Consumer perceived risk, attitude and online shopping behaviour

Abstract

With the continuous increasing of globalization in international economies, the marketing opportunities for most business seem to be endless and the competition has been increased. Further, different forms of sales have been aroused in order to achieve better performance in the global market. As long as we run away from traditional commercial strategies and tactics, innovative managers are looking for unique and innovative ways to become more competitive in a more effective way on a local, national and global markets.

Online sales have caught the interest of the public, regarding the ability of the Internet to change the way we work at everyday life. The Internet supplies buyers with a wide range of online communications, which format a huge global online shopping site and it seems that the dynamic growth of the Internet cannot be ignored. Although every business gain more and more a competitive advantage from the opportunities offered by e-commerce, the majority of consumers in Greece have embraced this kind of market, but still express their hesitation. Recognizing the need for growing information and new types of services in these difficult times, there is no doubt that online sales offer attractive opportunities for both, businesses and consumers.

This study aims to contribute to the understanding of consumers’ online shopping behaviour in Greece, by identifying consumers' perceived risk towards online shopping. Therefore, the study combined theories, such as theories of online shopping and perceived risk, with the findings of previous researches and the conclusions of an online survey among a sample of consumers in Greece. The survey was conducted in January 2020, for the purposes of this study. The survey investigated the online shopping behaviour, the perception of risk on online buying, the importance of product type when shopping online, the online purchase and repurchase intent, among experienced and inexperienced online consumers. It was found that the consumers in Greece start gradually to realize the importance of online shopping, recognizing that the internet market is a huge part of the daily life. In addition, privacy and security of their financial information were found to affect customers’ attitude towards online buying. Also, as noticed by the responses, websites functionalities, product reviews, and websites’ rating affect significantly the online purchase intension.