Conference paper · 2019
Impact of Psycho-Demographic Factors on Smartphone Purchase Decisions
Proceedings of the 2019 International Conference on Information System and System Management (ISSM 2019), Rabat, Morocco, pp. 5–10, ACM · Published
Summary
Vajjhala and Strang (2019) surveyed 89 young technology-literate consumers in the USA and India with a structured questionnaire to test whether gender, age, income, ethnicity and trust in online information predict online smartphone purchase decisions. They found that gender, age and income were not related to the purchase decision and that ethnicity had only a minimal effect. A discriminant model using government trust, social media trust and feeling controlled by the e-commerce system predicted purchase decisions significantly (Wilks’ λ = 0.595, p < .001), with an effect size of about 41%.
Practical implication. Marketing managers can increase online purchases of digital devices, the findings suggest, by designing e-commerce systems that reduce consumers’ feeling of being controlled.
- The Problem
- E-commerce marketers often segment young consumers by gender, age and income, but it is unclear whether these factors or trust actually drive online purchase decisions across cultures.
- The Methodology
- Post-positivist cross-cultural structured-questionnaire study of 89 young technology-literate consumers in New York State and Andhra Pradesh/Telangana, analysed with chi-square, Spearman correlation, cluster analysis, logistic regression and discriminant analysis in SPSS 22.
- The Core Finding
- Among 89 young technology-literate consumers in the USA and India, gender, age and income did not influence online smartphone purchase decisions. Trust in government and social media and feeling controlled by the e-commerce system predicted decisions significantly (Wilks’ λ = 0.595, p < .001), explaining about 41% of the variance.
- The Citation
- Vajjhala, N. R., & Strang, K. D. (2019). Impact of Psycho-Demographic Factors on Smartphone Purchase Decisions. In Proceedings of the 2019 International Conference on Information System and System Management (ISSM 2019), Rabat, Morocco (pp. 5–10). ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3394788.3394790
The summary, key findings, methods, implications and relevance notes on this page are this website’s own description of the paper, written from the published abstract and text. The official abstract and citation details are given further down.
Key findings
- Finding 1. The study surveyed 89 young technology-literate consumers — senior bachelor-level students at international universities with online programs in New York State (USA) and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (India) — with a median age of 28 and mean age of 30.5 (SD = 9.5).
- Finding 2. Gender was not significantly related to the intention to buy a $100 smartphone online (chi-square test), so the hypothesis that male consumers are more likely to purchase online was rejected.
- Finding 3. Neither age nor income level was related to online smartphone purchase intention among the young USA and India consumers (Spearman correlation tests).
- Finding 4. Ethnicity was related to online smartphone purchase intention (Pearson χ²(5) = 4.281, p = .05), but the effect size was very small (Cramér’s V² = 0.00795, about 1%) and not used in the predictive model.
- Finding 5. Social media trust was the strongest single discriminator of online smartphone purchase (Wilks’ λ = 0.657, F(1, 87) = 45.379, effect size 0.343), followed by feeling controlled by the e-commerce system (effect size 0.221) and government trust (effect size 0.182).
- Finding 6. A discriminant model combining government trust, social media trust and controlled feeling significantly predicted online smartphone purchase decisions (Wilks’ λ = 0.595, χ² = 44.449, p < .001), with an approximate effect size of 41%.
- Finding 7. Consumers who felt less controlled by the e-commerce system were more likely to buy a smartphone online, leading the authors to recommend e-commerce designs that reduce the feeling of system control.
Source: Vajjhala & Strang (2019), Proceedings of the 2019 International Conference on Information System and System Management (ISSM 2019), Rabat, Morocco, pp. 5–10, ACM. DOI: 10.1145/3394788.3394790
The study in detail
What question does this paper answer?
Do psycho-demographic factors — gender, age, income, ethnicity and trust in online information — influence whether young, technology-literate consumers in the USA and India decide to buy a smartphone online?
What did the study find, in detail?
In a sample of 89 young technology-literate consumers from New York State and the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, gender, age and income were not related to the decision to buy a $100 smartphone online, and ethnicity had only a minimal effect (χ²(5) = 4.281, p = .05). A discriminant model using government trust, social media trust and feeling controlled by the e-commerce system predicted purchase decisions significantly (Wilks’ λ = 0.595, χ² = 44.449, p < .001), with an effect size of about 41%.
Why does it matter?
The findings suggest marketing managers can increase online purchases of digital devices by designing e-commerce systems that reduce consumers’ feeling of being controlled — for example by making email and phone details optional when valid payment data are provided. The authors expect the results to generalize to young, technology-literate urban consumers who buy moderately to highly priced smartphones online.
This study is part of the evidence overview What drives technology adoption and online purchase intention? Evidence from Indian consumers, SMEs and a mandatory LMS
Methods and data
| Research question | Do gender, age, income, ethnicity and trust in online information predict young consumers’ online smartphone purchase decisions? |
|---|---|
| Design | Post-positivist, cross-cultural structured-questionnaire study at the individual level of analysis |
| Sample | 89 senior bachelor-level students at international universities with online programs in New York State (USA) and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (India); median age 28 |
| Methods | Chi-square test of independence, Spearman correlation, cluster analysis, logistic regression and discriminant analysis in SPSS version 22 |
| Main result | Gender, age and income were unrelated to purchase; a three-factor trust/control model discriminated purchasers (Wilks’ λ = 0.595, χ² = 44.449, p < .001; effect size ≈ 41%) |
| Implication | Redesign e-commerce checkout to reduce consumers’ feeling of system control |
| Citation | Vajjhala & Strang (2019) · DOI 10.1145/3394788.3394790 |
Definitions and key terms
- Psycho-demographic factors
- In this study, a combination of demographic characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity, income) and psychological factors such as trust in online information sources and feelings of online system control. — as used in Vajjhala & Strang (2019)
- Discriminant analysis
- A statistical technique that builds a function from predictor variables to classify cases into groups — here, consumers likely versus unlikely to purchase a smartphone online. — as used in Vajjhala & Strang (2019)
- Online purchase intention
- A consumer’s stated likelihood of buying a product online; here, a yes/no response to buying a $100 smartphone. — as used in Vajjhala & Strang (2019)
Abstract
The success of e-commerce depends significantly on having an understanding of online consumer decision making and behavior. The purpose of this study is to understand the influence of psycho-demographic factors on the purchasing decisions taken by young technology-literate consumers while purchasing smartphones. We used a structured questionnaire to collect data from a random sample of senior bachelor level students across a sample frame of international universities with online programs located in the USA and India. Nonparametric statistical techniques, such as Chi-square test of independence, cluster analysis, Spearman correlation, logistic regression, and discriminant analysis were used for testing the hypotheses. The three hypotheses on the association between gender, age, and income level were rejected while the remaining two hypotheses on the association of ethnicity and psycho-demographic factors were supported. The findings of this study will assist marketing managers in targeting segments of young technology-literate online consumers intending to purchase smartphones.
Abstract as published in Proceedings of the 2019 International Conference on Information System and System Management (ISSM 2019), Rabat, Morocco.
Keywords: Technology Adoption; E-Commerce; Online Shopping; Motivation; Society; Culture; Demographic; Psychological; Information Systems; Acceptance
Limitations and open questions
- The authors accepted a smaller sample (89 participants), constrained by the difficulty of reaching participants, in exchange for higher-quality structured-questionnaire data.
Open questions
- Why did age and income relate to purchase intention in the India-only sample but not in the combined USA-India sample?
Open questions from the evidence overview Technology adoption and digital consumers.
Practical implications
- Marketing managers can, the findings suggest, design e-commerce systems that reduce consumers’ feeling of being controlled, for example by making email and phone details optional when valid payment data are provided.
- For e-commerce marketers who segment young consumers by gender, age and income, the evidence is that these factors did not influence online smartphone purchase decisions among 89 young technology-literate consumers in the USA and India.
- Marketing managers targeting young technology-literate online consumers can draw on the finding that social media trust was the strongest single discriminator of online smartphone purchase, ahead of government trust and feeling controlled by the e-commerce system.
- Marketing managers may apply the results to young, technology-literate urban consumers who buy moderately to highly priced smartphones online, the group to which the authors expect the results to generalize.
Drawn from Vajjhala & Strang (2019), Proceedings of the 2019 International Conference on Information System and System Management (ISSM 2019), Rabat, Morocco, pp. 5–10, ACM.
When this research may be relevant
This article may be relevant to researchers examining psycho-demographic and trust-related predictors of online purchase decisions, cross-cultural e-commerce behaviour in the USA and India, consumers’ sense of control in checkout design, and discriminant analysis of purchase decisions in small samples.
Research topics addressed: consumer behavior; online shopping; e-commerce; smartphone purchase intention; online trust; social media trust; demographic factors; ethnicity and culture; young consumers; USA; India; discriminant analysis; chi-square test; marketing
How to cite
- APA 7
- Vajjhala, N. R., & Strang, K. D. (2019). Impact of Psycho-Demographic Factors on Smartphone Purchase Decisions. In Proceedings of the 2019 International Conference on Information System and System Management (ISSM 2019), Rabat, Morocco (pp. 5–10). ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3394788.3394790
- MLA 9
- Vajjhala, Narasimha Rao, and Kenneth David Strang. “Impact of Psycho-Demographic Factors on Smartphone Purchase Decisions.” Proceedings of the 2019 International Conference on Information System and System Management (ISSM 2019), Rabat, Morocco, ACM, 2019, pp. 5–10. https://doi.org/10.1145/3394788.3394790.
- IEEE
- N. R. Vajjhala and K. D. Strang, “Impact of Psycho-Demographic Factors on Smartphone Purchase Decisions,” in Proceedings of the 2019 International Conference on Information System and System Management (ISSM 2019), Rabat, Morocco, 2019, pp. 5–10, doi: 10.1145/3394788.3394790.
BibTeX
@inproceedings{vajjhala2019psycho,
title = {Impact of Psycho-Demographic Factors on Smartphone Purchase Decisions},
author = {Vajjhala, Narasimha Rao and Strang, Kenneth David},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2019 International Conference on Information System and System Management (ISSM 2019), Rabat, Morocco},
pages = {5--10},
year = {2019},
publisher = {ACM},
doi = {10.1145/3394788.3394790},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3394788.3394790}
}RIS
TY - CPAPER TI - Impact of Psycho-Demographic Factors on Smartphone Purchase Decisions AU - Vajjhala, Narasimha Rao AU - Strang, Kenneth David T2 - Proceedings of the 2019 International Conference on Information System and System Management (ISSM 2019), Rabat, Morocco PY - 2019 DA - 2019/10/14 SP - 5 EP - 10 PB - ACM DO - 10.1145/3394788.3394790 UR - https://www.narasimharao.net/research/psycho-demographic-factors-smartphone-online-purchase-decisions/ LA - en ER -
Links and files
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3394788.3394790
- This page as text: https://www.narasimharao.net/research/psycho-demographic-factors-smartphone-online-purchase-decisions/paper.md
- Permanent address of this page: https://www.narasimharao.net/research/psycho-demographic-factors-smartphone-online-purchase-decisions/
Related work
Related work: the literature this study cites
The study draws on the pleasure-arousal-dominance description of emotional response[1]. One study reports that younger users are more comfortable shopping online[2], while a review found both positive and negative effects of age[3]; this sample and the earlier Indian sample by the same authors (Vajjhala & Strang, 2018, AMCIS 2018) reproduce that split.
- [1] Mehrabian, A., & Russell, J. A. (1974). The Basic Emotional Impact of Environments. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 38(1), 283–301. PMID:4815507 https://doi.org/10.2466/pms.1974.38.1.283
- [2] Hernández, B., J. Jiménez, and M.J. Martin, Age, Gender and Income: Do They Really Moderate Online Shopping Behaviour? Online Information Review, 2010. 35(1): p. 113-133.
- [3] Akar, E. and V.A. Nasir, A Review of Literature on Consumers' Online Purchase Intentions. Journal of Customer Behavior, 2015. 14(3): p. 215-233.
From the evidence overview What drives technology adoption and online purchase intention? Evidence from Indian consumers, SMEs and a mandatory LMS, which cites only works that appear in the studies’ own reference lists. This is a selection, not the full reference list of Vajjhala & Strang (2019).
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