| dc.description.abstract | Previous studies show a positive relationship between the number of Internet users and online shoppers. The use of internet in Kenya has grown tremendously over the years. The introduction of submarine fiber optic cables in 2009 has improved the speeds of internet resulting to lower telecommunications costs and new opportunities across many sectors. Online shopping in Kenya has however not taken off strongly even with the steady increase of internet users over the years. Studies done revealed that among those who shopped online in the United States, college students aged 18 to 22 were the biggest market and a prime source of future growth in online sales.
There is therefore need to study the level of online shopping adoption among Kenyan students in order to determine the reasons for adoption or non adoption of the same. This study therefore sought to find out the characteristics of online shopping adopters among university students and went further to unearth the reasons behind non-adoption and adoption of online shopping. The research was carried out through a survey of the University of Nairobi students and the selection of the sample participants was conducted based on stratified random sampling. The four strata that were used were male undergraduates, female undergraduate, male postgraduates and female postgraduates.
The data was collected. by use of questionnaires distributed. to a sample of 248 students. The findings of the study revealed that there was a high level of awareness of online shopping but very low use of the same. Findings also showed that online shoppers were mostly male, most of them were aged 30 yrs and below and most earned higher incomes. Some of the reasons cited for non adoption of online shopping were concerns about financial security and discomfort in sharing of personal information online. Some of the reasons cited for adoption of online shopping were the ease of buying products from anywhere in the world, and the ability to choose from a wide variety of products. This study provides relevant business advantage in terms of providing insight on how to improve online shopping in Kenya. It also sets the foundation for future research directions in this area. | en_US |
