Emergence of online shopping in India: shopping orientation segments

This study aims to explore Indian online shopping via the concept of shopping orientations.

Surveys were collected from 536 consumer panel members. Online shopping segments were identified by using a two‐step process that clustered respondents in terms of the similarity of their scores across four shopping orientations.

Three segments were identified: value singularity, quality at any price, and reputation/recreation. The quality at any price and reputation/recreation segments were the predominant online shoppers. Although their orientations toward shopping differed, their behaviour, web site attribute ratings, and demographics were very similar except for occupation (managerial versus clerical, respectively). The finding that the value singularity segment is not the pioneer online shopper in India contrasts with the early online shoppers in the USA, who were often motivated by price.

This is the first empirical study to use shopping orientation research in the Indian marketplace. It is also among the first to link shopping orientations with a wide complement of correlates. Research should continue to track the development of this emerging market.

Besides revealing that the orientations of Indian consumers are not price‐based, the relatively unfractionated factor analysis solutions for shopping orientations and web site dimensionality suggest that, in the emerging Indian economy, consumer conceptualizations of shopping have not yet undergone full elaboration. Thus, this cross‐sectional study could be extended with longitudinal research to reveal how Indian consumers' perceptions of the marketplace change with market development and growing consumer sophistication.

Although online shopping in India is on the verge of rapid growth, relatively little is known about most aspects of Indian consumer behaviour. This study begins to build a foundation of knowledge of Indian online shopping.