E-SHOPPING: UNDERSTANDING THE PERCEPTIONS OF CONSUMERS IN CATBALOGAN CITY TOWARDS ONLINE SHOPPING

Abstract

In today's era, many people use the online shop app because it is easier and more convenient than traditional shopping. Online shopping is where a consumer purchases various items using the internet. Most people who shop online are teenagers and adults. There are certainly outside factors such as increasing gas prices, difficulty in getting to traditional stores and hassles often associated with shopping malls and other traditional stores to contribute to the increased interest in online shopping. As things are turning so convenient, it becomes significant to understand the perception of the customer while he is making a purchase online. Customer perception and customer behavior helps us to comprehend the challenges faced by the marketers in comprehending the consumer mind.

This study aimed to develop a deeper understanding on the perceptions of online shoppers towards online shopping. Qualitative research design was utilized in this study. Specifically, the researchers used hermeneutic phenomenological approach to further understand and interpret the responses of the participants. Purposive sampling was used which falls to having six participants from Catbalogan City aging between 16-30 years old as reflected in the selection criteria. The data was collected using a semi-structured in-depth interview. The results show that many people turn towards online shopping because there's a lot of benefits it can give to them especially for those who do not want to go outside because of pandemic and for those people who are simply a bit lazy to go out. A lot of researchers already mentioned the advantages of using online shopping and how convenient it is. Consumer’s perception towards online shopping is influenced with many factors such as shipment time, delivery, availability, usefulness & quality of the products.