Table Of ContentSpringerBriefs in Business
Šárka Zapletalová · Halina Starzyczná Editors
Customer Behaviour in
eCommerce
Case Studies
from the Online Grocery
Market
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Šá á (cid:129) á
rka Zapletalov Halina Starzyczn
Editors
Customer Behaviour
in eCommerce
Case Studies from the Online Grocery Market
Editors
ŠárkaZapletalová HalinaStarzyczná
SchoolofBusinessAdministrationin SchoolofBusinessAdministrationinKarviná
Karviná SilesianUniversityinOpava
SilesianUniversityinOpava Karviná,CzechRepublic
Karviná,CzechRepublic
ISSN2191-5482 ISSN2191-5490 (electronic)
SpringerBriefsinBusiness
ISBN978-3-031-23573-3 ISBN978-3-031-23574-0 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23574-0
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Acknowledgment
This research was financially supported by the student grant competition project
SGS/2020-2021: “Business Strategies of Online Trade Organizations and
Customers”.
v
About This Book
Online shopping is undergoing significant developments in the Czech Republic.
E-commerce is evolving in both food and non-food ranges. This sales method
represents an important distribution channel and reaches a significant group of
customers. Sales in online shopping have long exceeded CZK100bn per year and
are constantly growing. Last year, it was already CZK161bn, which is 15% more
thantheyearbefore,accordingtodatafromShoptet,themarketleaderinCzechand
Slovake-commerce.1
Mostpreviousresearchintheareaofonlineshoppinghasfocusedonidentifying
consumers’ attitudes towards online shopping (Kacen et al. 2013; Anesbury et al.
2015).Areasthathavebeenlessresearchedincludedeterminingthefactorsinfluenc-
ing the acceptance of online shopping technology (Kurnia and Chien 2003), the
influenceofsituationalfactors(Robinsonetal.2007;Handetal.2009),theinfluence
ofhedonicandutilitarianmotivationsinonlineshopping(Childersetal.2001),and
determining a typology of online shoppers (Conlin and Labban 2019; Hasanzade
et al. 2018). However, there is a lack of more comprehensive research in this area
focusing on identifying and reducing factors that influence customers when shop-
pingonline,andalsoaffecttheirlevelofloyalty,inthecontextofsettingcompanies’
businessstrategies.
Inthecontextofcustomers’growinginterestinonlineshopping,itisnecessaryto
focus on online shopping behaviour, as this behaviour has certain specificities that
must be taken into account by commercial enterprises when conducting online
business activities. Moreover, the issue of business enterprises’ marketing and
communication tools is closely related to this area. Identifying customer buying
behaviourandfactorsinfluencingcustomerbuyingbehaviourisastrategicissuethat
can significantly influence the business strategy setting of commercial enterprises
1PortalKURZYCZ.[online].[accessed13February2020].Availablefromhttps://www.kurzy.cz/
zpravy/525410-cesi-loni-v-e-shopech-utratili-rekordnich-161-miliard-kupovali-hlavne-
elektroniku-kosmetiku-a/
vii
viii AboutThisBook
implementingonlinebusinessactivities.Businessesmusttakeintoaccountchanges
in customer purchasing behaviour in their business strategies, primarily for the
purpose of building a long-term sustainable competitive advantage leading to the
maintenanceorgrowthoftheirmarketposition.
Customerloyaltyiscloselylinkedtocustomerbuyingbehaviourandisbecoming
a focus of attention for business partners, especially in the context of increased
competition. Customer loyalty to brands is perceived as one of the key tools for a
company’ssuccessinthemarketplace.WiththegrowinginfluenceoftheInterneton
business, it is necessary to divide customer loyalty into online and offline loyalty.
Each environment has its own specifics (Pitta et al. 2006). The rapid growth of
e-tailingbringswithitfiercercompetition,andbuildingcustomerloyaltyisincreas-
inglyimportantforcompanies’businessresults(TamimiandSebastianelli2016).It
is this increasing competition and the decline of loyalty in the online environment
thatisastrongreasonforacloserexaminationofe-loyalty(Parra-Lopezetal.2018).
Increasing the supply, especially in the online environment, increases the cus-
tomer’s power, so it is important for companies to work on building customer
relationships and strengthening loyalty. Building relationships with customers and
strengtheningcustomerloyaltyarenowadaysamongthebasicattributesofbusiness
enterprises’ strategic management and lead to a long-term strengthening of the
company’s position in the market. One of the ways to strengthen customer loyalty
is to build regional brands, through which it is possible to very effectively build
relationshipswithcustomersandthusbuildalong-termsustainablemarketposition.
This monographic publication focuses on customer behaviour and loyalty as an
important factor in optimizing the business strategies of commercial enterprises
operating in the online grocery market. The aim of the publication is to find out
how the established business strategy of a business enterprise, and the related
competitive advantage, can influence its work with customers and strengthen cus-
tomer loyalty. In connection with the set aim, the publication is divided into three
units.
Thefirstunit,whichconsistsofthefirstchapter,dealswiththeissueofstrategies
in business enterprises. This chapter is more general in nature and focuses on
specifying business enterprises’ corporate and business strategies, including the
strategies of online business enterprises. The theory defined in this chapter is
supportedbytheresultsofresearchaimedatidentifyingtheuseofspecificbusiness
strategiesinbusinessenterprisesoperatingintheCzechRepublic.
Thesecondunit,whichisthesecondchapter,focusesonthespecificbehaviourof
onlineshoppersandthedifferencesinthecaseoftheonlinefoodshoppingcategory.
Focusing on customer buying behaviour in online grocery shopping allows us to
show, in this particular segment, how buying behaviour can influence a business
enterprise’s overall strategy. Obviously, buying behaviour varies according to the
type of products purchased and the customer segment. The area of online grocery
shoppingwaschosenbecauseitisthemostemergentcategoryofe-commerce.The
presentationoftheresearchresults,whichfocusedonthetypologyofthebehaviour
of Czech customers shopping for food online, is tied to this unit’s theoretical
background.
AboutThisBook ix
Thethirdunit,consistingofthethirdandfourthchapters,dealswiththeissueof
loyalty and the area of customer relationship management in enterprises’ online
businessenvironment.Firstofall,attentionispaidto“e-loyalty”,itsessenceanda
definition of the specifications. Once again, as in the previous two chapters, the
theoryissupportedbytheresultsofresearchamongCzechcustomers.Theissueof
e-loyaltyisfurtherdealtwith inthefourthchapter,whichdealswith strengthening
loyaltythroughregionalbrands.
The publication is intended for the lay and professional public interested in the
issue of business enterprises and their strategic direction in connection with their
online format and in relation to building and strengthening customer loyalty. The
business strategy of business enterprises is not conceived here in its full possible
scopeandcomplexity;instead,itfocusesmorenarrowlyontherelationshipbetween
businessstrategy,buyingbehaviourandcustomerloyalty.
The publication was produced as an output of the scientific project from the
FacultyofBusinessandEntrepreneurship,UniversityofSilesiainOpava,Karviná,
SGS/17/2020“BusinessStrategiesofOnlineTradeOrganizationsandCustomers”.
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