Conceptualizing Online Shopping in Thailand Facilitating Easy Online Shopping - Research Proposal Example

Conceptualizing Online Shopping in Thailand - Facilitating Easy Online Shopping The rapid growth of internet has converted the thinking animal to lazy lass as most of the works are performed online minimizing the physical activity. Online shopping is boosting the economic growth of most of the countries around the world and it is estimated that business to consumer ecommerce sales will increase by 23.3.% annually in Asia and the Pacific region. But whereas Thailand is considered, online shopping is not accepted by the public due to various factors like low penetration of computers with only 5.25 per 100 people and low access to internet. Moreover Thai citizens are more worried about disclosing their financial information online, the inability to touch and feel the products, trustworthiness of the merchandise and slow transaction process. Therefore it has become necessary to conceptualize a online shopping mode that suits the Thai culture and satisfies most of the needs of the consumers. The present study intends to do so through quantitative methodology by undertaking survey through questionnaires and perform parallel research so as to collect information regarding their problems and requirements in the online shopping that may encourage them to make online purchases. The collected data further will be compiled and analyzed in tabulated format to arrive at a formidable conclusion and recommendations for conceptualizing online shopping in Thailand. Research Title The present research is focused on 'Conceptualizing Online Shopping in Thailand - Facilitating easy online shopping' Background The use of internet has increased to such an extent that most of the activities are performed online. Ho and Wu (1999) mentioned that the World Wide Web (WWW) users have been multiplying rapidly and have widely spread into all walks of life.1 Hsi -Jui Wu and Li (n.d.) also mentions that the progress and popularization of information technology and internet has led to enormous growth in the global ecommerce market. It is further stated that volume of B2C e-commerce sales will increase 23.3% annually in Asia Pacific Region and will reach $16.87 billion in 2011. Countries like Japan and Korea, who are having experience in B2C ecommerce markets, are facing stiff challenges from developing countries like India, China, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia.2 Orton and Windham (2000) pointed out that Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan are the broad regions in Asia and the Pacific where 94 percent of the online sales are through Japan, Korea and Australia which suggests that the people in the other parts are not so user friendly and do not trust in online shopping.3 According to National Statistical Office, there were about 928,000 computers in use in Thai households during 2001 which is equivalent to 5.75 computers per 100 households and it was also found that there were an about 3.54 million internet user which is 3.83 times the number of computer owners which means that most users access internet through homes, offices, caf, etc.4 Laosethakul and Boulton (2005) stated that Thailand with a population of 66 million had seen a steady growth in the number of internet users from 4.8 million in 2002 to 7 million in 2004 which propelled the volume of ecommerce sales in Thailand to US$ 500 million in 2003 and US $750 million in 2004. However, the Thailand Internet User Profile 2004 Survey reported top four reasons stopping the consumers to shop online which were the trust as they cannot see/feel the products, distrust for online merchandisers, unwillingness to reveal the details of credit card, and slow processes along with computer viruses and slow internet speed.5 So in future any companies planning to develop an online shopping portal for the Thai consumers, the above problems need to be addressed. Laosethakul et al (2007) states that Thai consumers are still practicing the traditional shopping due its convenience associated with it and have not embraced online shopping due to inconvenience processes of online shopping, and lack of trust with Thai online merchants6 which is also supported by the findings of Aykin N (2007) where popularity of online shopping took set back due to issues of trust, safety and availability of online store and internet access.7 The researchers in different disciplines have also stressed on the importance of trust in online shopping and similarly online retailers are finding it difficult to attract more number of customers due to lack of representation, increase public awareness regarding the company and its products.(Sonja G.K., 2002)8 Thailand's culture has also a vital role to play in the development of online shopping. Gibson (Thanasnakit, T. 2003)9 during his research on the confluence of culture and information technology in Thailand found that the English barrier is directly related to Thai culture as most of the people speak and read only their native language because of which Thai people cannot comprehend English well enough to be able to acquire new ideas and knowledge related to information technology. Masuyama et al (2003) mentions that due to low penetration of PCs and the Internet in Thailand, ecommerce is still in its development stage with most of the Thai's having null experience in B2C services. It was further found in NECTEC survey that 80.9 percent of Thailand's internet population never shopped online because 44.1% replied as they cannot touch and feel the products, 33.8% were reluctant to divulge their financial details, 32.8% did not trust online merchants, 26.1% were not interested in shopping online, 25.3% did not possessed credit cards, and 23% felt that the online process is too complicated.10 The largest network of convenient store in Thailand, 7 - Eleven, planned to adopt e-commerce service by building a business to consumer (B2C) network throughout its branches by installing computer in every store in order to help its customers who don't won computers, don't have internet access, and benefit those customers who are reluctant to reveal the financial details online. But the service does not offer any physical gain as they consumers have to visit the shop for making purchase using the online services. (Lindstrom, 2001)11 The only benefit is providing the customers the facility to browse through the stocks, make the purchases and come back to take the goods after few days. Therefore it is necessary to invent the technology that should be suited to the Thai culture facilitating both computer illiterate and literate people and hence the need for present study. Research Questions: Need and Aims of the Study As stated earlier that most of the Thai citizens are not accustomed to using internet and most of them do not possess computers. The government is taking necessary steps to boost the volume of online sales by expanding access to the internet and providing necessary infrastructures and in view of the global competition around the world and more importantly in Asia and the Pacific regions where most of the sales are coming from Japan, Korea and Australia. Thus it has become necessary to plan and adopt an online shopping model that suits to the Thailand consumer base in line with their problems and comfort. The present study aims at finding the right online shopping model for Thai markets facilitating easy online shopping without much difficulty from any place. Research Objectives The objectives of the present study are: To identify the suitable model for Thai consumers to facilitate easy online shopping To identify the problems that Thai consumers restricting them to traditional sales To assess the consumers view regarding the online sales and their perceptions on the existing online shopping models. Research Methodology Conducting a research is a difficult task and the meaning of research should be clearly understood before undertaking any research. Dr. C.R. Kothari (2008) states that research in common parlance refers to a search for knowledge and is an art of scientific investigation. According to Clifford Woody (Dr. C.R. Kothari, 2008) research comprises defining and redefining problems, formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions, collecting, organizing and evaluating data, making deductions and reaching conclusion and testing the conclusion whether they fit the formulating hypotheses.12 Robert (2003) mentioned that qualitative research is multimethod in focus which involves interpretive, naturalistic approach to its subject matter whereas quantitative research uses numbers and statistical methods.13 The present study intends to provide a plan that should be suited to the Thai culture and people. Therefore quantitative methodology is adopted wherein target group people between graduates and working people as they are the ones who use the internet often either at home or caf or workplace. The samples will be selected randomly and parallel research will be done to identify the problems in online shopping and what facilities they require for convenient shopping. The data will be collected through questionnaires and two different set of questionnaires will be prepared and distributed randomly to the target groups. Later the collected data will be compiled and analyzed to support the findings and recommendations for the study. Research Contribution The present study focuses on conceptualizing online shopping in Thailand which is not rare as there are plenty of literature available mentioning the details regarding the statistics of internet users, access to internet, computers in households, etc. But the present study focuses on gathering information regarding the choices and their problems with regard to online shopping. The study also intends to provide information regarding the facilities that user wants during online shopping and what other options do the consumers want regarding online payments. The present study will enable to understand the user characteristics regarding online shopping to further reinvent online shopping in Thailand. References 1. Aykin, N (2007) Usability and Internationalization: HCI and culture, Volume 1, Springer, pp 603 2. Dr. C.R. Kothari (2008) Research Methodology: Methods And Techniques, Edn. 2, New Age International, p.1 3. His - Jui Wu, Cedric and Li, Hung Jen (n.d.) A Study on the Online Shopping Value and Consumer Responses: Internet Travel Agency as Example, Department of Business Administration, National Dong Hwa University, Taiwan 4. Ho, Chin - Fu and Wu, Wen - Hsiung (1999) Antecedents of Customer Satisfaction on the Internet: An Empirical Study of Online Shopping, Proceedings of the 32nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, IEEE. 5. Laosethakul, K and Boulton W (2007) Critical Success Factors for E-Commerce in Thailand: Cultural and Infrastructural Influences, EJISDC, 30 (2) pp, 1-22 6. Laosethukal, K, Thaweephan Leingpibul, Raweewan Kaewwit and Chesada Kaewwit (2007) Does Gender Perception toward Computing Exist in Thailand - A Comparison Study between Thai and the US, International DSI / Asia and Pacific DSI 2007 7. Lindstrom, M (2001) Clicks, bricks & brands, The Marriage of Online and Offline Business, Kogan Page Publishers, Australia 8. Masuyama, S. Vandenbrink, D. Nomura, and Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (2003) Towards a knowledge-based economy: East Asia's changing industrial geography, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Pp. 135 9. Masuyama, S. Vandenbrink, D. Nomura, and Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (2003) Towards a knowledge-based economy: East Asia's changing industrial geography, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Pp. 136 10. Robert M.T. (2003) Blending qualitative & quantitative research methods in theses and dissertations, Corwin Press, pp. 2 11. Sonja Grabner-Kraeuter (2002) The Role of Consumers' Trust in Online-Shopping, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 39, No. 1/2, Four Teenth Annual Conference of the European Business Ethics Network (EBEN) Springer pp. 43-50 12. Thanasankit, Theerasak (2003) E- Commerce and Cultural Values, Idea Group Inc (IGI) United States of America, p. 23 13. Windham, L and Orton, K (2000) The soul of the new consumer: the attitudes, behaviors, and preferences of E-customers, Allworth Communications, Inc New York.pp 281 Read More