Identification of Differences in Perception of Uncertainty Factors in the Consumer Behavior of Millennials in E-commerce

Abstract

E-commerce offers huge potential in terms of online sales, but also poses certain risks for consumers and retailers, in particular cybercrimes, hacker attacks, spam, but also a lack of personal interactions and information asymmetries. These risks may lead to consumer uncertainty. This means that consumers feel insecure when buying products online compared with buying the same products in brick-and-mortar stores. This uncertainty when shopping online discourages many consumers from taking part in online transactions. Previous research points to the fact that consumer uncertainty stems from perceived information asymmetries due to hidden information and moral hazard problems. Perceived information asymmetry can be defined as the situation in which the buyer thinks that the seller has a greater amount or quality of information about products, their properties, and ultimately sales practices. Keywords: e-commerce, consumer behaviour, new generation of customers, uncertainty.