Effects of security and privacy concerns on online consumer purchase behavior

The purpose of this study was to investigate (a) the relationship between better security for credit card and/or personal information and consumer motivations to buy online, (b) whether the level of consumer apprehension about security/privacy has changed over time, and (c) the influence of several other variables including demographics on consumer online purchase behavior. This study utilized previously collected Web-based survey data from Jupiter Media Metrix to evaluate the research questions. Several statistical procedures, including cross tabulations, logistic regression, and correlation analysis were applied to analyze the data. This research provided evidence that some consumers are motivated to buy more online and to begin to buy online given better security/privacy. Several other factors, including demographics and improvement in the key elements of customer delivery, better prices, and prior experience were found to motivate online purchasing behaviors. Results reveal that concern about security/privacy was declining. Furthermore, these findings support the fundamental goal of contributing to the body of knowledge and providing empirical evidence of the impact of concerns for security/privacy in the online marketplace.