Online Shopping Addiction: Symptoms, Causes and Effects

Abstract

One of the various forms of technology used to make life easier is online shopping. Reasons for which one might prefer online shopping over real life shopping include such factors as ease of search, lower prices, a variety of goods, time saved, ease of use, entertainment, promotions, and impulsive behaviors in the shopper. A number of individuals have found themselves addicted to online shopping due to a lack of self-control. This study aims not only to reveal participants' reasons for preferring online shopping, but also to define and describe the hedonic nature of online shopping addiction. The study follows a mixed method design in which both qualitative and quantitative methods are applied in the data collection process.Qualitative data was collected from a total of 105 participants who had stated that they frequently used the internet to shop using the snowball sampling method. Quantitative data, on the other hand, was collected by asking open-ended questions to 18 randomly selected individuals from the original 105 participants.The researcher collected data through face-to-face and internet interviews over a period of five months.The sample group was composed of 80% women (n = 84) and 20% men (n = 21) with participants' ages ranging from 18 to 55 (mean: 29). The tools used to collect data were an open-ended questionnaire, a form soliciting demographic information, and the Hedonic Shopping Scale. Quantitative data were subjected to descriptive analyses, a t-Test, ANOVA analyses, and in order to classify hedonic shopping scores, to a twostage clustering analysis. Qualitative data, on the other hand, were analyzed using content analysis. This work concludes with an evaluation of the qualitative and quantitative data on online shopping followed by a discussion on factors contributing to online shopping addiction as well as related concepts.

Testing Models Regarding Online Shopping Addiction

“…Bleuler (1930) and Kraepelin (1915) were the first researchers to clinically define compulsive buying disorder (CBD). CBD is characterized by excessive shopping cognitions and buying behaviors that cause distress or impairment (Black, 2007;Günüç & Doğan Keskin, 2016). Uncontrolled shopping is defined as an irresistible and repetitive desire to buy (which leads to personal and family-related difficulties) and as a passion for excessive buying (which reduces stress).…”

“…The reasons why people shop online can be said to include such factors as ease of searching, reasonable prices, variety, time, availability, entertainment, promotions, and incentives (Günüç & Doğan Keskin, 2016;Khatibi, Haque, & Karim, 2006). Online shopping facilitates shopping not only by allowing consumers to compare shopping without dependency on time or place but also by providing rich information about products and services (Archer & Yuan, 2000;Günüç & Doğan Keskin, 2016;Kim & Kim, 2004;Levy & Weitz, 2001). In addition, consumers have different characteristics (classified as pragmatist and hedonist) that can influence their perceptions and online shopping behaviors (Wolfinbarger & Gilly, 2001).…”

“…Both utilitarian and hedonic attitudes influence buyers' motivations for online shopping (Monsuwé, Dellaert, & Ruyter, 2004). Hedonist consumers shop not only to collect information but also to experience such feelings as excitement, entertainment, arousal, humor, festiveness, avoidance, fantasy, and adventure (Günüç & Doğan Keskin, 2016;Monsuwe, Dellaert, & De Ruyter, 2004). In addition, individuals' purchase choices can be said to be influenced by the psychological factors of motivation, perception, learning, beliefs, and attitudes (Kotler & Armstrong, 2000).…”

“…According to the results from an online shopping survey conducted in 11 countries, consumers in Turkey, France, and the UK stated the general reasons for preferring online shopping to be online campaigns (Eroğlu, 2014). Also, online shopping allows one to look for a lower price and compare products, as well as providing advantages to consumers when making their final decisions (Günüç & Doğan Keskin, 2016;Haubl & Trifts, 2000). Internet users stated preferring online shopping due to its wide range of products, competitive prices, and convenience (Ernst & Young, 2000;Günüç & Doğan Keskin, 2016).…”

“…Also, online shopping allows one to look for a lower price and compare products, as well as providing advantages to consumers when making their final decisions (Günüç & Doğan Keskin, 2016;Haubl & Trifts, 2000). Internet users stated preferring online shopping due to its wide range of products, competitive prices, and convenience (Ernst & Young, 2000;Günüç & Doğan Keskin, 2016). In addition, how it provides customers with more campaigns, promotions, and products at a discount makes online shopping more favorable and attractive for some people.…”