A descriptive model of online shopping process: some empirical results

Since early 1990s, tremendous growth of e-commerce has transformed the world retail infrastructure rapidly. Although the Internet burst between 2000 and 2002 which slowed down the rage in the financial market, the Internet infrastructure continues to grow and becomes an integral part of market strategic portfolio for many organizations. In order to be successful in the Internet niche, many retailers engage in business model reengineering to keep up with changes in how customers acquire goods and services. Based on in-depth interviews and a follow-up survey, the present study depicts a common online shopping process and identifies three common online shopping components: interactivity, transaction, and fulfillment. These components and their respective factors form one's online shopping experience. Managerial implications and future research directions are offered.