Contributions to the segmentation of e-commerce nonusers: clustering the reasons not to shop online

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose is to investigate whether Brazilian e-commerce nonusers all have the same reasons not to purchase online or whether different behavior patterns might lead them to cluster in different groups. Design/methodology/approach – This study carried out cluster analyses on a large sample (N = 9,065) from a nationwide survey on the use of information and communication technology in Brazil. Findings – Three clusters of e-commerce nonusers were identified: the first cluster is quite reluctant; the second is characterized by disbelief in e-commerce; and the last cluster includes members who must see a product to believe it. Overall, nonusers have different reasons not to shop online, but they also share some similarities in this regard. Furthermore, socioeconomic factors do not seem to affect their behavior. The findings suggest that merchants’ failure to attract customers’ attention and tangibility are the major barriers to e-commerce use. Practical implications – Even though nonusers have different reasons not to shop online, the key pattern that emerges is the value of tangibility for these individuals, which is a barrier present in all three clusters. This suggests that current marketing strategies and advertisements are ineffective to reach these consumers. Vendors should therefore try different approaches. Originality/value – The findings contribute to the information systems (IS) literature by bringing a new perspective to the understanding of e-commerce rejection in addition to having managerial implications that involve strategies to attract potential users based on their specificities.

Keywords

• Consumer behavior
• Online shopping
• Non-shopper segmentation
• Electronic market
• Retailing
• Shopping preference