critical case. In cases where resources can limit the evaluation to the study of one location alone, it is par-ticularly important to look for critical cases. In these situations, it makes sense to choose the location that can have the largest impact on the development of knowledge and yield most information to the study. It is not possible to make broad generalizations to all possi-ble cases, only by studying one or a few critical cases; however, from the weight of evi-dence from a single critical case, logical generalizations can often be made (Patton, 2002). In this study, the authors have chosen to study Hemtex AB and their customers as a critical case. The authors believe that Hemtex have the potential of being a representative sample