The process of buying and the determinants of consumer behaviour in e-commerce

Abstract

The process of buying in e-commerce is similar to general concept where five main phases can be distinguished: need recognition, information search, information evaluation, purchase decision, post-purchase behaviour. The use of Internet in e-commerce, raises very specific implications for almost every phase. One of the main differences between consumers that are buying offline and online, concerns the ways of information acquisition, where Internet customers have access to many online tools that can stimulate the buying process, price comparison websites or blogs. Moreover, it is possible to name the factors that determine the whole purchase process and to present their possible impact on customer decision to buy given product.