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MERG
Papers Available for Download:
Consumer Reactions to Online Behavioral Tracking and Targeting
By Pamela L. Alreck and
Robert B. Settle
This study measures
three aspects of consumer reactions to online behavioral tracking
and targeting:
(1) What consumers know
or believe about online behavioral tracking and targeting and the
practices associated with it, (2) the nature of their opinions or
evaluations regarding these strategies, and
(3) the consumers online
shopping actions or behavior in view of what they believe and how
they feel
about online tracking
and targeting. The findings indicate a higher level of awareness
of tracking and targeting than existing literature suggests.
Reactions to it are largely negative, though not strident.
Dislike of tracking and
targeting does not appear to have greatly inhibited online
browsing or shopping activities.
By Pamela L. Alreck, Gerard DiBartolo,
Memo Diriker, and Robert B. Settle
Previous survey research revealed that consumers perceived
online shopping and buying to be a time saving practice.
Paradoxically, they only rarely reported using that tactic to save
time, introducing a contradiction. Focus group research and
unstructured interviews among active, time-pressured consumers
provide partial solutions to the puzzle. Two types of online
shopping benefits appeal to two types of consumers: Those
experiencing situational time pressure respond well to
"time-saving" appeals. Another, larger proportion, whose personal
inclinations or personality traits result in time pressure are
more interested in doing more tasks quickly or engaging in
polychronic activities. These findings suggest online merchants
simultaneously promote both time-saving and quicker accomplishment
of more tasks. Though they are two sides of the same coin,
time-pressured consumers tend to see only one side or the other.
Both types of time-pressured shoppers eschew Websites requiring
substantial "up-front" investment of time; complex, multi-option
initial or home pages, and early insistence for "registration"
that requires revealing personal information. This suggests
clean, clear, uncluttered introductory pages and delay in urging
registration until rapport has been established. Inexpensive,
rapid delivery times and liberal return privileges were also
highly valued by all time-pressured participants. Cost
restrictions limit the degree to which online merchants can
accommodate these preferences.
Images of Online and Store Shopping by Men
and Women, Young and Old
By Pamela L. Alreck, Gerard DiBartolo,
Memo Diriker, and Robert B. Settle
This study
examines the effect of the consumers' sex and age on their
perceptions of the problems and the benefits of shopping and
buying online, compared to doing so in a traditional retail
store. Overall image profiles can be viewed, but the principal
focus is on the similarities and differences between sex and age
groups. Along with perceptions of problems and benefits of online
buying, a direct comparison between store versus online buying
sharply reveals the contrasts among men and women of different
ages.
ShopBots,
Price Comparison and Price Competition
By Pamela L. Alreck, Gerard DiBartolo,
Memo Diriker, and Robert B. Settle
Two ShopBots were used to determine high-to-low price
disparity for identical models of 25 consumer durables, revealing
substantial price disparity ratios. A survey of 1,135 American
online shoppers revealed their dependence on ShopBots and
frequency of other online shopping actions. Typical respondent
reported they "very often" used search sites to locate what they
wanted. Nearly 30 percent used the most popular price comparison
site, Yahoo! Shopping, in the past year, suggesting
substantial potential for future price rationalization. Several
customer relationship management tools online merchants might use
to avoid the resulting direct price competition are discussed.
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