Clustering e-shoppers on the basis of shopping values and web characteristics

Abstract

This article describes how the exponential growth of e-commerce in India and the presence of many national and multinational e-retailers has set the trend for the major overhaul of the online industry. Most of the e-retailers have failed to differentiate themselves from the competitors. This has resulted in their failure to attract and retain the right set of consumers for their respective businesses. The present paper is aimed at identifying and developing the typology of online shoppers based on importance given by them to shopping values and web portal features. The data collected was analysed using factor, cluster and correspondence analyses. The article identifies four types of online shoppers – ‘Information Seekers,' ‘Utility Seekers,' ‘Value Seekers' and ‘Core Shoppers.' Each of these four segments display significant differences and this information can be strategically used by web retailers in targeting their markets effectively.