Who are the online grocers?

French consumers' perceptions of the unattended delivery model for e-grocery retailing

“…These findings may be specific to the countries in which the studies take place, because the perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of e-grocery systems may differ across countries (depending on computer literacy, population density, etc.). For example, Hui and Wan's (2009) findings might be specific to Singapore, where e-grocery surged as a result of the SARS outbreak in early 2003. In conclusion, researchers have noted age differences in various countries, but the direction of the effect varies.…”

“…Gender is a key variable in people's perception and use of information technology (IT) (Gefen and Straub, 1997), especially in the field of e-commerce, though a more recent study detected no significant differences between men and women in terms of interest in online buying (Goethals et al, 2009). Similarly, regarding the age of potential customers, some research has indicated that the elderly are especially interested in e-grocery (Anckar et al, 2002;Dickey and Lewis, 2009), whereas other studies have found that younger people are more likely to buy groceries online (Hui and Wan, 2009). The link of age and gender to e-grocery thus is ambiguous, and we aim to clarify it.…”

“…Classic acceptance theories, such as the theory of reasoned action (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1973) and the technology acceptance model (Davis, 1989), suggest purchase intentions should be influenced by significant others' opinions, the enjoyment derived from interactions with a retail site, and a customer's trust in the e-retailer (Dennis et al, 2009). Consumers also are more motivated to shop for groceries online if they perceive the services offered by the online grocer as useful and easy to use (Hui and Wan, 2009). The main advantage of e-grocery is that it reduces the effort required to shop for groceries (Geuens et al, 2003;Hand et al, 2009;Raijas, 2002).…”

“…Yet other research reveals that the majority of e-grocery shoppers are younger than 55 years (Morganosky and Cude, 2000), and Hui and Wan (2009) show that the 21-40 year age group has a higher propensity to use online grocery services than others. These findings may be specific to the countries in which the studies take place, because the perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of e-grocery systems may differ across countries (depending on computer literacy, population density, etc.).…”

“…Despite extensive research into Internet shopping, few studies address food retailing (Hui and Wan, 2009;Picot-Coupey et al, 2009;Ramus and Nielsen, 2005). The food sector exhibits specific characteristics though: Food purchases are necessary, repetitive, perishable, and seasonable (Anckar et al, 2002;Den Ouden et al, 1996;Epperson and Estes, 1999), and they have a low valueto-weight ratio (Raijas and Tuunainen, 2001).…”