Investigating the Attractors in Off-Line and On-Line (B2C) Music Shopping

Bedford, Gareth (2006). Investigating the Attractors in Off-Line and On-Line (B2C) Music Shopping. Student dissertation for The Open University module M801 MSc in Software Development Research Dissertation.

Please note that this student dissertation is made available in the format that it was submitted for examination, thus the author has not been able to correct errors and/or departures from academic standards in areas such as referencing.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21954/ou.ro.00016044

Abstract

The number of people worldwide who use the Internet has increased exponentially over the past few years. This has contributed to a major increase in the number of consumers who browse for products, compare prices and purchase goods from on-line stores. Consumers can move very quickly and effortlessly between channels such as mail-order, on-line and off-line stores when shopping; this makes it increasingly important for businesses with multi-channel strategies to become more aware of the consumer behaviour that takes place around any of the channels they offer. Factors that attract consumers towards a shopping channel or store can be called attractors”. Awareness about attractors can be used to enhance the competitiveness of a store and the quality of services available to consumers. On-line music stores, specifically the iTunes store, have enjoyed a huge amount of growth in recent years. This research project examines the attractors that influence consumer behaviour at the iTunes on-line store and at off-line music stores in general. The research employs a user-centred approach to elicit these attractors. The findings of this research include a catalogue of music store attractors; the attractors that are most significant are: convenience of a store (off-line attractor), the ability to find something interesting or new (e-commerce attractor), and the ability to buy single tracks(on-line attractor). The research presents some analysis of the relationships between these attractors and guidelines towards the discovery of attractors. This research goes beyond user-system interaction and usability, examining the customer experience to find that other factors besides usability are involved in attracting consumers to iTunes. It also finds that off-line consumer experiences influence on-line consumer behaviour and expectations.