A comparison of American television home shoppers based on amount of perceived risk and shopping orientation

The use of television home shopping by consumers has received limited non-proprietary attention. Based on the theory of perceived risk and related non-store research and literature, this study was designed to develop shopping profiles of TV home shoppers and to categorize TV home shoppers as high or low risk perceivers in order to examine variables that might be associated to the level of risk perceived by customers of TV home shopping retailers. Variables used included risk perception, information related to previous non-store shopping experiences, shopping orientation and demographic information. A self-administered mail questionnaire was sent to 1,495 actual TV home shoppers. Data collected from 125 respondents were analyzed using frequencies, univariate analyses, Kruskal-Wallis factor analysis and Cochran–Mantel-Haenszel analyses. Low risk perceivers accounted for 61.6 percent of respondents while high risk perceivers accounted for 38.4 percent. Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance was used to test for significant differences between high and low risk perceivers in regard to several variables. Significant findings were supported by the use of Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel analyses. Significant differences were found between high and low risk perceivers and the number of TV home shopping orders placed during the past year. Low risk perceivers placed more orders than high risk perceivers. Also significant were differences in the dollar amounts of most expensive orders. Low risk perceivers spent more on a single order than high risk perceivers. Significant differences were not found between high and low risk perceivers and the following: dollar amounts of first and most recent TV home shopping purchases, the number of hours TV home shoppers watched TV home shopping shows before placing their first order, and their frequency of catalog purchases. Results of factor analysis yielded four shopper types: recreational, methodical, innovative, and price-conscious. A significant difference was found between high and low risk perceivers who were classified as recreational shoppers but not the other shopper types.