Title: Typology of Indian e-buyers: clustering on the basis of online shopping motives

Authors: Sanjeev Prashar; T. Sai Vijay; Harvinder Singh; Chandan Parsad

Addresses: Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Raipur, Old Dhamtari Road, Sejbahar, Raipur-492015, Chhattisgarh, India ' Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Raipur, Old Dhamtari Road, Sejbahar, Raipur-492015, Chhattisgarh, India ' Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Raj Nagar, Hapur Road, Ghaziabad, 201001 U.P., India ' Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Raipur, Old Dhamtari Road, Sejbahar, Raipur-492015, Chhattisgarh, India

Abstract: The exponential growth in people having access to the internet has led to the dramatic increase in e-buyers. As in conventional retailing, consumers in the online setting vary in their preferences and choices. Marketers tend to address this diversification by segmenting consumers into homogeneous groups. The objective of this study is to identify and profile the segments on the basis of shoppers' online shopping motives. Primary data was collected using a survey questionnaire, administered to online shoppers in India. For identifying clusters of respondents and profiling shoppers, two-step cluster analysis was applied. The findings of the study supported the presence of two unique e-shopper segments. The segments, indifferent shoppers and involved shoppers, varied considerably in terms of their online shopping motivations. Based on the unique characteristics of the two segments, online retailers must carve different marketing strategies to attract and retain them ensuring optimum allocation of marketing expenses. The findings of this research may be used as guidelines for the development of strategic framework by online retailers.

Keywords: online shopping; clustering online shoppers; shopping values; web entertainment; cluster analysis.

DOI: 10.1504/WRSTSD.2017.083697

World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, 2017 Vol.13 No.1, pp.3 - 17

Received: 26 Mar 2016
Accepted: 25 Jul 2016

Published online: 19 Apr 2017 *

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