Share:


Why do retail customers hesitate for shopping grocery online?

    Martin Klepek   Affiliation
    ; Radka Bauerová   Affiliation

Abstract

Considering a relatively slow adoption of online grocery shopping in the vast majority of the world markets, the main objective of this study was to uncover any new reasons why customers hesitate to shop groceries online. Moreover, we were not looking for undiscovered discouraging reasons only but also intended to validate previously researched reasons in published studies. Thus, we have first used a systematic literature review to cover all relevant previous studies on online grocery non-buyers. Even though this process is time-consuming, it provides a coherent overview of the published material on the topic. Further, we designed a web-based survey of 670 respondents from the general internet population. The data in open-ended questions related to online grocery attitudes and opinions were analysed by the content analysis. 14 thematic units emerged from the process from which the majority confirmed previously researched negative attitudes toward online grocery shopping. Non-buyers prefer to see grocery in person before buying it, there is a distrust in e-tailers to choose the best and freshest grocery, non-buyers prefer personal contact with the seller and behave habitually. Moreover, they tend to shop offline also because of hedonic reasons and pleasure from the shopping experience. Novel reasons why people hesitate to shop online in this category were the time consumption where consumers perceived online shopping slow regarding order-delivery time gap and were reluctant to pay for the delivery service, to mention just a few. We conclude with a summary of our results and a handful of recommendation for e-tail companies.

Keyword : consumer behaviour, e-tail, e-commerce, marketing, online grocery shopping, online groceries, retail

How to Cite
Klepek, M., & Bauerová, R. (2020). Why do retail customers hesitate for shopping grocery online?. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 26(6), 1444-1462. https://doi.org/10.3846/tede.2020.13970
Published in Issue
Dec 4, 2020
Abstract Views
7901
PDF Downloads
4931
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Anesbury, Z., Nenycz-Thiel, M., Dawes, J., & Kennedy, R. (2016). How do shoppers behave online? An observational study of online grocery shopping. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 15(3), 261–270. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.1566

Andrews, R. L., & Currim, I. S. (2004). Behavioural differences between consumers attracted to shopping online versus traditional supermarkets: Implications for enterprise design and marketing strategy. International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, 1(1), 38–61. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJIMA.2004.003689

Bryman, A. (2016). Social research methods. Oxford University Press.

Burman, L. E., Reed, W. R. & Alm, J. (2010). A call for replication studies. Public Finance Review, 39(1), 190–190. https://doi.org/10.1177/1091142110395372

Campo, K., & Breugelmans, E. (2015). Buying groceries in brick and click stores: Category allocation decisions and the moderating effect of online buying experience. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 31(3), 63–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intmar.2015.04.001

Cook, D. J., Mulrow, C. D., & Haynes, R. B. (1997). Systematic reviews: Synthesis of best evidence for clinical decisions. Annals of Internal Medicine, 126(5), 376–380. https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-126-5-199703010-00006

Counsell, C. (1997). Formulating questions and locating primary studies for inclusion in systematic reviews. Annals of internal medicine, 127(5), 380–387. https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-127-5-199709010-00008

Czech Statistical Office. (2019a). Czech Republic in numbers 2018 – population. Retrieved August 13, 2019, from https://www.czso.cz/documents/10180/91917716/1300641901.pdf/b6fa7e0f-25d1-44c2-9d24-f29b42f41ffb?version=1.0

Czech Statistical Office. (2019b). Czech Republic in numbers 2018 – education. Retrieved August 13, 2019, from https://www.czso.cz/documents/10180/74413697/32020318c22.pdf/737a5249-7b3b-418f-a45e-a0c3abaf61bd?version=1.2

Danaher, P. J., Wilson, I. W., & Davis, R. A. (2004). A comparison of online and offline consumer brand loyalty. Marketing Science, 22(4), 461–476. https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.22.4.461.24907

Degeratu, A., Rangaswamy, A., & Wu, J. (2000). Consumer choice behavior in online and traditional supermarkets: The effects of brand name, price and other search attributes. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 17(1), 55–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-8116(00)00005-7

Denyer, D., & Tranfield, D. (2011). Producing a systematic review. In D. Bouchmann, A. Bryman (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of organizational research methods. SAGE.

Driediger, F., & Bhatiasevi, V. (2019). Online grocery shopping in Thailand: Consumer acceptance and usage behavior. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 48(3), 224–237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2019.02.005

Easley, R. W., Madden, C. S., & Dunn, M. G. (2000). Conducting marketing science. Journal of Business Research, 48(1), 83–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0148-2963(98)00079-4

Eurostat. (2019a). E-commerce statistics for individuals. Retrieved August 11, 2019, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/E-commerce_statistics_for_individuals

Eurostat. (2019b). Internet purchases by individuals. Retrieved August 11, 2019, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-datasets/product?code=isoc_ec_ibuy

Evanschitzky, H., Baumgarth, C., Hubbard, R., & Armstrong, J. S. (2007). Replication research’s disturbing trend. Journal of Business Research, 60(4), 411–415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2006.12.003

Fink, A. (2009). How to conduct surveys: A step-by-step guide. Sage Publications Ltd.

Fisch, C., & Block, J. (2018). Six tips for your (systematic) literature review in business and management research. Management Review Quarterly, 68(2), 103–106. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-018-0142-x

Galvez-Cruz, D., & Renaud, K. V. (2006). What e-grocery customers really want: Personalised personalisation. Fourth Latin American Web Congress, 18(6), 109–112. https://doi.org/10.1109/LA-WEB.2006.38

Garg, A. X., Hackam, D., & Tonelli, M. (2008). Systematic review and meta-analysis: When one study is just not enough. Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology: CJASN, 3(1), 253–260. https://doi.org/10.2215/CJN.01430307

Geuens, M., Brengman, M., & S’Jegers, R. (2003). Food retailing, now and in the future. A consumer perspective. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 10(4), 241–251. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0969-6989(02)00017-6

Hand, C., Dall’Olmo Riley, F., Harris, P., Singh, J., & Rettie, R. (2009). Online grocery shopping: The influence of situational factors. European Journal of Marketing, 43(9/10), 1205–1219. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090560910976447

Hansen, T., Møller Jensen, J., & Stubbe Solgaard, H. (2004). Predicting online grocery buying intention: a comparison of the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior. International Journal of Information Management, 24(6), 539–550. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2004.08.004

Hansen, T. (2005a). Consumer adoption of online grocery buying: a discriminant analysis. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 33(2), 101–121. https://doi.org/10.1108/09590550510581449

Hansen, T. (2005b). Understanding consumer online grocery behavior: Results from a Swedish study. Journal of Euromarketing, 14(3), 31–58. https://doi.org/10.1300/J037v14n03_03

Hansen, T. (2008). Consumer values, the theory of planned behaviour and online grocery shopping. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 32(2), 128–137. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2007.00655.x

Hubbard, R., & Armstrong, J. S. (1994). Replications and extensions in marketing: Rarely published but quite contrary. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 11(3), 233–248. https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-8116(94)90003-5

Huyghe, E., Verstraeten, J., Geuens, M., & Van Kerckhove, A. (2016). Clicks as a healthy alternative to bricks: How online grocery shopping reduces vice purchases. Journal of Marketing Research, 54(1), 65. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.14.0490

Kestenbaum, R. (2017, January 16). Why online grocers are so unsuccessful and what Amazon is doing about it. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardkestenbaum/2017/01/16/why-online-grocers-are-so-unsuccessful-and-what-amazon-is-doing-about-it/

Kozel, R., Hawrysz, L., Vilamová, Š., & Hys, K. (2017). Mystery e-mail/website customer service. A case study of retail companies. Scientific Papers of the University of Pardubice, Series D: Faculty of Economics and Administration, 24(40), 95–107.

Kunešová, H., & Eger, L. (2017). Evaluation and comparison of B2C e-commerce intensity in EU member states. E+M Ekonomie a Management, 20(4), 151–167. https://doi.org/10.15240/tul/001/2017-4-011

MacInnis, D. J., Morwitz, V. G., Botti, S., Hoffman, D. L., Kozinets, R.V., Lehmann, D. R., Lynch, J. G. & Pechmann, C. (2020). Creating boundary-breaking, marketing-relevant consumer research. Journal of Marketing, 84(2), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022242919889876

Martín, J. C., Pagliara, F., & Román, C. (2019). The research topics on e-grocery: trends and existing gaps. Sustainability, 11(2), 321. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11020321

Pechtl, H. (2003). Adoption of online shopping by German grocery shoppers. The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 13(2), 145–159. https://doi.org/10.1080/0959396032000099088

Potomková, J. (2005). Význam systematických přehledů pro medicínu založenou na důkazu. Pediatrie pro Praxi, 7(2), 105–106. https://www.pediatriepropraxi.cz/pdfs/ped/2004/02/17.pdf

Ramus, K., & Nielsen, A. N. (2005). Online grocery retailing: What do consumers think? Internet Research, 15(3), 335–352. https://doi.org/10.1108/10662240510602726

Šálková, D., & Hes, A. (2015). Internet food sales service – barriers to the development of online grocery shopping in the Czech Republic. In J. Matus & D. Petranova (Eds.), Marketing identity: digital life (Part II, pp. 247–255). University of Ss Cyril and Methodius in Trnava.

Šarkovská, K., & Chytková, Z. (2019). Benefits and pitfalls of online grocery shopping as perceived by the consumers: Evidence from the Czech Republic. Privredna Kretanja i Ekonomska Politika, 14(3), 35–58. https://doi.org/10.15179/pkiep.27.2.2

Saunders, A., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2016). Research methods for business students. Pearson Education Ltd.

Seitz, C., Pokrivčák, J., Tóth, M., & Plevný, M. (2017). Online grocery retailing in Germany: an explorative analysis. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 18(6), 1243–1263. https://doi.org/10.3846/16111699.2017.1410218

Simová, J., & Cinkánová, L. (2016). Attributes contributing to perceived customer value in the Czech clothing on-line shopping. E&M Ekonomie a Management, 19(3), 195–206. https://doi.org/10.15240/tul/001/2016-3-013

Soopramanien, D. (2011). Conflicting attitudes and scepticism towards online shopping: The role of experience. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 35(3), 338–347. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2010.00945.x

Suchánek, P. (2010). The fundamentals of a prosperous e-shop in connection to search engine optimization. E&M Ekonomie a Management, 13(2), 92–103.

Szymanski, D. M., & Hise, R. T. (2000). E-satisfaction: An initial examination. Journal of Retailing, 76(3), 309–322. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-4359(00)00035-X

Tahal, R. (2015). Základní metody sběru primárních dat v marketingovém výzkumu. C. H. Beck.

Tranfield, D., Denyer, D., & Smart, P. (2003). Towards a methodology for developing evidence-informed management knowledge by means of systematic review. British Journal of Management, 14(3), 207– 222. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.00375

Uman, L. S. (2011). Systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 20(1), 57–59.

Verhoef, P. C., & Langerak, F. (2001). Possible determinants of consumers’ adoption of electronic grocery shopping in the Netherlands. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 8(5), 275–285. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0969-6989(00)00033-3

Wang, O., & Somogyi, S. (2018). Consumer adoption of online food shopping in China. British Food Journal, 120(12), 2868–2884. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-03-2018-0139

White, A., & Schmidt, K. (2005). Systematic literature reviews. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 13(1), 54–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2004.12.003

Whitney, S. L., Sparto, P. J., Hodges, L. F., Babu, S. V., Furman, J. M., & Redfern, M. S. (2006). Responses to a virtual reality grocery store in persons with and without vestibular dysfunction. Cyberpsychology & Behaviour, 9(2), 152–156. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2006.9.152

Young, J. (2019, January 21). Global ecommerce sales grow 18% in 2018. Digital Commerce 360. https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2019/01/21/global-ecommerce-sales-grow-18-in-2018/