LA MOVILIDAD OCULAR

The definition of a consumer, according to Rostow (1963 cited in Diaz de Rada, 1998) is one who has access to the consumption of goods and services throughout the society. If the needs are socially created, and in line with these needs products are immediately produced to satisfy those needs, the freedom of the consumer is reduced to a choice between the existing products available. The idea of self-controlled consumers has disappeared (Castillo, 1991 cited in de Rada 1998) and nowadays the consumer, who is influenced by publicity, fashion- trend, and the media, is accepted. Hirschman and Holbrook (1982) describe consumers as either “problem solvers” or consumers seeking “fun, fantasy, arousal, sensory stimulation, and enjoyment”.

The self-reliant consumer has gone and in his place there is a normalized and hetero-reliant individual whose greatest wish is to be accepted and received by others without standing out

too much, i.e. ‘that consumer eager to be lead by others without creating a scandal by his behaviour’ (Riesman, 1950, cited in Diaz de Rada, 1998).

All these elements imply a rite in the in the act of shopping. Shields (1992, cited in Diaz de Rada, 1998) feels that this shopping behaviour, which combines shopping and recreation, generates a revaluation of the concept of oneself and of the personal relations within the group and at the same time modifies the use and the distribution of the urban social spaces in the long term. Thus, from the perspective of Hetherington (1992; cited in de Rada 1998, p. 328), as the comment appears in de Rada, the consumerism process should be considered as “something more” than a simple shopping activity given that on some occasions it acquires a basic role in social behaviour.

For over a decade, IT acceptance and usage have received much consideration from different researchers and practitioners (Venkatesh, 2000). Using the Internet for shopping and purchasing products is considered to be innovative, yet this phenomenon is not fully understood. Like most phenomena in the formative stage, there is a perceived requirement to understand what drives and encourage consumers to shop online. Several studies in this field have focused on identifying the information-oriented shopping behaviour of online consumers in the e-commerce environment (Chen, 2009).

Several reasons contribute to the increasing growth of online shopping; for instance, development of more advanced technology has facilitated smoother surfing on the Internet. This facility allows consumers to browse the Internet looking for services and products without leaving their homes. They can further access the Internet, not only from their PC but also from the web TV and mobile phones, maximising the advantage of improved navigation software and search engines. Furthermore, the significance changes in lifestyles offer opportunities for people to shop online at their convenience.

The development of online shopping makes many retailers consider adopting or launching their products or services over the Internet. These considerations are due to a number of different factors that include the need to increase competitiveness, and to improve service for their current and potential customers. Today, the market around the world is dynamic due to increasing competitive power, often coming from multinational corporations. Similarly, organisations are able to take advantage of significant improvement in logistics and information availability, which help create opportunities from global sourcing. Furthermore, increasing information availability gives the perception that the commercial world is

becoming smaller and more accessible. The investment in IT plays an important role in productivity if the technology has been accepted and then used (Venkatesh, 1999).

Online shopping is one of the fastest growing trends all over the world, and it is considered as one of the most successful applications of e-commerce. The Internet has changed the way consumers buy products and services, and has rapidly evolved as a global phenomenon. At the same time, when organisations use the Internet for launching their services the main goal is to cut marketing costs and reduce the prices of their services and products. In addition, organisations use the Internet as a channel to sell their products, to communicate and distribute information, to get feedback about what they sell, and to measure customer satisfaction. In order to offer better services, organisations should enhance their products and services, which is possible only after identifying customers’ requirements. This is achieved by investigating existing and potential consumers, and determining what they expect in terms of service quality. In e-commerce, the concept of existing customers is defined as those people dealing with Internet channels for the purpose of purchasing products; whereas potential customers are those people who browse the Internet to search for information regarding products and services they intend to purchase. Customers, therefore, use the Internet to browse, searching for their needs and desires, and to compare prices of brands and reliability, as well as valuing customer service facilities that they may receive after purchasing.

Brashear et al. (2009) studied Internet shopping in six countries (the United States, England, New Zealand, China, Brazil and Bulgaria) in order to compare the Internet shopper’s profile. Their research findings show that online shoppers around the world share similar beliefs and have favourable attitudes towards direct marketing and advertising.

Khalifa and Limayem (2003) present theoretical explanations of the intention and behaviour of online shopping and proposed different factors (e.g. perceived consequences, attitude, and social influences). For example, their results indicate that the intention of the Internet shopper is significantly affected by the perceived consequences of online shopping (e.g. cheaper prices, convenience, saving time, improved customer service, ability to do comparative shopping, risks of security breach, and privacy violation).

However, consumers’ attitudes to e-purchasing are not necessarily universal. Whitcomb (1998, cited in Atchariyachanvanich, 2001) comments in his study of business ethical values in China that the Chinese are more motivated by profit than consumers in the US. Thus, there

may be a greater perceived incentive for Chinese consumers. Similarly, Synodinos (2001, cited in Atchariyachanvanich, 2001) notes that the consumption behaviour of consumers in Japan is notably different from that of other societies. Such studies of differences between the e-purchasing behaviour of consumers in different world market segments provide valuable insight for e-retailers to help them retain customers.

An important strength of e-retailers is that they are able to convey detailed information to customers. However, there is an associated risk that customers will face an information overload, which will lead to the perception of less, rather than more, quality within the subjective state leading to purchasing intentions (Chen, Shang, and Kao, 2009). The results of their research suggest that there are significant differences between the perceptions of experienced consumers and inexperienced consumers when faced with abundant information when purchasing online. Therefore, e-retailers need to consider the volume of information provided and determine how appropriate it is for facilitating the pleasure emotion for different categories of e-purchasers.

Lu and Su (2009) remark that the growth in the use of mobile phones by consumers has had a marked effect on their e-purchasing behaviour, resulting in several managerial implications. Customers’ intentions are influenced by three infrastructural elements of perception: Internet accessibility (ease of usage), purpose-oriented functionality (usefulness), and procedure- oriented functionality (enjoyment).