Expectations versus reality: a snapshot of consumer experiences with Internet retailing

Recent surveys have predicted that Internet shopping will show considerable growth over the next few years although there is still much uncertainty ab out the factors that will drive or inhibit this growth. This paper presents a study of consumers' experiences of Internet shopping. By examining more than 100 purchases of a wide range of products from Internet sites in five countries, the transactions and the experiences of consumers were compared with expected outcomes based on current academic and industry research. The study found that consumers' expectations of convenience, customised servic e and access to a wider variety of products were realised in 70% of cases. However, consumer concerns about security, ease of use, levels of service a nd overall cost pose significant constraints on growth. On the basis of the se findings a more integrated approach to research in Internet shopping is proposed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.