Citation: Helmi, A.; Komaladewi, R.;
Sarasi, V.; Yolanda, L. Characterizing
Young Consumer Online Shopping
Style: Indonesian Evidence.
Sustainability 2023, 15, 3988. https://
doi.org/10.3390/su15053988
Academic Editors: Salah S. Hassan,
Dahlia El-Manstrly, Melika
Husic-Mehmedovic, Ahmed H. Tolba
and Abeer A. Mahrous
Received: 28 December 2022
Revised: 12 February 2023
Accepted: 20 February 2023
Published: 22 February 2023
Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
sustainability
Article
Characterizing Young Consumer Online Shopping Style:
Indonesian Evidence
Arief Helmi * , Rita Komaladewi, Vita Sarasi and Ledy Yolanda
Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung 40132, Indonesia
* Correspondence: arief.helmi@unpad.ac.id
Abstract: Young people make up the majority of online shoppers in Indonesia. The objectives of this
study are to characterize the consumer decision-making styles of young internet users and to create
a profile of their online shopping styles. A quantitative research approach was used to accomplish
the research objectives. The primary data for the study were gathered by sending questionnaires via
social media to consumers from Generation Z and millennials who buy goods through e-commerce in
Indonesia; 400 people responded. The survey questions were based on the consumer style inventory
(CSI). Seven characteristics of Indonesian young consumers’ online shopping styles are identified
through factor analysis. According to the findings of this study, young consumers have a hedonic
online shopping style in which they prefer high-quality products, seek entertainment when shopping,
and are impulsive. Young consumers are obsessed with novelty and branded goods. They frequently
have difficulty selecting online stores and products, but they are loyal to specific stores and brands.
This study fills the gap by providing a more detailed understanding of the online shopping styles,
with the implications of considering shopping styles when promoting the products and designing
the user interface and user experience of an e-commerce store.
Keywords: consumer behavior; young consumer; online shopping; shopping style
JEL Classification: D12; M31
1. Introduction
In Indonesia, internet use has increased dramatically. According to a recent survey,
64.8% of Indonesians use the internet regularly [1]. Online purchases in particular continue
to rise as internet technology adoption and penetration levels rise [2]. Indeed, finding
product information and making purchases online have grown in popularity [3].
Online shopping has become a trend for customers in Indonesia to purchase products.
Some Indonesian consumers believe that patterns of online product sales have assimilated
into their way of life [4]. Major benefits of virtual stores include the potential for time and
money savings, a wide selection of products, convenient delivery and payment options,
and stress-free gift-buying on holiday and pre-holiday days [5].
There are few studies that have been documented that attempt to integrate research
findings across studies from a theoretical marketing and consumer behavior perspective,
despite the growing attention and interest surrounding online consumer behavior over
the past ten years [6]. Consumer behavior patterns refer to decision-making processes
and styles, and they are largely conceptualized [7]. Online shopping behavior is the act
of purchasing goods or services through a website, which is comparable to traditional
shopping behavior [8].
Decision-making, according to [9], is one of the most difficult processes that humans
must go through when thinking because it requires deciding between two or more options
for goods or services. A purchase decision, according to [10], is the consumer’s behavior
pattern that determines and adheres to a decision-making process. The consumer decision-
making style methodology, or consumer style inventory (CSI), was developed by [11].
Sustainability 2023, 15, 3988. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15053988 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability