An Empirical Study of Perception of Consumers Towards Online Shopping in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Today Consumers are playing an important role in online shopping. The increasing use of internet by the consumers in Saudi Arabia provides an emerging prospect for online retailers. If online retailers know the factors affecting consumers’ buying behaviour, then they can further develop their marketing strategies to convert potential customers into active ones.

In the present work an effort is made to study the potential of Internet Marketing in Saudi Arabia. In this study various dimensions of online shopping as perceived by consumers in Saudi Arabia are identified and the different demographic factors are also studied. It was discovered that time factor, ease of purchase, reliability, status symbol, ease of comparing products, risk in monetary transactions, timely delivery, are the key factors which influence consumers’ perceptions of online shopping. The study revealed that the perception of online shoppers is independent of their age and education but not independent of their occupation. Finally, the recommendations presented in this research may help foster growth of Saudi Arabian online retailing in future.

Keywords: Online commerce, Communication, Internet Marketing, Online Shopping, e-commerce, online retailing

JEL Classification: M30, M31, M37