NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
September 16, 1999
Not many North Dakotans buy products via the Internet now, but potential growth of electronic business (e-commerce) is in the offing, perhaps in the very near future. Two researchers conducting consumer studies at North Dakota State University say that knowing how people use the Internet, television home shopping networks and catalogs will help ensure the viability of rural retailers.
"More than half the people who responded to our survey said they use computers, and 46 percent of those computer users go on the Internet, but they're not using it to buy products, and that doesn't surprise us," says Linda Manikowske, an assistant professor in the apparel, textiles and interior design department at NDSU.
Manikowske's research partner is Holly Bastow-Shoop, professor and chair of NDSU's apparel, textiles and interior design department. They have recently completed a two-part project involving only North Dakota consumers. Funding for the project came from the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences.
Manikowske and Bastow-Shoop first conducted focus group studies with residents from the Dickinson and Lisbon areas; participants answered questions about their use of interactive technologies. With data from those sessions, they were able to develop a questionnaire that they then mailed to 1,000 randomly selected rural consumers living in 11 different North Dakota communities with populations of 2,500 or fewer residents.
The response rate to the survey was about 40 percent, Manikowske says. Respondents ranged in age from 20 to 93, 24 percent were male and 94 percent were white. More than a third of the respondents had attended college, and 15 percent had college degrees.
Of the North Dakota consumers who returned surveys, 56 percent of Internet users said they were unlikely to purchase a product via computer within the next two years, Manikowske says. Consumers in the survey said they would be more likely to use the Internet to make purchases if credit card security was insured, if product returns were easier and free, and if they felt more comfortable using the technology.
By comparison, 68 percent of survey respondents said they were unlikely to purchase a product from a TV shopping program within the next two years.
"Many consumers apparently feel that TV shopping takes too much time. It's too boring," says Bastow-Shoop.
Presently, 98 percent of survey respondents said they shop at retail stores, and about three-fourths said they use mail-order catalogs. Convenience and feeling secure about their credit card transactions were the primary reasons respondents cited for preferring in-store shopping.
"Providing your credit card number to a business on the Internet can be safer than handing your credit card over to someone in a retail setting," Bastow-Shoop says. "As comfort levels and familiarity with interactive technology grow, it's possible that shopping on the Internet could increase dramatically, and this shift in consumer behavior will make the retail sector, which already is highly competitive, all the more so."
But rural retailers won't necessarily be swept away by the tide of interactive technology, Manikowske and Bastow-Shoop say. Some remote businesses will be able to use the Internet to cater to niche markets beyond their traditional retail trade area. Another strategy could be to provide customer service using the time-honored hands-on approach.
Whether setting up a virtual store via the Internet or the bricks-and-mortar kind, Bastow-Shoop says retailers should pay attention to visual merchandising--creating a an attractive, inviting look for their business. Another comparatively inexpensive option for rural retailers is to employ alternative advertising methods, such as those possible through partnerships with state tourism or local chambers of commerce offices.
Manikowske and Bastow-Shoop are also collaborating on a five-year research effort involving 15 states. The information they collect, which will further measure North Dakotans' exposure to technology, will become part of a regional database detailing the shopping attitudes and practices of rural consumers. The purpose of the database is to help retailers use interactive media effectively, says Bastow-Shoop, who is a member of the research coordinating committee for this project.
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Sources: Linda Manikowske (701) 231-7352
Holly Bastow-Shoop (701) 231-8223
Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136