E-Consumer Behaviour: Past, Present and Future Trajectories of an Evolving Retail Revolution

Shopping online has emerged as one of the most popular Internet applications, providing a plethora of purchasing opportunities for consumers and sales challenges for retailers. The aim of this paper is to shed further light on the past and present status of the e-consumer phenomenon, by looking into online shopping behaviour and by examining the major reasons for being motivated or being de-motivated from buying online, focusing on the trust element. Building on that analysis, the possible future status of e-consumer behaviour is presented via an examination of ubiquitous retailing, which denotes the next stage of that retail revolution.