The Influence of the Internet on Customer Buying Behavior Research

This report analyzes the significant influence of the internet on customer buying behavior. It explores various factors, including situational, psychological, social, and cultural influences, that shape consumer purchasing decisions. The report reviews literature on the internet's role in marketing, highlighting the importance of online platforms for gathering information, making purchases, and engaging with brands. It discusses the impact of social media, online reviews, and consumer behavior steps like problem identification, information search, alternative evaluation, and purchase decisions. The report also examines internet marketing strategies, benefits, and factors impacting online shopping, such as convenience, cost-effectiveness, and customization. The study emphasizes the evolving nature of consumer behavior in the digital age and the need for businesses to adapt their marketing approaches to leverage the internet's potential effectively. The report concludes by highlighting the importance of understanding consumer behavior for developing successful marketing strategies in the online environment.

Running head: ACADEMIC AND BUSINESS RESEARCH
Academic and Business Research
Influence of internet on the buying behavior of customers
Name of Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
As opined by Solomon (2014), the consumer buying behavior is concerned with the
behavioral set of attributes that are involved in the purchase of products or services. There has
been dissolution of the target market as the customers are increasingly becoming more selective
in the product purchases. There has also been shortening of the product life cycle stages as there
is changed pattern of the customer requirements. The lack of understanding of the consumer
buying patterns often ends up in making wrong marketing strategies (Solomon 2014). It is
important to choose between the various alternatives that would help in the satisfying the
demands of the consumer. The purchasing tendencies of the consumers follow some patterns and
hence it is important to understand them.
Literature Review Scope and Objectives
This literature review would aim for assessing the impact of the internet on the
purchasing decisions of the consumers. It would strive to understand the different factors that are
responsible for the buying behavior of the consumers. It would also aim for assessing the
different dimensions of internet and how it affects the customer purchase dynamics.
Comparative Analysis
Durmaz (2014) argues that there are four factors that influence the buying decision
process of customers. The situational factors comprise of the different circumstances which are
faced by the consumers when they engage in a purchasing decision. The store locations often
influence the consumer purchasing decisions (Rani 2014). For example, Starbucks has good
location of their stores (Fitrianto and Daud 2017). There are frequent cafes of the coffee shop
and also inside grocery stores. One can also find the branded coffee shop inside the airports,

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which becomes convenience for the travelers (Solomon 2014). In such places, the business
would get more number of customers who would not be coming there to visit the store alone but
would visit them since it is a part of their journey (Solomon 2014). The physical factor of the
stores also has an influence on the buying decisions of the consumers. As commented by
Fitrianto and Daud (2017), the layout of the store, music played at the stores, temperature of the
stores, lighting and other attributes determine the attitude of the consumers regarding the
purchase of the products. The strategic fragrance also helps the customers to stay in particular
shops for longer time period.
Bashar, Ahmad and Wasiq (2013) agree that there are psychological factors that are
involved in shaping the purchasing decisions of the consumers. There can be several factors
which influence the decision making of the individuals. They can be motives, perceptions,
ability, knowledge and attitudes and personality (Bashar, Ahmad and Wasiq 2013). The motives
of the customers reveal that there are several motives of the customers such as safety,
physiological, love and belonging, self-actualization and esteem needs that influence the buying
patterns of the consumers. Cheung, Xiao and Liu (2014) argue that the perception of the
consumers is important for determining their purchase needs. The act of perception is concerned
with the selection, organization and the interpretation of the information that are important for
gaining suitable meaning (Bashar, Ahmad and Wasiq 2013). The consumers have some
information stored in their memory regarding any particular products or services of a specific
company. The knowledge as well as ability of the consumers allows them to make specific
purchase decisions and they have the highest impact on the buying decisions of the company.
There are also personality traits which influence the customers to behave in a particular manner.
There are certain personality traits such as workholism, extroversion, competitiveness,

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aggressiveness, friendliness, self-confidence, adaptability and others (Cheung, Xiao and Liu
2014). The lifestyles of the people also have an impact on the type of purchases made by them.
For example, the people who believe in maintaining a healthy lifestyle would be more inclined
towards the purchase of healthy foods like organic foods.
The findings of Choo and Petrick (2014) reveal that the customers are also influenced by
the various social factors. The roles or the expectations from the position within the group
influence the purchasing patterns of the people. The family influences and the society influence
the purchasing decisions of the people. The social stages of an individual’s life also determine
how much goods they need for their personal consumption (Cheung, Xiao and Liu 2014). For
example, the number of goods required would be more after the marriage of an individual (due to
doubling of the consumption). The reference groups also affect the customer purchasing pattern.
The degree of the impact of the reference groups depends on the susceptibility of the influence of
the reference groups (Kukar-Kinney,Scheinbaum and Schaefers 2016). There are several social
classes in the society such as lower middle class, upper Americans, working class, lower class
and others, which has their individual purchasing decisions (Kukar-Kinney, Scheinbaum and
Schaefers 2016). The culture of the people or the set of ideas, values and attitudes of the people
also affect the purchasing decision of the consumers.
According to Lu, Fan and Zhou (2016), the internet plays a major role in the marketing
of modern times. In the fast paced environment of modern times, it is important to aggressively
change the marketing communications plans as per the needs of the consumers. It is important to
take risks as the internet provides new directions for the company (Gerla et al. 2014). The World
Wide Web is able to provide the marketers with a wide source of information which are useful
for them in determining the needs of the target market (Lu, Fan and Zhou 2016). The company

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may need to refresh the current marketing or corporate strategies so that they can gain
competitive advantage. Gerla et al. (2014) argues that it is important to incorporate new media as
well as new techniques on the web in order to be successful in the current marketplace. The great
strategies formulated after adequate market research on the internet helps the company to
formulate effective customer strategies that would aid in higher customer penetration (Gerla et
al.2014). Internet provides a wide range of platforms that help the company to understand the
various attributes of the consumer buying behavior. The social media marketing has led to an
increased interaction between the companies and the customers (Gerlaet al. 2014). The brand is
able to understand the various attitudes and behavioral patterns of the customers and their
likings/disliking. It is important that the customers are able to express their concerns freely and
internet has enabled them to do. Various customer surveys and online forums enable the
customers to share/express their views with each other (Gerlaet al. 2014).
As commented by Stromquist and Monkman (2014), the internet plays an important role
in the consumer purchasing behavior. The consumers would be more inclined to seek as well as
trust the reviews of the company in an online sphere (Gerla et al. 2014). There is an increase in
the technology savvy customers who like to consult the technological platforms before making
the actual purchases. They visit the various social media as well as product rating sites so that
they can get adequate information before they make the actual product purchases.
Solomon (2014) states that the internet offers several features for attracting a large
number of audiences. The multiple features include the capacity, precision, speed and
convenience that have revolutionalized the way customers interact in the purchasing sphere. An
increasing number of customers use the internet for variety of reasons which start from gathering
information to the online purchase of the products (Gerla et al. 2014). The purchase over the

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internet is considered as the most popular form of purchases in the modern times. However, there
is still a small percentage of population that uses the internet for making online purchases.
Experts that there would be significant increase in the online purchases once the customers
would be satisfied about the process and they feel safe about the online protection of the
purchases (Solomon 2014).
According to Ghose, Ipeirotis and Li (2014), the consumer behavior is the most important
for making intelligent marketing strategies. There are several steps of consumer behavior
concerning their purchase decisions (Leung, Xue and Bai 2015). The problem identification is
considered as the first major step in which the consumer decides if he is in need of a particular
stuff or not. This is the stimulus which begins the process of consumer buying decision. The next
step is considered as the information search, in which internet plays a major role (Ghose,
Ipeirotis and Li 2014). The customer searches the internet for various product or service related
information. The different forums, reviews, social media sites and others help in the process of
finding more relevant information about the products or services. The third step involves the
alternative evaluation of the various options that are presented before the customers (Ghose,
Ipeirotis and Li 2014). They tend to measure the various alternatives and weigh them. The
advantages and disadvantages of the individual alternatives are determined and this helps the
consumers to reach their best decisions (Ghose, Ipeirotis and Li 2014). The next step is
considered as the actual purchasing decisions when the consumer actually buys the products or
the services. A typical consumer is likely to follow all these steps when they are opting to
purchase a new product.
As opined by Van (2014), internet marketing is reaching new heights and is gaining
extreme popularity. The process of marketing online is known for creating and the monitoring of

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the customer relationships through online activities (Ghose, Ipeirotis and Li 2014). The various
activities through the internet include the sharing of the ideas regarding any products or services
which would satisfy the goals of both the sellers as well as buyers. The increased proliferation of
the internet has facilitated the marketers to enhance their marketing programs. This kind of
marketing is time-saving and cost-effective. The internet marketing deals with the planning,
pricing, distribution and promotion of the products/services in the online domain.
Veríssimon et al. (2017) agrees that there are several benefits of internet marketing which
is making it quite acceptable among the masses. There are a number of alternatives that are
available to the consumers per product category. There are absolutely no searching costs on the
internet and the consumers can search for their favorite items from the comfort of their homes
(Ghose, Ipeirotis and Li 2014). The subsequent reduction in the online marketplace costs has
enabled the marketers to expand the various services available online. The reduced online
operation has led the marketers to venture into new market domains and implement new products
(Ghose, Ipeirotis and Li 2014). The customer adoption of the new products and the investment in
the various technology infrastructures has led to greater profitability of the firm.
Mafini and Dhurup (2014) states that the internet marketing is likely to be impacted by
several factors. These enable direct communication with the sellers and buyers with no
mediators. There would also be store storage capacity of information which can be maintained at
low costs and provide sufficient information for buyers as well as sellers. There are also enough
opportunities for the customization features, which ensure that the consumer can get their own
desired products or services. The customers would also get the option of giving various degrees
of enhancements to the images available in the internet such as 3D image or the option of video
preview. There are also options of the digital media for the products as well as physical medium

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for particular goods. Jiang, Yang and Jun (2013) argues that online shopping is a convenient
process where the consumers are able to make direct purchases from the provider with no middle
person involved. It becomes easier for them to browse the products and decide their most
appropriate products.
As opined by Ghose, Ipeirotis and Li (2014), the internet is considered as relevant in the
digital economy and there has been a massive explosion of the information technology in the
different regions of the world. The high speed internet connection has fostered the companies to
reach out to the audiences in a better manner. The firms have enabled the promotion as well as
enhancement of the products as well as services through their websites (Leung, Xue and Bai
2015). The detailed product details are able to attract more number of people and they have
changed the traditional consumer behavior. There has been an increase in the e-commerce
activities (Veríssimon et al. 2017). There has been large number of online shopping, which has
gained sufficient popularity. The internet is responsible for providing different kinds of facilities
and convenience to the buyers, which has led to an increase in the online sales (Veríssimon et al.
2017). Consumers need not go outside for fulfilling their shopping needs and help them get the
items at the cheapest prices. The internet is also responsible for getting the products at the
cheapest possible prices, which has led to the attraction of the online sites (Veríssimon et al.
2017). The consumers are able to save time and they are being able to get a variety of product
related information by sitting at their homes.
Gaps
The literature review failed to address the negative impact of the internet on the buying
behavior of the customers. It only addressed the different factors responsible for the customer

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buying behavior. It also addressed the positive impacts of the technology on the buying behavior.
The review failed to throw light on the consequences of using internet on consumer buying
behavior.
Conclusion
The high speed internet connection has fostered the companies to reach out to the
audiences in a better manner. The internet is responsible for higher purchase activities among the
customers. The consumers are able to do better decision making activity by the use of internet
and digital technologies. The e-commerce activities have also proliferated and the basis of which
is the internet.

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References
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Choo, H. and Petrick, J.F., 2014. Social interactions and intentions to revisit for agritourism
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