AMB201 Marketing & Audience Research

Qualitative Research Topic and Interview Guide (Part 2) – Topic D

Topic:
Online purchasing

Background:
In Australia, online purchasing continues to grow. A report by Australia Post (2019) revealed that 73%
of Australian households shopped online in 2018, with online spending representing ~10% of total retail
sales. Product categories like fashion, consumer electronics, health and beauty products, and homewares
dominate online retail sales. Although traditionally shoppers have tended to make purchases via desktop
and laptop computers, growth in mobile purchasing has increased dramatically in recent years in line
with smartphone functionality and uptake of retailer apps (see figure below). The PayPal mCommerce
Index (2019) estimates that 73% of Australian consumers now use mobile devices for at least some
online purchases and payments, with this being higher for Gen Z (86%) and Gen Y (87%) consumers.
Growth in online purchasing may in part be due to increased pure-form online shopping, but also to
increases in omni-channel shopping practices – for example where shoppers touch and feel products in
store but then buy online (affectionately termed Browse In-store on Mobile then Buy Online, or BIMBO
shopping by some commentators; Meunier, 2018). One area of online purchasing that has been
suggested as poised for growth in markets like Australia is social commerce. This is where online
purchases are made directly via social media sites. While traditionally, consumer may have used social
media to learn about brands and products via advertisements and recommendations from friends, and as
a way to research products, many brands are increasingly supporting purchases directly via social media
sites – PayPal (2019) reports that 27% of users have purchased via social media. For anyone engaged in
online retail, and for marketers in general, it is important to understand how people engage in online
shopping, what motivates them, and how they feel about the online shopping experience.

Research Question

1
What influences online purchasing in Australia?

Population of Interest and Project Focus

The target audience is English speaking Australian adults who have previously made online purchases.
For the purposes of the AMB201 project we consider online purchasing to include buying of physical
products (e.g., clothes, electronics, health and beauty products). The purchasing of intangible products
that only exist online is excluded (e.g., mobile apps). 排除仅在线购买的无形产品（例如，移动应用
程序）的购买。We will consider perceptions of social commerce, but it is not necessary that
respondents have experience with purchasing via social media.

Research Objectives
Specific objectives of this project include:
i) To explore experiences with online purchasing;
ii) To examine motivations for engaging in online purchasing;
iii) To understand the types of people who purchase products online.

Data Collection
AMB201 student researchers should conduct depth interviews with at least two respondents, and
contribute interview transcripts to the class database. The interview guide in the following pages should
be used to ensure a semi-structured interview format. Researchers should supplement the listed
questions with additional questions of their own, to gain in-depth insights.

Data Analysis
Thematic analysis is to be conducted on at least six depth interview transcripts (the student researcher’s
two interview transcripts plus four others). Researchers are free to choose to focus on specific
subgroups (e.g., six males), a comparison of sub-groups (e.g., three younger respondents vs three older
respondents), or just analyse transcripts from the target population in general (e.g., any six respondents).

Discussion of Findings
Results should be interpreted in relation to each of the research objectives and offer a response to the
overarching research question. Implications should be discussed, including any recommendations for
practice, for theory, and for additional research (keeping in mind the nature of the sample analysed).
Limitations of the study should be reported. 结果应与每个研究目标相关地进行解释，并应回答总体
研究问题。应当讨论含义，包括对实践，理论和其他研究的任何建议（请牢记所分析样品的性
质）。研究的局限性应予以报告。

Some initial reading to get you started

Note that you must consult additional literature for your assignment (particularly academic sources).

Australia Post (2019). Inside Australian Shopping 2019 eCommerce Industry Report. Retrieved from
https://auspost.com.au/content/dam/auspost_corp/media/documents/inside-australian-
onlineshopping-ecommerce-report.pdf
Bianchi, C. & Andrews, L. (2012). Risk, trust, and consumer online purchasing behaviour: A Chilean
perspective. International Marketing Review, 29(3) 253-276.
Martínez-López, F. J., Li, Y., Su, W., & Feng, C. (2019). To have or have not: Buy buttons on social
platforms. Journal of Business Research, 105, 33-48.
Meunier, E. G. (2018). The case for omni(channel) shopper marketing. ThinkShopper. Retrieved from
https://thinkshopper.blog/2018/11/25/the-case-for-omnichannel-shopper-marketing/

2
PayPal (2019). PayPal mCommerce Index (2019). Retrieved from
https://www.paypalobjects.com/marketing/web/au/mcommerce-
index/pdf/PayPal-mCommerceIndex-2019-Annual-Report-Final.pdf

Interview Guide and Suggested Questions

Topic:
Online purchasing

Interview Process:
1. Thank the participant for agreeing to take part in the interview, and introduce the topic (example
script below).

Thank you for agreeing to participate in this interview. In order to be able to answer the
questions, you must be an Australian Internet user who has previously engaged in online retail
shopping for physical products (…not just things like mobile phone apps). Have you done this
before? [If they have not done so, politely thank them and discontinue the interview. Otherwise
continue…]

There are no right or wrong answers to the questions that we will discuss. I am simply
interested in your opinions and experiences. Please feel free to elaborate on your responses, as
the extra detail will help to answer my research questions.

This is a completely confidential conversation. Your name will not be linked to your responses
in the final report, and your details will not be used for any other purpose by QUT.

2. Explain the process and requirements of the interview (example script below).

Today’s process involves an interview. I expect it will take about 30 minutes.

[If applicable] I would like to record the interview, so that I can transcribe the conversation for
analysis purposes. Is that okay?

3. Confirm that the respondent is at least 18 years old and obtain signed consent using the form
provided on Blackboard. If the participant does not wish to sign the consent form (or they are not
yet 18), thank them for their time and discontinue the interview. Start the process again with a new
respondent.

Are you over 18 years of age? [discontinue interview if not yet 18]. I also require that you
complete the ethical clearance form [provide form to respondent]. The ethical clearance form
outlines that the research team will treat your information and details confidentially and that
any information discussed here today will not be used to personally identify you in any
publications or conference discussions.

4. Begin the interview using the questions listed on the next page. These are suggested questions
only. You are not restricted to these questions and should add to them and change them as
necessary, according to how the interview progresses. It will be necessary to prompt for additional
information if a respondent’s initial response does not provide much insight. Your goal is to obtain
enough information/clarification that will enable you to respond to the project objectives (note that
some questions will be helpful in addressing more than one research objective).

3
Interview Items (project objectives are listed for your reference only)

Begin the interview by getting the respondent thinking about the topic.
a) Can you tell me how frequently you use the Internet in general?
b) What types of things do you usually use the Internet for?
c) How often would you say you purchase things online? (i.e., physical products).
d) Can you think of any time you found yourself buying something from a website, even though
you had only gone online to check social media?

Objective (i): To explore experiences with online purchasing.

e) What types of websites do you normally buy from?
f) And what types of things have you bought online in the past? Why did you buy online as
opposed to in-store?
g) Is there any value in comparing online and offline store prices before buying?
h) Have you ever had a particularly good experience when buying something online?
i) What about a bad experience?
j) Other questions: ___________________________________________

Objective (ii): To examine motivations for engaging in online purchasing.

k) What do you think are the positives of shopping online? And any negatives?
l) What type of research do you undertake before making a purchase online?
m) Can you think of any reasons people might avoid or dislike online shopping?
n) To what extent do you think people should be concerned about risks to their personal details
or financial information when buying products online?
o) Have you ever bought anything as a result of an interaction with brands on social media?
p) What do you think of the idea of being able to buy products directly on social media sites, by
clicking and purchasing directly, rather than being re-directed to other retail sites?
q) Other questions: ___________________________________________

Objective (iii): To understand the types of people who purchase products online.
r) Do you think there are certain types of people who are more likely to shop online than
others? Who are they?
s) What about people who might be more (or less) likely to shop directly via social media?
t) Are there people who you think will simply never shop online? Why?
u) Other questions: ___________________________________________

Round out the interview by asking the respondent some final general questions.
v) What things might you say to someone who had never shopped online before if you wanted
to encourage them to do so? …would you offer any words of caution?
w) Is there anything else you would like to add that you think might be helpful for this topic?

5. Thank the participant for their time.

4
6. Transcribe the interview.