This paper investigates adolescent online shopping and self-efficacy development in the virtual setting. The authors present and test a model of antecedents and mediators to two dimensions of online consumer self-efficacy. Additionally, a discriminant analysis finds that more involved adolescent online shoppers can be differentiated from less involved online shoppers on key variables of interest–shopping motivations, self-efficacies, shopping behaviors, and relative influence in household decision-making.
Adolescents use the Internet for activities like schoolwork and socializing, but for many adolescents these days, online shopping is a rapidly growing phenomenon. Clearly, this behavior is apparent, based on a substantial online teen market. Jupiter research (2006) reports teenagers spend about $3 billion a year online, and overall teenager shopping exceeds $200 billion a year (Package Facts, 2007).
Today's multitude of online access points and often, parental encouragement, allow adolescents to explore and to learn as online shoppers. Moreover, adolescents embrace technologies in general (e.g., cell phones, mp3 players, social networks). Not surprisingly, today's youth are skilled online consumers.
Yet, only a handful of researchers address teen skill development and consumer confidence in the virtual marketplace. Sutherland and Thompson (2003) describe many adolescents as knowledge authorities for the Internet, while Belch et al. (2005) suggest Internet teen mavens possess much information about products, places to shop, and more, and even initiate discussions in these areas. Mallalieu and Palan (2006) stress the importance of studying teen shopping competency, although their study is only in a traditional setting. Yet, a gap in the literature remains–no construct in marketing addresses adolescents' perceptions of their online consumer competency, and how this skill base is developed.
Thus, this paper seeks to understand how teens become competent online consumers. First, the researchers introduce the concept of online consumer self-efficacy (which captures perceived competencies), and address its grounding in the literature. Next, the construct of online consumer self-efficacy (OCSE), as well as its antecedents and mediators, appears. Findings from qualitative research combine with several theories (e.g., motivation theory, technology adoption research, consumer socialization, and social learning theories) to provide rationales for the model. Survey data of 368 adolescents serve to assess the model and hypotheses, as well as offering a look at segments based on online shopping involvement. Finally, discussion, limitations, and ideas for future research appear.
