About
Publication Information
Subscriptions
Permissions
Advertising
Journal Rankings
Best Article Award
Press Releases
Resources
Access Options
Submission Guidelines
Reviewer Guidelines
Sample Articles
Paper Calls
Contact Us
Submit & Review
Browse
Current Issue
All Issues
Featured
Latest
Topics
Videos
Cases
Subscribe
California Management Review
California Management Review is a premier academic management journal published at UC Berkeley
Search
Article Information
Shopping Online for Freedom, Control, and Fun
Wolfinbarger, Mary , and Mary C. Gilly
43
/
2
(
Winter
2001
):
34
-
55
Consumers shop online for both goal-oriented and experiential reasons. However, goal-oriented motives are more common among online shoppers than are experiential motives. This article identifies and discusses attributes that facilitate goal-oriented online shopping, including accessibility/convenience, selection, information availability, and lack of unwanted sociality from retail sales help or shopping partners such as spouses. Importantly, consumers report that shopping online results in a substantially increased sense of freedom and control as compared to offline shopping. While consumers are more likely to describe offline rather than online shopping in experiential terms, evidence of experiential motivations for online shopping is emerging. Also, while closing transactions at web sites is one important e-commerce goal, companies should not lose site of the continuing importance and power of their web site as an information and communications vehicle.
