– The purpose of this study is to identify key motivations for adolescents using and shopping on the internet, and to segment the sample based on these motivations.
– This research occurs in two phases: a qualitative phase involving interviews with adolescents aged 12-15 and parents of adolescents in this age group; then, a quantitative phase using a survey (n=360) to measure the motivations and other key profiling variables identified in the qualitative phase and the literature review.
– The research identifies five basic motivations and two shopping motivations influencing adolescent online usage and shopping. Next, a cluster analysis is conducted using the motivations developed and is used to identify segments of adolescent internet users and shoppers, which are subsequently described.
– The sample of adolescents was taken from a town in the southeast USA. Caution should be taken when generalizing to adolescents outside this region.
– This research identifies for internet marketers the different types of adolescent internet users and shoppers. It also recognizes key motivations that marketers should consider when targeting adolescents.
– This research is the first to identify important segments of adolescents based on their motivations for online usage and shopping, and builds on a limited stream of research relative to adolescents and internet shopping.
