Impeding Factors of Online Shopping and Their Associated Products

Prior studies have investigated the different impeding factors that bar consumers from engaging in online shopping. Little is known about the relationship between the impeding factors and the associated products; in particular, thus far no research has documented the rank order of the perceived impeding factors that are associated with given online products. Further, consumers’ behavior at the product level in this respect remains unknown. This study aims at filling these gaps via content analysis of popular online shopping channels as well as in-depth interviews (N = 30) with frequent online shoppers in Macao, a popular tourism destination with retail trade as one of the economic pillars. The findings of the paper shed light on various impeding factors, whose relative importance varies from one product category to another. Quality assurance related implications are discussed.