On the consumer psychological characteristics of e-commerce customers

In the electronic Commerce environment, the customer in the product service channel and the communication and so on the choice space is unprecedented increases, the transfer cost reduces unceasingly. The customer has become the key component of the enterprise value chain network, therefore, the enterprise that carries on the electronic commerce should study the consumer psychology of the E-commerce customer actively, organize the marketing strategy for the psychological characteristic of the customer network shopping.

I. Preface

In traditional business activities, customer is only the buyer of goods and services, the impact of the entire circulation process is often only in the final stage can be revealed, and the scope of the impact is small: and in E-commerce, each customer is an active in the changing virtual network environment in the "surfer", On the one hand, he plays the role of individual purchaser, on the other hand, plays the role of social clients, and plays the role of guiding social consumption. Therefore, the consumer behavior of e-commerce customers is a complex behavior interwoven with the social consumption and personal consumption.

Analysis on the consumer psychological characteristics of e-commerce customers

1. Proactive customer needs

In traditional business activities, the customer can only passively accept the limited product service information provided by the enterprise. Even in the purchase of many daily necessities, most consumers do not have enough expertise to identify and evaluate the products, but their psychological needs for acquiring information and knowledge about goods have not been weakened, and with the improvement of the humanistic quality of consumers, the awareness of the rights of protection is gradually strong, They will take the initiative to obtain information about the goods and compare them through various possible channels.

These analyses may not be sufficient, accurate and professional, but consumers can obtain psychological balance, reduce the risk of feeling and after the purchase of the possibility of regret, increase the trust in the product and strive for psychological satisfaction. In E-commerce activities, the business media is open and highly shared resources of the Internet, so customers are fully likely to understand the products purchased all information, as well as the products related to enterprise and technical information. Because this information is the customer initiative to obtain, so the customer will believe that high credibility, will affect their purchasing behavior, can strengthen their choice, in the selection of enterprises and products will become more active and positive. The internet is also a good way to learn and acquire knowledge, customers can browse the business Web page in the process of access to information, broaden their horizons, access to new knowledge and skills, so as to further enhance the clarity of their needs, and play an active role.

2. Rationalization of consumer behavior

E-commerce relies on the Internet space to enable customers to obtain a near unlimited system of wide choice of convenience, in the E-commerce environment, the customer's shopping behavior become more calm, mature and rational. In the electronic Commerce environment, the consumer is facing the electronic commerce system, is the computer screen, can avoid the noisy environment and each kind of influence and the temptation, the product choice scope also is not subject to the region and other condition restriction, the consumer can rationally regulate own consumption behavior. The main features are:

(1) Sensible price choices for individual consumers will no longer be confused by the price game, which starts with high bids and then endless bargaining, and they use the computer on hand to quickly calculate the actual price of the commodity and then make a horizontal comprehensive comparison to decide whether to buy it. For the unit procurement staff, they will use the design of the calculated program, quickly compare the purchase price, transport costs, discount, time efficiency and other comprehensive indicators, and ultimately choose the most advantageous purchase channels and ways. In other words, under the environment of electronic commerce, people will make full use of all kinds of quantitative analysis models and make more rational purchase decisions, because online shopping is generally a knowledge-type purchaser.

(2) actively express the desire for products and services. In the electronic Commerce environment, the consumer no longer will accept the product or the service which the factory or the merchant provides in the passive way, but according to own need to actively go online to look for the suitable product. If not found, consumers will be through e-commerce system to manufacturers or businesses to express their own desire for a product and requirements, the result is to enable consumers from the actual participation and impact on the business process.

3. The need to purchase convenience and the pursuit of shopping fun coexist

Some of the work pressure, high tension consumers will be shopping convenience as the goal, the pursuit of time, energy and labor costs as much as possible to save, especially for the demand and brand choice is relatively stable day-to-day consumer goods, this is particularly prominent. Others, however, are just the opposite, as labor productivity increases and people have free time to spend, some freelancers or housewives want to spend time shopping, find life fun, keep in touch with society, and reduce mental loneliness. So they are willing to spend more time and energy shopping, but only if shopping can bring them pleasure and satisfy the psychological needs of these people. These two opposing psychology will coexist and develop in the longer time.

4. Heavy personal consumption

CNNIC statistics show that the number of Chinese Internet users in 2005 has grown to 1,n billion, a 18.1% increase from 2004, is expected to reach 135 million in 2006. The NETIZEN structure presents several big development trends: The Netizen is younger, the education level is improving, the number of the high income netizen also is increasing continuously. With the increase of people's income, more and more people start advocating personalized consumption concept, and e-commerce is easier to achieve personalized consumption requirements.

Personalized consumers can directly through the interactive function of the Internet to participate in product design and guidance of production, to the provider to express their own desire for a certain product, customization of production will become more and more common. From the perspective of consumer psychology, consumers have chosen not only the use value or function of goods, but also choose other "extension", including varieties, specifications, coloring, appearance, packaging, and so on, these "extensions" and their combination may be different. Therefore, in theory, no consumer psychology is exactly the same, each consumer is a market segment. The psychological identity has become the consumer to buy the brand and decision when the prerequisite, personalized consumption is also bound to become the mainstream of consumption again.

5. Declining customer loyalty

Because E-commerce customers more in-depth understanding of their needs, and through the Internet to obtain more information and flexible choice of opportunities, so in e-commerce activities, customer shopping will become more realistic. Customers will pay more attention to the utility value of the products they need, and the customer's ability to pursue new products, fashion and purchase will be enhanced. Moreover, the cost of internet usage is getting lower, which leads to the decrease of customer switching cost, and leads to the decline of customer loyalty.

Iii. Conclusion

Through the research and discussion on the characteristics of e-commerce customers, we can clearly realize that the behavior of the customers under the environment of E-commerce is more complicated than that of the customers in the traditional business environment. E-commerce has given the customer value new connotation, therefore how to revolve around the electronic commerce customer consumption psychology to carry on the innovation exploration, is we need to continue research and the discussion topic.

This article is reproduced from the China Electronic Commerce Research Center Author: should South Kay