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The Determinants of Consumers' Electronic Shopping Cart Abandonment

Kukar-Kinney, Monika and Angeline G. Close (equal authorship), “The Determinants of Consumers' Shopping Cart Abandonment," Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, forthcoming.
 

Despite placing items in virtual shopping carts, online shoppers frequently abandon them—an issue that perplexes online retailers and has yet to be explained by scholars. Here, we identify key drivers to online cart abandonment and suggest cognitive and behavioral reasons for this non-buyer behavior. We show that the factors influencing consumer online search, consideration, and evaluation play a larger role in cart abandonment than factors at the purchase decision stage. In particular, many customers use online carts for entertainment or as a shopping research and organizational tool, which may induce them to buy at a later session or via another channel. Our framework extends theories of online buyer and non-buyer behavior while revealing new inhibitors to buying in the Internet era. The findings offer scholars a broad explanation of consumer motivations for cart abandonment. For retailers, the authors provide suggestions to improve purchase conversion rates and multi-channel management.

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The authors investigate consumers’ motivations for placing items in an online shopping cart with or without buying, termed virtual cart use. Beyond current purchase intent, consumers use the virtual cart as a shopping organizational tool as well as to take advantage of online price promotions. The research advances knowledge by identifying a new motivation for online cart use, such as organizational intent, and by providing a typology of consumer online cart use. Managerial implications include suggestions for enhancing online shopping-to-buying conversion rates and providing online shoppers with opportunities for virtual shopping cart use that is more than simply utilitarian.

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Cyber Identity Theft: A Conceptual Model and Issues for Public Policy

Close, Angeline G., George M. Zinkhan, and Robert Z. Finney (2004), “Cyber Identify Theft: Issues for Public Policy,” Enhancing Knowledge Development in Marketing, 15 (K. L. Bernhardt, J.S. Boles, and P.S. Ellen ed.). Chicago: American Marketing Association, 48-55.  &

Close, Angeline G., George M. Zinkhan, and R. Zachary Finney (2006), “Cyber Identity Theft,” E-Commerce, E-Government and Mobile Commerce, Idea Group Reference, Mehdi Khosrow-Pour, ed. (ISBN# 1-59140-799-0)
 

Here, a conceptual model is introduced for empirical work on cyber identity theft.  To do this, three classification schemes (i.e., methods used by the thieves; time frame of the theft; behavioral
responses by victims) synthesize conceptualizations of identity theft associated with the Internet. 
Together, these schemes illustrate major problems and trends associated with cyber-identity theft. In light of the growing concern associated with identity theft, these schemes are highlighted in order to highlight and discuss key issues related to public policy and consumer welfare for future research.

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The Agency in Cyberspace: A Content Analysis of Ad Agency Homepages

Finney, R. Z., Richard D. Parker, Angeline G.Close, and Robert A. Orwig (2004),"The Agency in Cyberspace: A Content Analysis of Ad Agency Homepages, Journal of Contemporary Business Issues, 12 (2) (Fall), 74-80.

"If you don't get noticed, you don't have anything. You just have to be noticed, but the art is in getting noticed naturally, without screaming or without tricks." — Leo Burnett

No longer a “trick to get noticed,” web sites are a necessity for businesses today. Establishing a successful web presence means bringing the consumer a memorable, informative, and satisfying experience. The Internet is changing the nature of marketing communications. Through the Internet, buyers have “real-time” access to businesses across the world. Interestingly, in spite of a number of studies that investigate the Internet’s impact on advertising messages, to date, no one has examined the Internet’s impact on the advertising agency. In this study, we begin to fill this “gap” in the literature. We conducted a content analysis of advertising agency homepages to determine how agencies use the web to communicate with current and potential customers. Specifically, we examine two broad questions: 1) what percentage of leading U.S. advertising agencies have a web presence?, and 2) for what purposes do ad agencies use their homepages? To answer the second question, we investigate three specific aspects of the homepages: a) communication strategy, b) interactivity, and c) the degree to which the homepage lists firm credentials.

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Rules of Romance at Work: Who’s the Boss?

Close, Angeline G. (2002), “Rules of Romance at Work: Who’s the Boss,”  Atlantic Marketing Association, 187-193.

Before the Internet's e-dating scene emerged, the workplace remained a common (yet often controversial) place to meet a romantic partner.  Eight million relationships a year begin at the workplace (Society for Human Resources 2001), dating at the workplace versus the marketplace presents challenges and opportunities at the individual, couple, and organizational level. Daters who work together often find themselves in situations that present a choice between business or a romantic relationship. This choice may be attempted to be controlled by corporate policy, yet in many contexts, a policy banning workplace romance is not realistic, appropriate, nor effective. Dating incorporates intimacy, passion, and commitment, as suggested by Sternberg’s (1989) triangle theory of love.  I overlap this theory with "three Ws" of a workplace dating policy: 1. When should there be a policy banning workplace dating?; 2. Why or why not have such a policy?; 3. Would such a policy be taken seriously?

In respect to the triangle theory (Sternberg 1989), I interviewed 22 workplace daters and managers about their company policy and the outcomes of such policy. I present advantages and disadvantages on policy surrounding workplace dating.  I discuss managerial implications, noting that love is a higher-order boss. Policies for e-dating at the workplace are suggested.

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The eMergence of eDating

Close, Angeline G. and George M. Zinkhan (2004), "The E-Mergence of E-Dating, Advances in Consumer Research, 31 (B. Kahn and M.F. Luce, ed.), Valdosta, GA: Association for Consumer Research, 153-157.

Now fate has met its match!” ---Yahoo! Personals.

Dating, or the process of ritualistically courting a partner with a perceived aspect of romantic potential, is a component of consumer behavior that is currently in a transition stage. Dating behavior is “E-merging” along with increased online and wireless capability. E-dating sites account for the highest portion of all online paid advertising content.  There is an e-dating site for almost every religion (e.g., catholicsingles.com), region (e.g., chicagosingles.com), or cultural background (e.g., globalrishta.com).  The most popular online dating services (e.g., match.com; myspace.com) draw patrons and curious counterparts from all financial, economic, and social backgrounds.  E-dating sites provide a virtual opportunity for consumers to interact and stage marketed events. The electronic and event environments have the potential to transition traditional dating patterns, rituals, scripts, and motivations on both the individual and the societal level. 

Two central questions guide this research. Primarily, “To what extent do daters use the Internet to initiate and/or facilitate dating relationships in the U.S.? Furthermore, “What concerns and outcomes do consumers experience before, during, and after searching, posting, and/or joining an Internet dating/singles site?” In pursuing these questions, we seek to: a) understand the emergence of electronic (Internet) dating via informants’ experiences, and b) present data that describes and typifies consumer motivations, experiences, and outcomes of e-dating in the online and onground marketplaces.

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Technology and Dating Rituals: A Historical Analysis of Online and Electronic Rituals

Angeline G. Close and George M. Zinkhan, “Technology and Dating Rituals: A Historical Analysis”,  Working Paper.
 

This research analyzes dating patterns in recent American history as they relate to consumer behavior.  Before undertaking a phenomenology of today's increasingly electronic dating culture, we provide an extensive, historically based review of past dating patterns and trends in American history.  This phenomenology of modern dating is generated through a series of in-depth interviews.  Dating attitudes and behavior are analyzed in light of the three theories regarding the functions of dating: dating as status-seeking, dating as socialization, and dating as fulfilling ego needs. We view dating patterns as a non-static phenomena.  Furthermore, dating is questioned to be changing along with societal and cultural adaptations.  Culture has reinforced male and female evolutionary preferences through the media and the institutions of dating and marriage.  The evolutionary framework presents consumer behavior as an extension of behavior patterns established before the era of consumerism. Awareness of a future outlook of these changes on American dating norms provides insight to marketers as dating is a form of consumption and ultra-conscious marketing in the e-services and e-commerce arena.

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