Information search and shopping practices of Oklahoma consumers who purchased apparel products via the Internet

Scope and method of study. The purpose of this study was to investigate the shopping practices of Oklahoma consumers who purchase apparel products via the Internet in terms of (1) product category purchased via the Internet, (2) the degree of information search involved before the purchase is made, and (3) various consumer demographic characteristics. A total of 1,224 telephone interviews were completed. Respondents were asked questions pertaining to basic computer and Internet usage and general Internet shopping behaviors. Three hundred and seven respondents reported having purchased an apparel product via the Internet. These 307 respondents were asked questions pertaining specifically to purchasing apparel products via the Internet.; Findings and conclusions. A demographic profile of Oklahoma consumers was developed. Gender and age were found to affect the category of apparel purchased via the Internet. In addition, time spent searching or browsing the Internet was influenced by the size of household. The majority (68.9%) of respondents reported spending less than 30 minutes searching the Internet before making an apparel purchase. No demographic variables were found to influence the number of websites searched before making a purchase or the number of brand names considered before making a purchase from the Internet.