Factors of influence on consumer buying behaviour towards online grocery shopping: A Research conducted on German consumers

E-commerce is one of the fastest growing areas in the global economy, yet the German online grocery retail is economically backward even though Germany counts as one of the largest grocery industries in Europe. Considering the fact that only 1.2% of the groceries sales were made online last year, the market is of considerable importance for retailers to keep, if not extend their market position. Therefore, it is essential to understand which factors influence the consumer behaviour towards grocery shopping. On the basis of this, the aim of this investigation is to explore and analyse which factors have an impact on the buying behaviour of German consumers towards online grocery shopping. Findings of previous investigations where researchers focused on grocery shopping, purchase decision factors, consumer buying behaviour and consumer acceptance towards e-commerce, are used in combination and consideration of the Diffusion of Innovation theory, Technology Acceptance Model and the Theory of Planned Behaviour to hypothesize that: (1) Product price has a direct positive impact on online grocery shopping; (2) Consumer age has a positive impact on the perceived usefulness of online grocery shopping; (3) Perceived risks have a direct negative impact on online grocery shopping; and (4) Perceived benefits have a direct positive impact on online grocery shopping. To either reject or confirm the stated hypothesis a quantitative approach was followed. A survey was conducted and a sample of 476 German respondents was used for the statistical analysis, which eventually confirms hypothesises (1), (3) and (4), but rejects hypothesis (2). All in all, the online grocery market in Germany is influenced by many different factors which should be taken into account by the retailers in their strategic plans in order to successfully enter or run the market