DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY – DASMARIÑAS

RESEARCH PROJECT IN SOCIOLOGY

THE PREFERENCE OF THE CBAA COLLEGE STUDENTS TO TRADITIONAL OR

ONLINE SHOPPING

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS IN SOCIOLOGY WITH

FAMILY PLANNING

JRED B. JORDAN

SEPTEMBER 2016
 INTRODUCTION

With the emergence and development of E-commerce, many young Filipino

customers are becoming attracted to buying or transacting online. They are constantly

engrossed in the internet therefore it becomes a part of their shopping traditions but not

everyone is constantly using the web browser in looking for their needs and wants.

Usually, one of the factors that make a young consumer buy online which increases

online consumerism is because of peer influence (Mohammed 2014). Young people like

college students are curious and spontaneous in seeking for their desired items. They

try out anything new or trending which makes them a target for E-commerce. Although it

is stated in Chen and Hung (2015), some products like socks are rarely purchased

online. Some businesses that have these products most likely will not engage in online

retailing but remain as a physical storefront.

The study was conducted to determine the college students’ preference to

traditional or online shopping. It will look unto the behaviors of these teenagers, the

factors that lead them to their decisions and it will proceed to discover the possibilities of

its effects on future businesses, type of workers recruited, transactions done in work

and the trend of shopping in the Philippines.

Only a few studies are present in the Filipinos online or traditional shopping

behavior. It seems that the progress of E-commerce in the country is accepted as it is

but it is not given that much thought. Most likely, people see it as a common sense that

due to the advancement of technology, the tendency is most people will do transactions

online. According to Mallapragada et al (2016), taking note in the factors that influence
online shopping and consumer management is a usual job for a company but

nevertheless important. It is essential to establish the behavior of young consumers in

order to know the latest trend in their shopping behavior and from that knowledge;

people may establish the possible effects of it to the company’s structure and the kind of

employees to hire (in example is the need for sales clerk). It will also look into the

reasons or factors that affect the college students’ decision to buy online or not.

Many online shopping websites are present in the Philippines but it is unclear to

tell if it is really the trend in buying for the college students. There are many physical

stores like malls which have high quality products and varieties to choose from. In other

studies, online shopping is becoming an everyday part of many people’s lives rather

than being a simple hobby (Doherty & Ellis-Chadwick, 2010). The question now is: do

they rarely or always engage in online shopping? Where do they feel better satisfaction

in shopping? What are the things they usually buy? Which is more convenient for them,

buying online or the traditional way?

Research Problems

1. What do the college students of CBAA De La Salle Dasmariñas prefer? Is

it online or traditional shopping?

2. What are the reasons or factors that affect their decision on buying online

or not? Which is the latest trend in buying their needs or wants?

3. What will be the effect of this in a company’s transaction and the selection

of certain employees?

Being able to answer the following research problems will give a clear view on

what the future business should focus on. It will be crucial in deciding to come up with a

virtual or hybrid sales business. It will show the reasons or factors as to the decision of

young consumers on buying a product and the effect of this in a business and the

employees needed in this type of business.

Potential Policy Contribution

It is necessary to conduct this study in order to know the preference of the

students in buying their needs and wants. Once these preferences are known then it

can be determine the possible transactions and emergence of the business types and

even the job specification an employee must have in the future. The importance of

studying the behavior of young consumers will be inherent in Marketing and partly, to

the Human Resource for the behaviors of consumers is the life of marketing trends and

also to identify the needs of recruiting people for traditional or online transactions.
Hypothesis

1) The preference of the young college consumers may depend on the factors of

availability and convenience of shopping in online or not.

2) Peer influence may be the biggest factor on buying online.

3) The creation of the Hybrid sales business may be the most appropriate

business type to produce.

4) It will be necessary to have basic computer skills in any work related to

business.

5) The option to buy online or not will depend on the product itself.

Review of Related Literature

There are only a few studies that are by far concern with the behavior of the

young Filipinos or the Filipinos in general when it comes to shopping outdoors or using

the internet. A study of Gutierrez (2008) looks through the effectiveness of in-store

media to the purchase behavior which only gives insight on one factor that affects the

decisions of consumers to buy online. In other studies that are usually conducted in

other countries, they explore the effects of the kind of product and website

characteristics that describe the shopping behavior of their people (Mallapragada et al

2016).

Mostly, people who are oriented in a certain shopping website will most likely

purchase from them without the concern for the price (Chen and Hung 2015). Also the

happier the customer in shopping will determine their behavior to it whether it is the

traditional or online. It is related to the trust of the consumers over the shopping website
which according to Mohammed (2014) is the most important determinant. It is relevant

to gain their trust since transacting online is risky in the perspective of the consumers.

It is unclear as to what drives the young consumers into buying in the traditional

or online manner. According to Panda and Swar (2014), due to the rapid growth and

development of the internet, it is becoming the main tool for communication and

business convenience. Convenience and all different factors will be determine in this

study to see the reasons as to the behavior of consumers on traditional shopping or

online. The edge of the research compared with other related studies is that it will also

see the effect of this behavior to the Philippines present business structure.
 METHODOLOGY

Research Design

The objective of this study is to determine the preference of the students

in online or traditional shopping, the reasons and factors that affect the students’

decisions in buying online or not and the possible effects of it to the company’s structure

and selection of employees. The research used a qualitative research design which

focused on the descriptive answers for the preference, factors and effects of shopping

online or traditional.

Population

The chosen respondents of the study are the students of the College of Business

Administration and Accountancy from De La Salle University – Dasmariñas. The

sampling used in this procedure was the quota sampling. The researcher deemed that

this approach was necessary in order to get a sample that is qualified and would be

able to give an accurate response and a valid result corresponding with the research.

The sample gathered from this chosen population accumulated to a total of 10

respondents.
Data Collection Methods

During the gathering of information, the researcher used an online survey

questionnaire made using google forms and was distributed to the 10 respondents. The

instrument is a researcher-made questionnaire which contains a total of 20 questions

that will answer the research problems. The researcher-made instrument was validated

by Professor Anacoreta P. Arciaga. The suggested revisions by the professor for the

questionnaire were applied by the researcher before conducting the survey. Once

validated and finalized, the researcher distributed her online questionnaires to the 10

CBAA students.

Analytical Methods

To rate each entry on each factors or reasons, the researcher will use the Likert

scale to determine which is the most influential agent that helps a student's action to

deciding to buy online or not. To arrive at a specific interpretation of the result for each

item and factor of the survey questionnaire, the researcher assigned a validated

hypothetical mean range for each scale.

 Table 1

Hypothetical Mean Range

3.26 – 4.00 Strongly Agree

2.51 – 3.25 Agree

1.76 – 2.50 Disagree

1.00 – 1.75 Strongly Disagree

0 Not Observed

Strongly agree means that this certain factor is the most influential and driving

point of a person in his or her decision in buying in the traditional way or through online

shopping. It is always considered by the person. Agree means that this factor is often

regarded in the person's decision - making. Disagree means that this certain factor is

not applicable or considered by the student. Strongly disagree means that this factor is

never or the least reason for a person to buy online or not.

Working Bibliography

Mohammed, A. B. (2014). DETERMINANTS OF YOUNG CONSUMERS'

ONLINE SHOPPING INTENTION.

Chen, N. and Hung, Y. (2015). ONLINE SHOPPING ORIENTATION AND

PURCHASE BEHAVIOR FOR HIGH-TOUCH PRODUCTS. International Journal of

Electronic Commerce Studies Vol.6, No.2, pp.187-202, 2015 doi: 10.7903/ijecs.1401

Mallapragada, G.; Chandukala, S. and Liu, Q. (2016). Exploring the Effects of

“What” (Product) and “Where” (Website) Characteristics on Online Shopping Behavior.

American Marketing Association Journal of Marketing ISSN: 0022-2429 (print) Vol. 80

(March 2016), 21–38 1547-7185 (electronic) DOI: 10.1509/jm.15.0138

Doherty, Neil F. and Ellis-Chadwick, Fiona (2010). Internet retailing: the past, the

present and the future. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management,

38(11/12) pp. 943–965.

Gutierrez, B. (2008). IN-STORE MEDIA: HOW EFFECTIVE ARE THEY?

EVIDENCE FROM THE PHILIPPINES. Philippine Management Review 2008, Vol. 15,

pp. 65-82.
 Panda, R. and Swar, B. (2014). Online Shopping: An Exploratory Study to

Identify the Determinants of Shopper Buying Behaviour. International Journal of

Business Insights & Transformation. Oct2013-Mar2014, Vol. 7 Issue 1, p52-59. 8p.

Work Plan

On September 1, 2016 the research title was approved by our professor

Anacoreta P. Arciaga. After that, the researcher look for some related literature about

the topic. At September 7, the first chapter was completed and so is the instrument. For

the whole duration on September 9 to 18, the online survey was given to ten students

from the College of Business Administration and Accountancy and the results were

gathered and interpreted by computing the frequency counts and average mean for

each factor. Lastly, a hypothetical mean range was used in order to determine the

accurate interpretation for each item on the online or traditional shopping factors.
 RESULTS

The objective of this research is to determine the preference of the CBAA

students in online or traditional shopping. In order to find their preference, factors such

as risk, convenience, information, quality, price, influence of the family or friends and

time consumption were given as a basis. The researcher conducted an online survey

using google forms to 10 respondents from CBAA students. The questionnaire used as

an instrument in this data gathering process was based from the results of the research

thesis from the related literature and had been approved by her professor. A total of

88.9% of the respondents answered that they usually buy their items in the mall and the

remaining 11.1% buy in local stores. Half of them or 50% usually buy clothes, 30% on

books or school supplies and 20% buy food or groceries. As to their frequency in buying

whether online or not, 50% answered often, 30% seldom, and both 10% buy always or

rarely.

A Likert scale was used as a basis for the measurement for the results of the

conducted survey focusing on the factors. In order to determine the mean, the

researchers computed for the average of each question based on the responses of the

respondents. The results are as follows:

Table 2

Mean of the Online Shopping Factors with a corresponding Level of Agreement

Question Mean Level of

Agreement

1. It is less risky. 1.89 Disagree

2. It is more convenient. 2.67 Agree

3. The information about the product matched the item 2.33 Disagree

itself.

4. It has better quality. 2.33 Disagree

5. The prices it offers are usually less costly. 3.00 Agree

6. My family suggests it. 2.33 Disagree

7. My friends influenced me. 2.66 Agree

8. It saves more time. 3.33 Strongly Agree

Over-all mean 2.57 Agree

In the category for the factors of online shopping, only 9 respondents answered

the intended factors. This is maybe due to the point of view of the respondent that

he/she only sees the need of the factors in buying the traditional way. On the first item,

the mean gathered resulted with 1.89 which is a ‘disagree’. The second number got a

mean of 2.67 which means it is an ‘agree’. For the third item, its mean is 2.33 that is

equivalent to ‘disagree’. Fourth question gathered a score of 2.33 which means it is a

‘disagree’. The fifth item got the second to the highest score of 3.00 that means it is an
‘agree’ or agreeable factor. Sixth item got a score of 2.33 equivalent to a ‘disagree’. For

the seventh number, the item means it has an ‘agree’ or agreeable factor due to its 2.66

score. The last item got the highest score of 3.33 which means the factor is ‘strongly

agree’.

Table 3

Mean of the Traditional Shopping Factors with a corresponding Level of Agreement

Question Mean Level of

Agreement

1. It is less risky. 3.40 Strongly Agree

2. It is more convenient. 3.00 Agree

3. The information about the product matched the item 3.70 Strongly Agree

itself.

4. It has better quality. 3.10 Agree

5. The prices it offers are usually less costly. 2.10 Disagree

6. My family suggests it. 3.40 Strongly Agree

7. My friends influenced me. 3.20 Agree

8. It saves more time. 2.10 Disagree

Over-all mean 3.00 Agree

 In the category for traditional shopping, all intended 10 respondents answered

the factors. For the number one, it results to a ‘strongly agree’ through its 3.40 mean.

The second factor got a mean of 3.00 which means it is an ‘agree’. For the third item, its

mean is 3.70 which is the highest that is equivalent to ‘strongly agree’. Fourth question

gathered a score of 3.10 which means it is an ‘agree’. The fifth item got the second to

the highest score of 2.10 that means it is an ‘disagree’ or disagreeable factor. Sixth item

got a score of 3.40 equivalent to a ‘strongly agree’. For the seventh number, the item

means it has an ‘agree’ or agreeable factor due to its 3.20 mean. The last item got a

mean of 2.10 which means the factor is ‘disagree’.

DISCUSSION

Based on the results, the preference of the CBAA students in De La Salle

University-Dasmariñas is through buying in the traditional way. Although, there is only a

little difference to their total mean, the students still prefers personal transactions with

people when buying the item they want or need.

The factor that influences them the most in buying in stores or malls is the

information about the product matches the item itself. They could easily know if the item

they want is available since they look for it themselves while if it is through online

shopping, usually they do not get the item exactly as they want it. They also see that it

is less risky than buying online. In contrast to the study of Chen and Hung (2015) which

price is not so relevant as long as there is product orientation, it is agreed upon here

that some buy online due to its lower cost.

 In agreement to the study of Mohammed (2014), when it comes to online

shopping, peer influence did get a higher mean compare to the influence of the family

and while if it is the traditional way, the family’s influence is a more influential factor than

the peer.

Even though E-commerce is present and blooming in the Philippines, it is not the

common trend for the CBAA students. The latest trend for the college students is simply

buying traditionally which may say that not all employees should have basic computer

skills when it comes to sales. It is only necessary to have good communication and

interpersonal skills.

The researcher concludes that the company’s transaction will focus on their good

interpersonal skills for selling items personally which will be the basis for selecting

employees. From the results, it is suggested to have a hybrid type of sales business but

it is not entirely focused on since the trend is buying personally.

 Appendix A

SURVEY INSTRUMENT

THE PREFERENCE OF THE CBAA COLLEGE STUDENTS TO TRADITIONAL OR

ONLINE SHOPPING

Name:

Course/Year/Section:

Shade the circle that corresponds to your answer:

1) Where do you usually buy products that you need or want?

o Local stores

o Malls

o Online shopping websites

2) What kind of products do you usually buy online or in stores/malls?

o Books or school materials

o Grocery and foods

o Cosmetics

o Clothes

o Jewels and accessories

3) How often do you buy online or in the mall/store?

o Always

o Often

o Seldom

o Rarely

Why do you prefer buying online or not?

1- Strongly Disagree

2- Disagree

3- Agree

4- Strongly Agree

Encircle or box the number that corresponds to your answer.

Online Shopping

I prefer to buy online because:

5. It is less risky. 1 2 3 4

6. It is more convenient. 1 2 3 4

7. The information about the product matched the item

1 2 3 4
itself.

8. It has better quality. 1 2 3 4

5. The prices it offers are usually less costly. 1 2 3 4

6. My family suggests it. 1 2 3 4

7. My friends influenced me. 1 2 3 4

 8. It saves more time. 1 2 3 4

Traditional Shopping

I prefer to buy on malls/stores because:

1. It is less risky. 1 2 3 4

2. It is more convenient. 1 2 3 4

3. The information about the product matched the item

1 2 3 4
itself.

4. It has better quality. 1 2 3 4

5. The prices it offers are usually less costly. 1 2 3 4

6. My family suggests it. 1 2 3 4

7. My friends influenced me. 1 2 3 4

8. It saves more time. 1 2 3 4

Do you think it's better for a shop to have both online and personal transactions?

Answer with yes or no and please specify why:

Google form used: https://docs.google.com/forms/u/0/d/1Ps3NXAHddT-

BGIW05v7rrjWwLqPPbdKjSbAqkcDKuqk/edit