E-commerce Growth and Mobile Devices

Abstract

As with ordinary in-store shopping, product characteristics affect an individual’s online purchase decisions. The variety of devices used to access the Internet also affects the probability of engaging in e-commerce. The objective of this study is to investigate e-commerce behaviour as it varies by kinds of products and devices, personal computers and mobile devices. Using national survey (2005-2012) data from Canada, we explore two broad factors: demographic factors and Internet-access factors that influence the probability of engaging in e-commerce in 15 product categories. Our study reveals that consumers behave differently according to product category and access device. We detect that, in general, perceived risk by consumers produces a negative effect on the likelihood of engaging in e-commerce, although the effect varies by category. Additionally, personal computers are found to cause more security concerns to consumers than do mobile devices. Simultaneously, having a mobile device can increase the odds of engaging in e-commerce more than having a personal computer does. Mobile users are more inclined to purchase online. In addition, demographic information is related to purchase probability in different degrees for each category. By identifying the key factors affecting the actual online purchase, our results may help small and medium-sized enterprises to determine their sales channels and establish their marketing strategies.