| Summary: | Of the various channels to market, one that has probably received the greatest attention and
produced the highest expectations of impact and adoption is the Internet (Wright and Clark, 2-
005: 1). According to Feher and Towell (1997), and Paul (1996), as cited by Vijayasarathy and
Jones (1998: 322), the Internet promises a number of benefits to both businesses and consumers.
From a business perspective, the Internet can be a powerful medium to establish a unique
relationship with consumers (Pattinson and Brown, 1996: 31). For the consumer, the Internet can
be a valuable communication medium to facilitate controlled, non-linear search for up-to-date
information, simulated product and service testing, and provide assistance with comparison-
shopping and decision-making (Hoffman et ai, 1996: 26). The Internet has grown at an incredible
rate. By March 2006, there were approximately 1023 million Internet users worldwide
(internetworldstats, 2006: 1). However, the Internet has not grown in South Africa at the pace
that it has grown in first world countries such as America, Japan and the United Kingdom
(internetworldstats, 2006: 1). According to Computer Industry Almanac Inc (2005: 1), South
Africa had 4 780 000 million Internet users in 2005. This is approximately 0.5% of the worlds
Internet users. Global studies have been conducted on why Internet users purchase online, but
not much information is available on why South African Internet users purchase online.
Moreover, this limited information is mainly available only commercially. South African
Internet research companies such as Webcheck, World Wide Worx and eMarketer generally charge
between R6000 and R14 000 (2005 Rand prices) for South African online shopping studies, which
generally deal more with Internet usage, buying behaviour in terms of products and services
purchased, online shopping trends and to a limited extent factors that influence South African
Internet users purchasing online. Due to South Africa's diversity and unique situation in terms
of its economy (what is (commonly referred to as it's digital divide), the factors that
influence South African Internet users purchasing online may not be the same as the factors
influencing Internet users from other countries purchasing online. In order to investigate the
factors that influence South African Internet users purchasing online, the following research
objectives were identified: • Primary Research Objective. To identify factors that influence
South African Internet users purchasing a product or service online. • Secondary Research
Objective Number 1. To determine the significance of the identified factors that influence
South African Internet users purchasing a product or service online. • Secondary Research
Objective Number 2. To determine the relative importance of the identified factors that
influence South African Internet users purchasing a product or service online. A questionnaire
(provided in Annexure One) was developed to investigate the above research objectives and was
distributed, via e-mail to 437 employees of Ninham Shand (Pty) Ltd. A response rate of 269 was
achieved. The research found that the following factors were rated important to the sample
purchasing online: (1) the price of the product or service being purchased; (2) the convenience
to the Internet user; (3) the experience as an Internet user; (4) the web site layout; (5) the
ease of use of the web site; (6) the brand of the product or service; (7) the type of product
or service; (8) the availability of online information on the product or service; (9) the
method of payment; and (10) the web site security features. From the above factors, the web
site security features was ranked as the most important factor influencing respondents
purchasing a product or service online, the ease of use of the web site was ranked as the
second most important factor and the web site layout was ranked as the third most important
factor influencing respondents purchasing a product or service online. Based on these findings,
it can be concluded that the results from this study can contribute to the body of knowledge on
online consumer behaviour theory and knowledge of South African Internet users. === Thesis (M.B.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.
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