IMPACT OF ONLINE SHOPPING ADVERTS ON CONSUMER BUYING RATE.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

 Given the growing number of Nigerians who go online on a daily basis, as well as the fact that many brands continue to utilize social media on daily basis to advertise their product, it becomes even more important to determine how online product adverts influences consumer buying behavior. Online advertising is also known as online  marketing, internet advertising or web  advertising. This form  of marketing and advertising uses the internet to deliver promotional marketing messages to customers. Internet is an ongoing emerging source that tends to expand more and is growing exponentially in both its application and number of user due to its unique characteristics of flexibility, interactivity and personalization.

Internet as a strong advertising medium is versatile that is why it stands apart from traditional advertising mode e-advertising is highly flexible mode that allows consumers to make changes during the course of campaign as and when required without increasing much additional cost. This makes internet more important and in a country like India where the business scenario is highly dynamic. E-advertising  includes  email  advertising,  search  engine  advertising,  social  media  advertising,  display advertising, mobile advertising etc., like other advertising media online advertising frequently involves both the publisher who integrates advertisement  into online contents and an advertiser who provides the advertisement to be displayed on the publisher content towards influencing.

As a promotional strategy, advertising serve as a major tool in creating product awareness in the mind of potential consumer to take the eventual purchase decision. Advertsing, sales promotion and public relations are mass communication tools available to the marketers. Advertising through all medium influence audiences, but the internet at this moment is becoming one of the strongest medium of advertising due to its mass reach, it can influence not only the individuals attitude, but his behavior, lifestyle, exposure and in the long run even the culture of the country (Latif and Abideen 2011).    Consumers are the final end users of the products; they keep the production cycle moving. Consumers do play a vital role in the economic system of any nation, thus any nation will face crises if the consumers don’t have the effective demand for goods produced. According to Cohen (1988), advertising is a business activity that employs creative techniques to design persuasive communication in mass media that promotes ideas, goods and services in a manner consistent with the achievement of the advertiser’s objective, the delivery of consumer satisfaction and the development of social and economic welfare. (Cohen, 1988). From Cohen’s definition, it can be found that advertising satisfies three objectives; to increase sales of the firms, to guarantee consumers a great deal of services and finally to ensure the social and economic welfare of the society

1.2 Statement of the problem

The   era   of   globalization   has   long demanded   a  paradigm  shift   in   all   areas,one of which is the field of marketing. The high   competition   in   the   business   world requires   a   company   to   be   more   creative and   have   a   competitive   advantage compared to   other   companies in   order  to compete in the global business. The study of consumer   behaviour became a  concern for   marketers,   as   they   may   learn   how consumers choose their goods and services required to meet multiple needs, which are the   factors   that   are   influencing   their choice.   For   this   purpose   companies   now are   attracted   towards   online   advertising because   online   advertising   has   grown rapidly in the last decade. The numbers of people who in connecting and spending time online becomes very high  day   by   day . Additional devices (such as mobile phones and televisions) are able to provide further internet connectivity.

.According   to   Kotler   (2007),   a   new competition is not  between    what     is produced   by   various   companies   in   a factory, but between what  is added  to the plant   results  in   the   form   of   packaging, services,  advertising,  consultancy   for customers,   financing,   shipping arrangements, warehousing,    and   another thing     that     people     think   is   worth. Competition   between   products   in   the market   encourages   manufacturers   to aggressively   promote   their   products   to attract the attention of consumers. Therefore, companies must be able to give the   consumer  a  good   impression  on  the product to be sold and constantly deal with how the  product  is sold in  the  market. In order for a product to meet the needs and desires of consumers, the existence of such products  should  be  communicated   to   the consumer   in   order   to  be   introduced   into existence. On the other hand, the work of Chukwu and Uzoma (2014), provided scientific evidences to show that Nigerian consumers patronize online retailers very significantly. One wonders what is responsible for the noted changes. Furthermore, Husain and Adamu (2014), pointed out that the use of social media especially the facebook and twitter have been playing an important role but whether these have encouraged actual online purchases was not specifically stated. Ayo   et  al.   (2011)   surprisingly  asserted that in spite of the growth rate of internet marketing,   consumers  still  assess business   website   only   to   source   for information but   yet   make their   purchases traditionally.   Possible  factors   responsible for  such   behaviour   such   as   trust and   risk(security issues).The Nigerian experiences in all these have been partially explored thus upon this premise that this study seeks to ascertain the impact of online shopping adverts on consumer buying rate.

1.3       Objective of the study

The broad objective of this study is to ascertain the impact of online shopping adverts on consumer buying rate. Specifically the study seeks to:

1. Ascertain internet advertising prove to be very effective than the traditional media.

2. Explore What other factors influence the way people see internet advertisement

3. Investigate if online shopping advertisement will improve the sales volume of product

4.  Determine if consumers buy products due to the internet advertisement.

1.4       Research hypothesis

HO1:  Internet advertising has not proven to be very effective than the traditional media

HO2: Online shopping adverts has no significant impact on  consumer buying rate

1.5       Significance of the study

Findings from the study  will be beneficial to marketers and web designers to understand the criteria for considering online advertisements. The result of the study will observes the impact of online advertising in shaping the people’s view about products; thus, it benefits companies who wish to utilize and invest in online or internet advertisement. The result of the study will provide empirical data to support or disprove supposition about the online advertisement in Nigeria.Finally, the result of the study will contribute to the body of existing literature and serve as a reference material for student and scholars who wishes to conduct further further studies in related field.

1.7       Scope of the study

The  scope of this study is to ascertain the impact of online shopping adverts on consumer buying rate. It ascertained if  internet advertising prove to be very effective than the traditional media. It explored what other factors influence the way people see internet advertisement. And will investigate if online shopping advertisement will improve the sales volume of product. The study is however delimited Jumia online store.

1.7       Limitation of the study

Like in every human endeavour, the researchers encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. The significant constraint was the scanty literature on the subject thus the researcher incurred more financial expenses and much time was required in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection, which is why the researcher resorted to a limited choice of sample size. Additionally, the researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. However in spite of the constraint, all  were downplayed  by the researcher while ensuring that the best is given.

1.8       Definition of terms

Online Shopping: Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser or a mobile app. ... Online stores usually enable shoppers to use "search" features to find specific models, brands or items.

Online Advert: Online advertising, also known as online marketing, Internet advertising, digital advertising or web advertising, is a form of marketing and advertising which uses the Internet to deliver promotional marketing messages to consumers.

Consumer Buying Behaviour: Consumer Buying Behavior refers to the actions taken (both on and offline) by consumers before buying a product or service.

Sales Volume: Sales volume is the number of units sold within a reporting period. This figure is monitored by investors to see if a business is expanding or contracting. Within a business, sales volume may be monitored at the level of the product, product line, customer, subsidiary, or sales region.

REFERENCES

Ayo, C;Shegun, C and Shola, M; (2011). Business of consumer E-commerce in Nigeria: Prospects and Challenges; African Journal of Business Management; Vol. 5 p 109-117

Chukwu B.I and Uzoma I. C, (2014). Impact of Social Media Networks on Consumer Patronage in Nigeria: A study of Konga and Jumia Nigeria Linited: European Journal of Business and Management. Vol. 6 No. 30

Husain, R. and Adamu, A, (2014). The Impact of Social Media in Virtual Marketing in Nigeria; Sholarly Journal of Mathematics and Computer Science; Vol. 3 No.1

Kotler, P. (2007). Marketing Strategy and Management: Analyst, Planning, Implementation and Control. 8th ed. Englewood Cliffs, Nj: Prentice Hall International, Inc

Lu, Y; Shark, V; Clark, S; (2011). A Study on Factors that Affect Users’ Behavioral Intention to Transfer Usage from the Offline to the Online Channel. Computers in

Magdalen, S and Rettie, M, (2013). “Attitude to Internet Advertising: Cross-Culture Comparism”, Journal of Academic Review, Vol. 7 No. 2.