| Consumer goods have been classified as commodity groups since at least 1912 when C. C. Parlin first discussed three types of product classification; convenience, shopping, and emergency goods. This classification structure changed in 1923 when Melvin T. Copeland expanded the emergency goods classification and renamed it specialty goods. Further modifications were made by R. H. Holton and Leo Aspinwall in 1956 to clarify the definitions of convenience, shopping, and specialty goods and address problems with a rigid classification structure. Additional changes were introduced in 1963 by Gordon Miracle, and other modifications were made by Peterson, Balasubramanian, and Bronnenberg in 1997 to address changes in retail marketing being driven by Internet retailing. The research into classification structures and the process of refining the classification theory is ongoing with new characteristics suggested in the 2003 work of Yoh, Damhorst, Sap, and Laczniak.; In general, the original classifications have served as the basis for marketing theory for more than 80 years. This dissertation project examines the development of these theories and tests their continued applicability to today's Internet retail marketing environment. The review of literature discusses the basic characteristics and development of the Internet, the most common characteristics of Internet shoppers, and the growth of the Internet as a retail market channel.; The qualitative research included in the project consists of two studies of Internet purchasing activity that were conducted four years apart. The first study, conducted by Alta Vista Corporation, addressed purchases of goods and services over the Internet by its worldwide base of subscribers and included input from over 750,000 respondents. The second survey specifically addresses the research question, "Does Internet purchase activity conform to the Characteristics of Goods theory?" The combined results of the two studies provide a unique longitudinal look at Internet based retail activity. They also provide empirical support for the applicability of commodity classification structures to Internet retail marketing. |
