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Barriers to online shopping

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DOI: 10.1504/IJBIS.2019.097043

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Int. J. Business Information Systems, Vol. 30, No. 1, 2019 31

Barriers to online shopping

Ruby Jain and Madhu Kulhar*

Department of Home Science,
University of Rajasthan,
Jaipur-302004, India
Email: rubyjain64@gmail.com
Email: madhukulhar@gmail.com
*Corresponding author

Abstract: Certain factors affect the consumer buying behaviour while

purchasing products online. Out of these, some commonness is discussed in the
present paper which affects the adoption of online shopping. A simple search
with keywords ‘online shopping’, ‘online shopping of apparels and
accessories’, ‘factors affecting online shopping’, ‘drivers of online shopping’
and ‘barriers of online shopping’ has been done with Google Scholar.
Substantial studies have been conducted globally to find out the factors
affecting online shopping adoption. Different models and frameworks are
available to understand these factors and it is difficult to present all work
altogether. Thus, this paper tries to present a comprehensive framework of the
relevant literature as barriers to online shopping. All available studies from
‘anytime’ referred till the date has been included to build a framework of
reviews.

Keywords: online shopping; adoption; information technology; barriers.

Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Jain, R. and Kulhar, M.

(2019) ‘Barriers to online shopping’, Int. J. Business Information Systems,
Vol. 30, No. 1, pp.31–50.

Biographical notes: Ruby Jain did her post graduation in 1988 in the area of
home science with textiles and clothing specialisation from SNDT Women’s
University, Mumbai and is currently serving as an Associate Professor in the
Department of Home Science, University of Rajasthan, India. She has more
than 29 years of experience in under and post graduate teaching and research
and is engaged in teaching various subjects of textiles and clothing like fabric
and apparel design, apparel technology and apparel construction, fashion
illustration and fashion design, surface ornamentation techniques and other
related courses. Her research interest is handicraft and handloom industry,
traditional textiles, consumer clothing behaviour, product development and
certain social issues related to women and children. She has published more
than 30 research papers in various national and international journals, and an
instructional manual and a book. She has done research projects with UNICEF,
Jaipur, and University Grant Commission, Delhi.

Madhu Kulhar received the MSc in Clothing and Textiles from Maharana
Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology in 2003, SET (Rajasthan) in
2009 and UGC NET JRF in June 2013. She also received her BEd in 2007. She
has published papers in international journals and presented papers and posters
in national and international seminars and conferences. She is presently doing
research in clothing and textile, at the Department of Home Science, University
of Rajasthan, Jaipur, India.

Copyright © 2019 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

32 R. Jain and M. Kulhar

1 Introduction

The internet has created great opportunities in various sectors including business.
Consequently, it has become a key driver of economic growth. The information and
communication technologies (ICT) transformed the way of business. It has changed the
way of buying and selling since the 1990s and is expected to be the most common way of
shopping in the future (Doherty et al., 1999). Nowadays one can easily sell and buy a
product from any place and at any time through the internet. It is going to break the
barriers of geographical reach and seems to be the new buzz word in the marketing
scenario. This mode of business is popular as e-commerce or online shopping. The first
secure retail transaction over the web was either by net market or internet shopping
network in 1994. Immediately after, Amazon.com launched its online shopping site in
1995 and eBay was also introduced in 1995 in the USA (Wikipedia). In developed
countries, online shopping is almost two decades old, yet it is in an emerging stage in
developing countries owing to several barriers. Most developing countries, however, are
far from experiencing this reality due to many factors which act as barriers for e-
commerce to flourish (Alyoubi, 2015).
Over the last decade, the internet penetration in India has increased at a rapid pace,
and as a result online shopping has been predicted to be a new driver of economic growth
(Jhamb and Gupta, 2016). In USA’s 68.9% population had internet access in the year
2006 which has grown to 88.5% of the population in the year 2016 (internet live stats). It
was 2.4% of Indian population who had access to the internet in the year 2006 and now it
increased to 34.8% of total population in the year 2016. Thus in the developed countries
the internet penetration was pretty high a decade ago as compared to India and other
developing countries which are far behind till now like Iran (48.9%), Thailand (42.7%),
Egypt (33%), Sri Lanka (29.3%) and China (52.2%), etc. still have low internet
penetration at present.
With the rising acceptance of online shopping among the Indian consumers, it can
now be considered as an important alternative channel for shopping. Online shopping is
very successful in selling digital products such as shares, software, music, and films. It
has been less successful in influencing the purchasers of ‘traditional’ goods such as
clothes, cosmetics, household appliances and automobiles to abandon their physical
retailers and move into cyberspace (Kiran et al., 2008). The internet has provided
consumers with global access to a limitless range of goods available for purchase but
these ‘traditional’ goods face several barriers to be sold through online shopping. Despite
the significant growth and the optimistic future growth of online shopping, negative
aspects are becoming more frequently associated with this alternative shopping method.
In an online environment, in contrast to a physical one, greater risk and less trust are
expected due to the fact that there is major complexity in evaluating a product or service
as there are no visual or tangible indications about the quality of the product nor
face-to-face interaction with sales staff, and the purchase is affected by security and
privacy issues (Laroche et al., 2005).
There are very few similar studies which focus on the issue. A study was conducted
in Switzerland by Rudolph et al. (2004) to find out the barriers of online shopping. Riley
et al. (2005) worked on drivers as well barriers of online shopping in UK and Liebermann
and Stashevsky (2002) conducted a study and found perceived risks as barriers to internet
and e-commerce usage in Israel. A similar Indian study by Pinto (2013) tried to find out
the barriers of online shopping among Indian consumers. The present paper is a sincere
 Barriers to online shopping 33

effort to find out the barriers to online shopping which are common and prominent
worldwide even in developed as well as developing countries.

2 Research question

After primary assessments of available literature in the knowledge database and search
engine, the researchers came to know that there are some barriers which deter the
adoption of online format of shopping. An attempt was made to seek answers to the
question: what are the barriers to adoption of online shopping?

3 Research objective

The objective of this paper/research is to find out the most prevalent barriers of online
shopping globally.

4 Methodology

In performing this study of barriers to online shopping, researchers have opted qualitative
research method to select the studies for the paper. This method of review is flexible,
gains insight and understanding of phenomena through an intensive collection of
available literature. It uses the sample for the purpose; not necessarily representative; for
in-depth understanding.
Initially, the search was started with the keywords, ‘factors affecting online shopping
adoption’ in Google Scholar. Full-length papers with open access articles in ‘English’
from ‘any’ time were sorted by relevance. Preference was given to the studies which
directly strike the keyword search. The studies were selected purposively which justify
the research objective. Studies were also selected by snowballing method which was
referred by the selected studies. The articles for review are all peer-reviewed articles and
reports of well-renowned agencies of the relevant felid are included.

5 Inclusion criteria

There were compound keywords to include the articles: ‘online shopping’, ‘factors
affecting online shopping adoption’, ‘online shopping of apparels and accessories’,
‘barriers to online shopping’. Only open access studies at Google Scholar were selected.

5.1 Nature of the sample

An extensive review of literature shows that a large number of studies have explored the
determinants of consumers’ online shopping (e-shopping) behaviour during recent years.
The selected studies have used different sampling approaches such as online survey,
paper and pencil survey, telephone interview, or using an available database, and
recruited their samples from different populations. The majority of the studies have taken
34 R. Jain and M. Kulhar

students and staff of universities as the sample of the studies, online shoppers of a
particular web store or web stores and internet users were also the subjects for numerous
studies selected. Loyal customers of a store and staff of a company, etc. were the sample
population of these studies. The sample was selected purposively by most of the studies.
Systematic random probability sampling technique is missing in the entire literature. In
addition, a variety of statistical methodologies (including descriptive as well as
multivariate analyses) has been applied, to answer different kinds of questions.

6 Literature review

The most prominent barriers to online shopping found were risks perceived by customers
while shopping online, factors associated with consumers’ demography and experience
and those related to the product category and channel of shopping.
Though the internet penetration rate is growing rapidly nevertheless internet shopping
adoption is far behind, especially in the developing countries. As data of internet
penetration shows that it is increasing swiftly even in the developing countries, i.e., in
Brazil 66.4%, China 52.2%, Mexico 45.1%, and Malaysia 68.6 %, Morocco 57.6% are a
few examples (internetlivestats.com). Despite this, the share of online retail in overall
retail is still 1%–5% among these countries. There may be many reasons behind it. A lot
of studies have been conducted globally to better understand factors affecting online
shopping adoption, barriers as well as drivers. Various researchers started working to find
out these factors as soon as the online shopping came into recognition. This paper tries to
explore the barriers which hinder the adoption of online retail as a shopping channel.
These barriers are broadly discussed in following sections.

6.1 Perceived risks

Perceived risk reduces the willingness of customers to buy goods over the internet
(Barnes et al., 2007). It has been considered as a fundamental concern of decision-making
process during online shopping (Masoud, 2013). Earlier studies exploring the factors
affecting adoption of online shopping found perceived financial risk as the major barrier
when one does not want to share their credit or debit card details with the retailer as
reported by Wee and Ramachandra (2000) (China, Hong Kong, and Singapore);
Miyazaki and Fernandez (2001) (USA); Fenech and O’Cass (2001) (Australia); Udo
(2001) (USA); Burroughs and Sabherwal (2002) (USA); Ranganathan and Ganapathy
(2002) (USA); UCLA Centre for Communication Policy (2003); Suh and Han (2003)
(South Korea); Efendioglu and Yip (2004) (China). Table 1 explains the risks associated
with the online shopping.
Fram and Grady (1995) who conducted a research two decades back in Saudi Arabia,
reports that the lack of credit card security, lack of payment alternatives and no renowned
sellers, etc. are the major fears for online shoppers. This fear was identified as the most
significant barrier repetitively in the later studies that prevent online visitors from
becoming online buyers (Then and DeLong, 1999, USA; Flanagin et al., 2014, USA).
 Barriers to online shopping 35

Table 1 Perceived risks in online shopping

Country and sample

Factors Variables Findings Authors and year
(size)
Perceived Financial Among various risks, Efendioglu and Yip USA n = 252
risk risk financial risk was (2004)
demonstrated to be Liao and Cheung China n = 312
the main (2001)
discriminator
between people Joines et al. (2003) USA n = 583
buying online and Jones (2001) Israel n = 465
people not buying
online. Miyazaki and USA
Fernandez (2001)
Fenech and O’Cass Australia
(2001)
Udo (2001) USA
Burroughs and USA
Sabherwal (2002)
Joines et al. (2003) USA
Wang and Emurian USA
(2005)
Forsythe and Shi USA
(2003)
Liao et al. (2011) USA
Dinev et al. (2006) USA
Privacy Risk of stealing and Ranganathan and USA
and misuse of personal Ganapathy (2002)
security information Efendioglu and Yip USA n = 252
risk (2004)
Udo (2001) USA n = 211
Ranganathan and USA n = 214
Ganapathy (2002)
Guo and Jaafar China n = 412
(2011)
Suh and Han (2003) South Korea
Efendioglu and Yip China
(2004)
Yeh et al. (2012) Taiwan
Metzger (2004) USA
McKechnie et al. UK
(2006)
Metzger (2007) USA
Pittayachawan et al. Australia
(2008)
Hong and Cha (2013) The Republic of
Korea
36 R. Jain and M. Kulhar

Even though the popularity of internet shopping has been increasing, several consumers
are still window shoppers on the internet and make purchases offline because of above
risks. Forsythe and Shi (2003, USA) found that internet shopping has become the fastest-
growing use of the internet; most online consumers, however, use information gathered
online to make purchases offline due to the above risk. Park et al. (2004) compared the
adoption of online shopping between developing and developed countries Korea and
USA, also found the perceived financial risk is common among both. Tan (1999) in
Singapore, and Almousa (2013) in Saudi Arabia also found financial risk as a great
barrier in popularity of online shopping in developed as well as developing countries.
Wang et al. (1998) warns that popularity of online shopping may be bothered by these
risks. Privacy concerns and fear of insecure transactions are still the biggest barrier in
shopping online by the researchers globally who studied the barriers of online shopping
[Joines et al., 2003 (USA); Wang and Emurian, 2005 (USA); Forsythe and Shi, 2003
(USA); Yeh et al., 2012 (Taiwan); Metzger, 2004 (USA); McKechnie et al., 2006 (UK);
Metzger, 2007 (USA); Liao et al., 2011 (USA); Dinev et al., 2006 (USA); Pittayachawan
et al., 2008 (Australia); Hong and Cha, 2013 (Republic of Korea)].
According to the Kiely (1997), the invasion of privacy is defined as, “the
unauthorized collection, disclosure, or other use of personal information as a direct result
of e-commerce transactions’’. Forsythe and Shi (2003) argues, when shopping online,
consumers express more than one concern related to each type of risk. Financial risk is a
net loss of money to a customer and includes the possibility that one’s credit card
information may be misused (Maignan and Lukas, 1997). Many consumers believe that it
is too easy to have a credit card stolen online (Caswell, 2000). Almost 95% of internet
users have declined to give personal information to websites when asked (Hoffman
et al., 1999).
Perceived risks about personal details or privacy risk regarding address, contact
number etc. is also an area of concern while taking online shopping decision. Privacy risk
is also one of the sources of subjective Internet risk as perceived by consumers. Miyazaki
and Fernandez (2001) states that privacy and security risk perceptions are the major
obstacles in the development of consumer-related e-commerce activities. Initial research
on online shopping indicates that risk related to loss of consumers’ privacy and security
of personal information is an important barrier to internet adoption and use by customers
(Wall Street Journal and Harris Interactive, 2001). Few studies have examined how
privacy fears affect consumers’ purchasing behaviour toward specific retailers. In a
survey of online customers, 53% of respondents indicated that privacy concerns would
prompt them to postpone or forgo an online purchase (Wall Street Journal and Harris
Interactive, 2001). Miyazaki and Fernandez (2001) conducted a study in the USA and
found that sharing personal information with other companies, tracking of shopping
habits, purchases, placement of cookies on a consumer’s computer, being contacted by
the company without providing consent are the threats to privacy while shopping online.

6.2 Inconvenience: a barrier for online shopping

Moreover, security risk difficulty in placing orders or inconvenience of online shopping
become another significant barrier explored (Jiang et al., 2013). People may find local
market shopping easier rather than the online shopping (Varian, 1999; Kacen et al., 2013;
Chen et al., 2015). Time inconvenience may refer to the loss of time and inconvenience
occurs due to the complexity of navigation and submitting the order, inappropriate
 Barriers to online shopping 37

websites or delay in receiving products. It is faster and easier to purchase the products
locally (GVU’s 9th WWW User Surveys, 1998; Bhatnagar and Ghosh, 2004).
According to Alba et al. (1997), the stores give the buyers the opportunity to touch
and feel the products and to obtain information directly from sales persons. On the other
hand, the online shopping environment does not offer the buyer the opportunity to touch,
feel, or smell the product while buying (Childers et al., 2001). Women experience much
greater inconvenience from online shopping than do men (Dittmar et al., 2004).

6.3 Barriers related to the consumer

6.3.1 Consumers’ demographics
Gender
Garbarino and Strahilevitz (2004), found that gender affects the perceptions of the
probability of negative outcomes and five risks associated with buying online (i.e., credit
card misuse, fraudulent sites, loss of privacy, shipping problems, and product failure)
occurs due to this negative outcome. Gender differences account for different barriers to
purchasing online. Men and women have different perceptions about the risks in online
purchasing (Sheehan, 1999).
Age is also an important factor for taking decision while shopping as Reisenwitz et al.
(2007) found that the elderly in America (over age 65) less frequently use the internet or
shop online, and they get less enjoyment out of it. Sorce et al. (2005) found that
significant differences in online buying attitudes and behaviours exist between consumers
of different age levels (university students represented younger consumers and university
staffs represented older users). Similarly, Wu (2003) also indicated that significantly
different attitudes toward online shopping exist between different age groups. In her
study, which sampled people between the ages of 15 and 40, she found that people in the
21–25 and 36–40 age groups had a more positive attitude toward online shopping than
did the rest.
Old age users hesitate to use online shopping though with increased experience of
internet and online shopping they become comfortable with this mode of shopping
(Lian and Yen, 2014; Hoffman et al., 1999; Shergill and Chen 2005; Thomson and Laing,
2003; McMillan and Morrison, 2006).
Education plays a vital role in taking decision for shopping online or not as Bagchi
and Adam (2006), Bellman et al. (1999), Donthu and Garcia (1999), Li et al. (1999), Liao
and Cheung (2001) and Susskind (2004) told in their studies. Highly educated people
adopt online shopping easily as compare to the less educated.
Income is the factor which is important in the selection of shopping channel as proven
by numerous studies. Table 1 depicts the significance of demographics as influencing
factor in the selection of shopping channel. The majority of researchers cite that the
younger generation is more innovative and techno-savvy so they are big buyers and older
consumers are low or non-buyers although they have higher income than the younger
generation. Thus, the advancing age becomes a barrier to online shopping. The gender
gap too existed in using the internet, and it is mostly evident for online shopping.
Numerous studies found gender as a deciding factor for online shopping as shown in
Table 2. Women are less familiar with information technology and perceive a higher
38 R. Jain and M. Kulhar

level of risk for online shopping, and as a result, they tend to hesitate to make a purchase
online (Tomei, 2008).
Table 2 Barriers related to the characteristics of the consumers

Personal Country and sample

Variables Findings Authors and year
factors (size and nature)
Demographic Age The results of Reisenwitz et al. USA n = 374
numerous studies (2007) 65 years of age or older
depict that the Kwon and Noh USA n=293
significant (2010) male and female mature
differences in online consumers
buying attitudes and (born in or before 1964)
behaviours exist
between consumers Pfeil et al. (2009) UK n = 50
of different age teenage users and 50
levels. The majority older users.
of studies states that Laukkanen et al. Finland n = 1,525
younger consumers (2007) users of online banking
are frequent online services 24.3 %
buyers but few states represented mature
that as age and consumers (age over 55)
experience increase and 75.7% represented
the rate of purchase the younger consumers
also increase.
Porter and Donthu USA n = 539 Real
(2006) consumers (i.e., no
full-time students), in a
major Southeastern US
metropolitan area
Gender Gender affects users’ Fan and Miao Taiwan n = 118
intentions to shop (2012) online shoppers
online. In general, Garbarino and USA study 1 – n = 260
men are more likely Strahilevitz (2004) study 2 – n = 276
to try a new IT than study 3 – n = 220
are women. In other respondents’ ages
words, in comparison ranged from 14 to 70
with females, males years university
tend to have higher community
personal
innovativeness of IT Nirmala and Dewi Indonesia, (n = 210) the
(PIIT) and online (2011) population of internet
shopping is no users in Indonesia, aged
exception. between 15 and 30
years old (generation Y)
Passyn et al. (2011) USA, n = 1,060
adult consumers using
internet residing in the
Mid-Atlantic region of
the USA.
Sangwan et al. 538 (304 in Singapore
(2009) and 279 in China)
Sorce et al. (2005) USA, n = 300 students
and staff from a US
university (online
shoppers)
 Barriers to online shopping 39

Table 2 Barriers related to the characteristics of the consumers (continued)

Personal Country and sample

Variables Findings Authors and year
factors (size and nature)
Demographic Gender Yang and Wu Taiwan, n = 209
(2006) convenient sample of
online shoppers
Sheehan (1999) USA, n = 889 internet
users nationwide were
surveyed using
electronic mail
Bimber (2000) US California,
n = 3032.
Rodgers and Harris USA n = 227
(2003)
Income Lower income has Hoffman et al. USA n = 3,785
lower usage rates. (1996) people 16 years and
Income is directly over
associated with the Román and Spain n = 398
online purchase. Riquelme (2014)
Education Low education levels Porter and Donthu USA n = 539
could have negative (2006)
effects on consumer
attitudes toward
internet use.
Personal Experience Lack of online Bauer et al. (2006) Germany n = 384
characteristics and shopping experience Pappas et al. (2016) Norway n = 582
knowledge and knowledge was
the barrier of online
shopping
Trust Lack of trust on McKnight et al. USA n = 1,403
e-vendor was found a (2002)
barrier of online Islam et al. (2016) Bangladesh n = 230
shopping.

A few personal factors like lack of experience, knowledge, and trust are the reasons that
a huge number of internet users still do not understand how to conduct the purchase over
the internet. Less aware consumers would be less disposed to shop online if they do not
possess good knowledge about how it works, or about the nature of its net benefits
(Cheung and Liao, 2003). Hou and Rego (2002) note that the decision to shop online
depends on to a large extent on the shopping experience the consumer is willing to accept
and point out that online shopping still lacks social interactivity. Since online buying is a
new consumer activity, consumers who have the lack of previous experience in online
shopping has hesitation to purchase through the internet and it is claimed by many
researchers like – Seckler, (2000), Dai et al. (2014), Novak et al. (2000), Gefen et al.
(2003), Morganosky and Cude (2000), Doolin et al. (2007), Khalifa and Liu (2007),
Hongyoun and Kim (2009) and much more.
Trust has been identified in e-commerce literature as a perceived risk and a barrier to
internet adoption as customers don’t believe the retailers who are not in their direct
contact (Almousa, 2013). Lack of responsiveness, assurance, reliability, empathy and
40 R. Jain and M. Kulhar

tangibility are the risk which arises from the possibility that a product or service would
fail to meet expectations (Cheung and Liao, 2003).
Table 3 Barriers linked to the shopping channel (internet)

Country and sample

Variables Results Authors and year
size
Website Low quality and design of Liao and Cheung (2000) China n = 312
quality website unable to retain the McKnight et al. (2002) USA n = 1403
visitors
Ranganathan and USA n = 214
Ganapathy (2002)
Network Low speed of download and Quach et al. (2016) Thailand n = 1,231
speed and low quality of web page is a
quality barrier of online shopping.
Information Incomplete or no information Ranganathan and USA n = 214
quality about the product is a barrier Ganapathy (2002)
of online shopping.
Excessive Too much information Liao and Cheung (2000) China n = 312
information makes shopping decision McKnight et al. (2002) USA n = 1403
difficult as it makes customer
confused Ranganathan and USA n = 214
Ganapathy (2002)
Lack of social Consumers decline to shop Cheung and Liao (2003)
interaction online as there is no
opportunity for social
interaction

6.4 Barriers associated with the channel (online shopping)

A poor-quality website, low download speed, insufficient information about the product
and non-reliable retailers affect adoption of online shopping negatively. Consumer
behaviour is affected by the accuracy of the products displayed while taking the decision
of online purchase. Varying technology may make it difficult to represent the true colours
or dimensions of a product. Goods may look different on the internet from actually as
they are. This distortion makes consumers uneasy about making an online purchase,
therefore, negatively affecting online shopping behaviour (Eroglu et al., 2003). Table 3
illustrates these factors which are associated with channel format. A study conducted by
Organization for Economic Cultural Development (OECD, 2007) on barriers hindering
e-commerce adoption in developing countries identified some barriers, which varied
widely among countries. Most identified barriers are related to infrastructure such as
(network and technology), the cost of equipment and service in an online shopping
context. Other consumers either in developing countries or in developed countries across
do most cross-border online shopping, where they face different barriers.
Although wide variety and information are cited as a driver of online shopping,
sometimes excessive information and variety makes the decision difficult. Too much
information, as well as too many options, creates confusion and it becomes a barrier to
online shopping. Information about the product is the first criterion that consumers look
for when searching the internet. Sufficient information means that consumer understands
clearly about the product and increases the chance of making the actual purchase
 Barriers to online shopping 41

decision, especially for experienced goods like apparel products. Not enough information
will create confusion in customer, thus likely to make the customer have less trust about
the product and affect their online shopping behaviour.
Unfavourable shopper orientation as internet shopping is considered to be less
attractive; the consumers regret the diminished social interaction relative to traditional
retail formats which allow direct personal contact (Cheung and Liao, 2003). In-store
shopping has a benefit of personal interaction with salesperson and seller which is
lacking in online shopping which can create problems sometimes.

6.5 Barriers associated with the product category

Some products are known as low-risk items and do not need physical inspection like
software, music and movie CDs, shares, tickets, etc., and can be easily purchased online
without any risk. High-risk items like cosmetics, apparel, and footwear, etc. need special
attention to be bought online, as looks, colour, shade, and texture of material or garment,
fragrance and quality can be inspected physically only. Different category of products has
a distinguished risk to be purchased online; these risks are known as product category
risks. Consumers are always worried to purchase the high-risk items online. Though the
online purchase of apparel and accessories is increasing as the fastest growing product
category, it still faces many concerns. The majority of the internet users who purchased
clothing online have grown rapidly over the past decade (Pastore, 2000). But as Park and
Stoel (2002) observed, in spite of the rapid growth in online sales of apparel, some
consumers are reluctant to shop for clothing on the internet.
Some of the major hindrances expressed by consumers for not using the internet are
associated with the risks of high prices, risk of low-quality products, inaccurate
information about size-fit, not being able to try garments on, feel the fabric, and read
product information on labels relating to care and content labels (Lee and Johnson, 2002;
Kim et al., 2011) as shown in Table 4. Online shoppers largely depend on the information
available on the internet, which requires an adequate amount of product information to
make a purchase decision. In addition, due to the absence of a salesperson to answer
shoppers’ questions, it is especially critical for online apparel retailers to have the
necessary information available on their websites (Kim and Stoel, 2005).
Performance risk refers to the probability that a product purchased may result in a
failure to function as expected (Chiu et al., 2014). A relatively high level of product risk
is expected when being purchased online, particularly for some product categories, due to
shoppers’ inability to physically examine and test product attributes online (Alreck and
Settle, 2002; Garbarino and Strahilevitz, 2004), suggesting that risks associated with
product uncertainty are likely to negatively affect online purchase intentions – at least for
some products. For instance, shoppers perceive a higher level of product risk for apparel
when purchasing online as opposed to when purchasing in traditional stores (Goldsmith
and Goldsmith 2002).
Product delivery risk or the risk of not getting what purchased refers to the possibility
of suffering a loss due to the online seller’s failure to deliver the product or late delivery
(Chiu et al., 2014).
42 R. Jain and M. Kulhar

Table 4 Barriers related to the product category

Barriers related to the product

Country and
Variables Results Authors and year
sample size
Product type The product category is a Liao et al. (2016) Taiwan n = 120
determinant of online shopping
adoption.
Price The Internet shopping mall is Sthapit et al. (2016) Korea n = 188
perceived to be more expensive
because of shipping costs.
Product quality Fear of getting a low-quality Liao and Cheung China n = 312
product. (2001)
Accurate If accurate information is not Liao and Cheung China n = 312
information available the consumer will never (2001)
return to the website
See and touch Consumer wants to inspect the Kiran et al. (2008) India n = 900
for overall apparels and accessories before Goldsmith and USA n = 186
quality (texture purchasing Goldsmith (2002)
and finishing)
Kim et al. (2011) Korea n = 340
Kwon et al. (1991) Taiwan n = 394
Ha (2006) USA n = 1634
Colour Due to the varied regulations of Kim et al. (2011) Korea n = 340
computer and camera’s and look
different than actual.
Information Information about the care of the Childers et al. (2002) USA n = 266
product needs a visual check up.
Size Each brand has different sizes and Bosnjak et al. (2007) Germany n = 808
consumer face difficulty to choose
unfamiliar brands’ apparel and
accessories.
Fit and comfort The fit is the biggest concern for Kim et al. (2011) Korea n = 340
apparel and shoe shoppers. Childers et al. (2002) USA n = 266
Sometimes the same size fits
different ways in two designs or
brands.
Quality The quality of a product of no Kim et al. (2011) Korea n = 340
familiar brands’ product is also a
major concern. When a product is
un-returnable it plays a vital role in
decision making.

6.6 Barriers related to the service provided by the online retailers

Online purchasing typically involves the use of a delivery service because of the physical
separation between the buyer and the seller. For the customer, this separation brings a
concern about the time lag between when a product is ordered and when it is received as
well as the potential added cost of delivery. Sometimes products are available on high
prices and delivery cost increases the overall cost of the product which can be bought
 Barriers to online shopping 43

cheaper locally. Table 5 describes these barriers which are associated with the sale,
delivery and after sale services. These concerns had a negative effect on online shopping.
The separation of buyer and seller noted above also plays a role in the consumer’s level
of comfort in regard to product returns. The product delivery and product return issues
may negate the perception of personal service (Schneider and Bowen, 1999). Modern
consumers put a premium on personal service and the lack of face to face contact is
certainly a limitation for internet shopping and may negatively affect it (Schneider and
Bowen, 1999).
Table 5 Barriers related to the service

Barriers related to the time and delivery cost

Country and sample
Variables Results Authors and year
size
Delivery time The customer has to wait Román and Riquelme Spain n = 398
for a long time. (2014)
Shukla (2016) India n = 100
Cost (2016) India n = 100
Delivery cost Delivery charges increase Ertemel and Çelik Turkey n = 234
overall cost of item (2016)
Barriers related to the post-purchase services
Return policies Non-returnable items can Walsh et al. (2016) Germany n = 103
keep away consumers Alam and Elaasi Saudi Arabia n = 128
from online shopping (2016)
After sale No or; poor after sale Patel (2017) India n = 730
services service. Pappas et al. (2016) Norway n = 582

Lack of after sales services, warranties and difficulty in returning the products are the
hurdles of online shopping. These barriers are associated with all categories of products
bought online.

7 Conclusions

Online shopping is becoming a popular way to make purchases, but it's not something
that everyone is comfortable doing. Customers who want to purchase an item over the
internet face several barriers.
Reviewed literature reveals that perceived risks are the barriers that exist globally,
though online shopping emerged approximately two decades ago in developed countries
and yet it is a prominent barrier worldwide. Payment security risk is the risk which
threatens the customers of developed as well as developing countries till now. Payment
security risk and stealing personal and payment information are the common and biggest
threats worldwide. Barriers related to the customers’ demographics are also dominating
globally and are the second biggest barrier to the online shopping worldwide as younger
than older, male than female, highly educated and richer people are much comfortable
with online shopping. In the developing countries, people don’t have enough experience
of internet usage, knowledge, and skills. Lack of infrastructures like unavailability of
44 R. Jain and M. Kulhar

computers and poor quality and low-speed internet are the major hurdles in online
shopping.
After sales services like poor delivery services, no guarantee or warranty, difficulty in
return and exchange of goods purchased online are the reasons why consumers don’t rely
on e-retailers. Online shopping could be more beneficial by reducing its barriers for
customers, it has many opportunities for both retailers as well as customers and needs
sincere efforts to overcome the obstacles.

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