A Research On The Factors Of Online Consumer Purchasing Behavior Based On Flow Theory

As a new kind of consumptive pattern, online shopping has been paid more and more attention by the companies and consumers. According to the research on 2004 Chinese Online Shopping made by Iresearch, the average rising rate of the market size of Chinese online shopping in the following three years will reach 87.5% and the total market size in 2007 is about 296 billion RMB. As the online shopping market developing swiftly and violently, the competition among online companies is becoming more and more fiercely. For the online companies, it is important to capture the characteristics of online consumers in order to make profits from the electronic commerce and obtain big market size. What's more, as the quality of products or services is becoming more and more homogeneous and the appearance of"Eye Economy", the shopping experience of consumers is being paid more attention. Flow theory is one of the most important aspects of consumer experience theory and also one of the most common-used concepts. This research will apply flow theory into online consumer purchasing behavior research and analyze the relationship between them. A conceptual model is proposed to achieve some meaningful conclusions through the test with Structural Equation Model method.It is concluded that"tele-presense"and"perceived control"of the online consumers formed in the process of online shopping play an important role in the factors affecting flow experience, as well as the"interactive speed","skill of consumer","challenge"and"perceived ease of use". At the same time, this flow experience will positively affect his or her online purchasing behavior, including unplanned purchase and intention of repeat purchase. Besides, it is found that"perceived usefulness"of the website plays a vital role in online consumers'making repeat purchase decisions.This research has demonstrated that flow is a useful and practical tool to understand consumers'experience while shopping online. In order to maximize the effectiveness of a website, the goal should be the creation of a beneficial flow experience. The context-based presentation of the website must be paid more attention, not only the content-based presentation. What's more, the usefulness of the website and the interactivity between online consumers and website are also indispensable factors. However, improving a website's interactivity shouldn't sacrifice the website's ease of use.