Models of online buyer behaviour
Standard models of consumer buyer behaviour have been developed by Bettman (1979)
and Booms and Bitner (1981). In these models, consumers process marketing stimuli such
as the 4 Ps and environmental stimuli according to their personal characteristics such as
their culture, social group and personal and psychological make-up. Together these charac-
teristics will affect the consumers’ response to marketing messages. For the Internet
marketer, a review of the factors influencing behaviour is especially important since a single
web site may need to accommodate consumers with different needs at different stages of
the buying process. Users will also have different levels of experience of using the web.
Specific behavioural traits are evident on the Internet. Studies show that the World
Wide Web is used quite differently by different groups of people. Lewis and Lewis (1997)
identified five different types of web users or rather modes of usage of the Internet
which remain valid today:
Directed information-seekers. These users will be looking for product, market or leisure
information such as details of their football club’s fixtures. They are not typically
planning to buy online.
Undirected information-seekers. These are the users, usually referred to as ‘surfers’, who
like to browse and change sites by following hyperlinks. Members of this group tend
to be novice users (but not exclusively so) and they may be more likely to click on
banner advertisements.
Directed buyers. These buyers are online to purchase specific products online. For such
users, brokers or cybermediaries that compare product features and prices will be
important locations to visit.
Bargain hunters. These users (sometimes known as ‘compers’) want to find the offers
available from sales promotions such as free samples or competitions. For example,
the MyOffers site (www.myoffers.co.uk) is used by many brands to generate awareness
and interest from consumers.
Entertainment seekers. These are users looking to interact with the Web for enjoyment
through entering contests such as quizzes, puzzles or interactive multi-player games.Styler (2001) describes four consumer buying behaviours derived from in-depth home
interviews researching behaviour across a range of media, including the Internet. These
behaviours are brand-focused, price-sensitive, feature-savvy and advice-led. As Moe
(2003) has pointed out, in the bricks-and-mortar environment, stores employ sales
people who can distinguish between shoppers based on their in-store behaviour. Some
shoppers appear to be very focused in looking for a specific product. In those cases, sales
people may try to help the shopper find what they are looking for. In other cases, the
shopper is just browsing ‘window shopping’. The experienced sales person can identify
these shoppers and either ignore them and let them continue or can try to stimulate a
purchase. Although there is no sales person to perform this role online, Moe and Fader
(2004) believe that through analysing clickstream behaviour and patterns of repeated
visits, it may be possible to identify directed buying, browsing or searching behaviour
and make prompts accordingly online.
In a report on benchmarking the user experience of UK retail sites, E-consultancy
(2004) identified a useful classification of online shopping behaviour to test how well
web site design matches different consumer behaviours. In a similar way to previous
studies, three types of potential behaviour were identified which are trackers, hunters
and explorers. Note that these do not equate to different people, since according to the
type of product or occasion, the behaviour of an individual may differ. Indeed, as they
research a product they are likely to become more directed.CHAPTER 2· THE INTERNET MICRO-ENVIRONMENT