The Moderating Role of Consumer Heterogeneity on two Objectives for Online Purchase: Saving Money and Saving Time

In this paper, we posit that consumer heterogeneity moderates the respective relationships between two important online purchase objectives of saving money and saving time on online purchase decisions. To explore this relationship, we empirically examine the moderating roles of consumer heterogeneity on the effects of money saved, time saved, and delivery time on purchase decisions. On the basis of analyses performed on data gleaned from an Internet-based survey, we demonstrate that the effects of saving money on preference for online purchase are more pronounced for consumers who are male, relatively young, and much discretionary time, while the effects of saving time are more pronounced for those who are male, younger, less discretionary time and relatively high income. In addition, the effect of delivery time on online purchase is amplified by disposable income, but attenuated by online shopping experience. Through our analyses, we also find that Japanese consumers value delivery time to a greater degree than Chinese and American consumers do.