Make me an
offer, say online shoppers
EAST
LANSING, Mich. — Online shoppers would rather receive an offer for a product or
service than make their own offer, according to a study led by a Michigan State
University scholar that has implications for the fast-growing e-commerce
industry.
The
findings may come as a surprise given that shopping online is an anonymous
process that seemingly can give consumers more confidence to drive a hard
bargain, said Don Conlon, Eli Broad Professor of Management in MSU’s Broad
College of Business.
But the
study found that participants who made their own offers were less successful in
sealing the deal and, when they were successful, worried they overpaid. Many
shoppers found the process of researching an offer to be a hassle.
“Americans
are very busy, and it’s less time consuming to be the one receiving the offer
rather than the one proposing the offer,” Conlon said. “People tend to be
happier when they’re in the receiver role.”
Online
spending in the United States is expected to jump 45 percent in the next four
years, from $226 billion this year to $327 billion in 2016, according to
Forrester Research Inc.
read more:
read PDF
document:
image:
