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EFFECTS OF MOBILE COMMERCE PLATFORMS ON
PURCHASE OF SKINCARE PRODUCTS FOR FEMALE
MILLENNIAL CONSUMERS IN BANGKOK
BY
MISS JINJUTHA HEMATULIN
AN INDEPENDENT STUDY SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL
FULFILLMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF SCIENCE PROGRAM IN MARKETING
(INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM)
FACULTY OF COMMERCE AND ACCOUNTANCY
THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY
ACADEMIC YEAR 2018
COPYRIGHT OF THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY
Ref. code: 25616002040175OYI
EFFECTS OF MOBILE COMMERCE PLATFORMS ON
PURCHASE OF SKINCARE PRODUCTS FOR FEMALE
MILLENNIAL CONSUMERS IN BANGKOK
BY
MISS JINJUTHA HEMATULIN
AN INDEPENDENT STUDY SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL
FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE
OF MASTER OF SCIENCE PROGRAM IN MARKETING
(INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM)
FACULTY OF COMMERCE AND ACCOUNTANCY
THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY
ACADEMIC YEAR 2018
COPYRIGHT OF THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY
Ref. code: 25616002040175OYI
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Independent Study Title EFFECTS OF MOBILE COMMERCE
PLATFORMS ON PURCHASE OF
SKINCARE PRODUCTS FOR FEMALE
MILLENNIAL CONSUMERS IN BANGKOK
Author Miss Jinjutha Hematulin
Degree Master of Science Program in Marketing
(International Program)
Major Field/Faculty/University Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy
Thammasat University
Independent Study Advisor Associate Professor James E. Nelson, Ph.D.
Academic Year 2018
ABSTRACT
The research study of “Effects of mobile commerce platforms on purchase of
skincare products for female millennial consumers in Bangkok” aims to explore the
effects that mobile commerce platforms may have on consumer purchasing intention.
Both exploratory research and descriptive research were conducted in order to achieve
all of the objectives. To specify, five in-depth interviews were done prior to the launch
of survey questionnaires. Then, 140 respondents were recruited to participate in the
online survey and collected data was analyzed by using the Statistical Package for
Social Science (SPSS).
The result of the research shows that Thai female millennials, who age between
18-34 years, were divided into three segments which are 1) Fun seeker, 2) Regular
shopper, and 3) Bargain-hunter. Additionally, these three groups are also different in
terms of factors influencing perception of value for money when they buy skincare
product. The two factors that trigger the perception of value for money are product
rating and quality of the product. However, without segmentation, there are no
differences between customers who saw Lazada’s screenshot and Shopee’s screenshots
on the perception of value for money as it is not statistically significant. The result also
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indicates the differences between Lazada and Shopee based on customers’ past
experience.
As a result, the research can be useful for marketers, sellers, and M-commerce
platform owners. Nowadays, it is almost inevitable for brands not to sell their products
through M-commerce and E-commerce. Thus, it is critical for marketers to understand
and keep track of consumer trends and factors affecting consumer purchasing intention
in order to set the right marketing strategies.
Keywords: M-Commerce, Thai female millennials perception, Effects of mobile
commerce.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I would like to like to express my gratitude to my dearest
research advisor, Associate Professor James E. Nelson, Ph.D. Without his support and
assistance throughout the entire independent study period, my research study would not
be conducted successfully. Prof. James has dedicated his time and effort to help me
whenever I ran into a trouble spot or have a question.
Additionally, I would like to thanks my fellow MIM classmates, all my
supporters, and colleagues for their physical and moral support throughout my entire
study at Thammasat University. Their contributions and supports are highly appreciated
and recognized.
Lastly, I owe my deepest gratitude to my beloved mother who is the strongest
and kindest woman I have ever known, my boyfriend and my sweet family for their
unconditional supports and encouragements. Without them, I could not have
accomplished this research study and Master’s Degree.
Miss Jinjutha Hematulin
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ABSTRACT (1)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (3)
TABLE OF CONTENTS (4)
LIST OF TABLES (7)
LIST OF FIGURES (8)
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Introduction to the study 1
1.2 Research objectives 2
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 3
2.1 Thailand mobile shopping landscape 3
2.2 Thai millennials profile 3
2.3 Perceived value for money 4
2.4 Academic implications: consumer buying decision process 4
CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 7
3.1 Research design 7
3.2 Exploratory research 7
3.3 Descriptive research 8
3.4 Sampling plan 8
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3.5 Data analysis plan 10
3.6 Theoretical framework 10
3.7 Limitations of the study 11
CHAPTER 4 DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS 12
4.1 Key finding from exploratory research 12
4.2 Key findings from descriptive research 14
4.2.1 Summary of respondents’ demographic profile 14
4.2.2 Factor analysis based on respondents’ behaviors and past experiences 16
4.2.3 K-mean cluster analysis 17
4.2.4 Segmentation profile 20
4.2.5 Price perception toward skincare product 23
4.2.6 Purchasing behavior 25
4.2.7 Differences between Lazada and Shopee based on consumer perception of
selected factors. 25
4.2.8 Differences between perception of each segment and significant factors 26
4.2.9 Factor analysis on important factors of M-commerce based on shoppers’
past experiences 27
4.2.10 Differences between Lazada and Shopee based on consumer perception of
key factors 28
4.2.11 Factor analysis on influential factor of platform identities 29
4.2.12 Correlation between influential factors between perception of value for
money 29
4.2.13 Differences of Lazada and Shopee on perception of value for money 30
4.2.14 Differences of key influential factors between each segment 31
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 33
5.1 Research summary 33
5.2 Recommendations 35
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REFERENCES 36
APPENDICES 39
Appendix A: In-depth interview questionnaires 40
Appendix B: Survey questionnaires 41
Appendix C: Screenshots of Lazada and Shopee 49
Appendix D: Multiple comparison table using Post Hoc test 50
BIOGRAPHY 51
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LIST OF TABLES
Tables Page
3.1 Sample size 9
4.1 In-depth interviews' respondents profile 12
4.2 Respondents' demographic profile (n=140) 14
4.3 Summary of eight variables derived from factor analysis 16
4.4 K-Mean cluster analysis (n=155) 17
4.5 Mean comparison of three factors and three segments using One-Way ANOVA
analysis (n=155) 19
4.6 Demographic profile of all segments (n=140) 21
4.7 Comparison of pricing perception among three segments (n=140) 23
4.8 Differences between segments based on consumer perception of price (n=155) 24
4.9 One-Way ANOVA between segments and pricing perception (n=155) 24
4.10 Purchasing behavior (n=155) 25
4.11 Differences between Lazada and Shopee based on consumer perception of
selected factors (n=140) 26
4.12 Differences between perception of each segment and significant factors (n=140)
27
4.13 Factor analysis on important factors of M-commerce based on shoppers’ past
experiences 27
4.14 Differences between Lazada and Shopee based on consumer perception of key
factors 28
4.15 Factor analysis on influential factor of platform identities 29
4.16 Correlation between key factors and perception of value for money (n=140),
(95% CI, p-value ≤ 0.05) 30
4.17 Differences of Lazada and Shopee on perception of value for money (n=140) 30
4.18 Differences of key influential factors between each segment (n=140) 31
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figures Page
2.1 The consumer buying process (Jones, 2014) 5
3.1 Research Framework 7
3.2 Structure of a data analysis plan 10
3.3 Conceptual framework 11
4.1 K-Means Cluster analysis (n=155) 18
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction to the study
M-commerce, also known as mobile commerce, is the term used to describe the
buying and selling of goods and services over wireless handheld devices such cellular
telephone, smartphone, or personal digital assistants (PDAs). M-commerce is
considered as part of E-commerce as they share the similar objectives of buying and
selling with the help of the internet. The growth of M-commerce has been outpacing E-
commerce in many countries across the world due to the fact that M-commerce enables
users ease of buying and selling in many aspects (Ho 2018; Tokareva 2018).
First, M-commerce offers users the choices of convenience and mobility for
every transaction being made online. E-commerce activities can only be done if users
have a computer or laptop with them plus the help of the internet. With M-commerce,
users can do online transactions from anywhere with just a few taps from their phones.
Second, M-commerce enables location tracking which will benefit shoppers and
sellers at the same time. Shoppers get the personalized recommendations and
promotions of the products/services they are interested. On the other hand, sellers gain
insights from customer preferences and behaviors which will allow sellers to have a
better operational plan to serve customers need.
Third, security is an essential factor that makes users hesitate to shop through
E-commerce. Most of the transactions take place online require credit or debit card for
the payment process. People are still concerned about security and privacy of sharing
their credit/debit card information. Moreover, the number of the credit card holders is
considerably low in many countries including Thailand. Unlike E-commerce, M-
commerce offers more secure and extensive payment methods such as face ID, touch
ID, or passcode that provide multi-level authentication.
With new economic model announced by the Thai government, Pitpreecha
(2018) mentioned that Thailand 4.0 policy opens an excellent opportunity for
businesses in Thai E-commerce market. This new economic model aims to create a
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value–based economy in many aspects, especially technology. From all of the
advantages mentioned above and the fact that M-commerce is part of the E-commerce
market, the growth of M-commerce will inevitably affect businesses and Thailand
economy as a whole. However, the existing studies nearly focus on M-commerce
adoption or M-commerce switching intentions. None of them has studied how the M-
commerce platform might affect consumer purchasing intention.
Findings in this proposal will show new data and essential information that
might be useful for marketers and platform owners. It is almost inevitable for brands
not to sell their products through M-commerce and E-commerce. Hence, it is crucial
for marketers to understand and keep track of consumer trends and factors affecting
consumer purchasing intention in order to set the right marketing strategies.
1.2 Research objectives
The proposal is a study of a contemporary topic in applied marketing on the
subject area of technology which address business opportunities for platform owners
and marketers to develop effective marketing strategies. The objectives of the study are
as follows.
1. To identify key factors affecting purchasing intention of each female
millennial segment.
• To determine mobile shopper segments of millennials female by
demographic and behavior.
• To understand the relationships among a set of key factors based on
shoppers’ past experiences.
o To identify key differences between Lazada and Shopee based
on consumer perception of selected factors.
2. To determine which platform identities trigger the perception of value for
money among each segment.
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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Thailand mobile shopping landscape
The advancement of technology makes one’s life easier in many different ways,
especially in mobile shopping. With M-Commerce, people can purchase goods from
anywhere they want without traveling to the store. Regarding a study (U.S. Department
of Commerce, 2018), M-commerce is actively growing segment in Thailand as 52% of
online transactions take place via mobile devices. 71% of smartphone users in Thailand
shop online an average of twice a month and 90% those group intend to shop online in
the future. Additionally, a study shows that Thailand is ranked number one among
countries in Southeast Asia with 58% of mobile commerce penetration rate (Lim,
2018).
In terms of smartphone usage per day, Thailand is ranked the highest in
Southeast Asia at 4.9 hours per day while other Southeast Asian countries spend 3.9
hours per day on average (Google-Temasek e-Conomy SEA , 2017). Thailand M-
commerce market growth is expected to soar to more than E-commerce market, and
both markets are dominated by two platforms - Lazada and Shopee (Thai Civil Rights
and Investigative Journalism, 2018). Currently, Lazada leads Thailand B2C E-
commerce market, followed by Shopee as of October 2018. However, Shopee can
defeat Lazada in two areas - AppStore application ranking and number of Instagram
followers (P., 2018). On 9.9 shopping campaign, beauty and health are top-selling
product categories in both Shopee and Lazada. For mobile shopper profile, the report
shows millennials are the top spenders (“ลาซาดา้” 2018; Marketing Oops 2018).
2.2 Thai millennials profile
Technically, Millennials and Gen Y are referring to the same group of people.
They were born between the early 1980s to early 2000s (Wikipedia, 2018). Millennials
play a critical role in Thailand E-commerce market, as the record shows that they spend
time on the internet the most for three consecutive years and they account for nearly
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30% of Thai population (ETDA, 2017). Thai millennials are very tech-savvy and
dependent on the community.
In terms of spending, Thai Gen Y is described as a big spender, smart shopper
and like convenience and speed comparing to American and European (Economic
Intelligence Center, 2014). All in all, M-commerce platforms, retailers and brands
should pay close attention to millennials as they are essential consumer segment.
2.3 Perceived value for money
Perceived value is a term that quite subjective because it can only be measured
by qualitative factors, for example, emotion, social, and culture. It was described as the
worth of product or service in the customer’s mind (Mills, 2018). Moreover, Sweeneya
& Soutarb (2011, p.206) stated the difference of perceived value and satisfaction that
“value perceptions can be generated without the product or service being bought or
used, while satisfaction depends on experience of having used the product or service”.
In addition, The Department of finance (2011) in the UK has defined the term
value for money as the advantages that beneficial to customers the most from the
combination of cost, quality and sustainability to meet their requirement. As a result,
perceived value for money can be varied because of individual judgment. One person
may perceive the quality of the product differently than others if the price of the product
is fixed.
2.4 Academic implications: consumer buying decision process
According to consumer buying decision process (Burger et al., 2011), the
consumer has to go through six stages including problem recognition, information
search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, purchase, and post-purchase
evaluation but not all of the steps are followed (See Figure 1 for the consumer buying
process). In the information search stage, the consumer generally finds information
from two sources which are internal and external search. The internal search comes
from consumer’s past experiences or memories about the needed product or service.
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On the other hand, the external search comes into play when a consumer has no
experience or no memory of the product.
At this point, consumer relies solely on searched information sources such as
website, word of mouth, advertisement, comparison shopping, etc. This searched
information provides consumer possible alternatives while they continue to the
evaluation of alternatives stage. Hence, brand and information on the package may not
be crucial anymore if consumer buying goods online. However, information and detail
display in the M-commerce platforms are things that businesses should take into
consideration because platform identities may lead a consumer to the buying stage. A
consumer purchasing decision may depend on the given information in the platform if
a consumer has no experience over the product.
Figure 2.1 The consumer buying process (Jones, 2014)
A summary of the literature, (1) research on the effects of mobile commerce
platforms, especially for Lazada and shopee, and Thai female millennials is quite
limited, (2) research in other countries often examines the adoption of mobile
commerce or switching intention in general but none of the studies examine the
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perception of value for money toward particular platforms - Lazada and Shopee, and
(3) research on mobile commerce platforms and Thai female millennials has not
examined how platforms identities may influence customer buying decision. The
contribution of the proposed study covers in these three areas.
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CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research design
In this chapter, the research methods that have been taken in this study were
explained in sequential order to achieve all of the research objectives. The study
conducted in two steps which are qualitative and quantitative research.
As shown in Figure 3.1, the research framework starts with secondary research
followed by the in-depth interview and the online survey. After that, the collected data
was analyzed to gain the insights from targeted respondents.
Figure 3.1 Research Framework
3.2 Exploratory research
For secondary research, numerous online credible sources such as websites,
articles, and blogs had been searched in order to complete the secondary research prior
to this proposal. The purposes of the secondary research study were to understand B2C
M-commerce market environment in general and in Thailand, factors that shoppers
consider when buying things online, and millennials shopping behaviors. Moreover,
varieties of academic journals and theories were studied to use as underlying
assumptions of platform identities that could drive mobile shoppers’ intention to
purchase.
For in-depth interviews, five in-depth interviews were conducted until there
were no new insights from the target respondents during mid of January 2019. The
duration of the interview took around 20 minutes for each of the interviews. The in-
depth interviews aim to explore the behaviors of the respondents. All of the insights
Secondary dataIn-depth interview
Online survey
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and information acquire at this stage was used to further develop the questionnaires.
Example questions of in-depth interviews can be found in Appendix A: In-depth
interview questionnaires.
3.3 Descriptive research
A consumer survey was conducted online for descriptive research. The survey
was divided into three sections as following.
Firstly, lists of adjectives were exploited to create semantic differential scale.
The main objective of this part is to compare factors influencing millennial female
purchasing intention between Lazada and Shopee. Hence, each adjective represented
factor influencing mobile shopper purchasing intention.
Secondly, the screenshots of skincare product display in Lazada and Shopee
were used in the questionnaires to measure the perception of value for money (See
Appendix C: for Screenshots of Lazada and Shopee). The respondents saw either a
screenshot for Lazada or Shopee (not both) then they rated score ranging from one to
seven whether they agree with the given statements after seeing the screenshot picture.
Additionally, the open-ended question was asked following the product screenshot in
order to know the perceived price point of each respondent. The product screenshots
display in the questionnaires came from the identical product to prevent the fact that
brand reputation and preference may affect the result.
Lastly, demographic and behavioral related questions were included in the
survey to gain personal insights. This information was useful to form consumer
segments among the respondents in the later stage.
3.4 Sampling plan
Primary data of this proposal comes from qualitative and quantitative data. The
quantitative data was collected from the sample size of 150 people through the online
survey during February 2, 2019 to February March 2, 2019. For qualitative data, a total
of five in-depth interviews were conducted preceding the online survey during January
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2019. Table 3.1 below shows the detail of sample size by data collection method. Each
method was pretested in order to assess the clarity of the questionnaires and the needed
time to complete the survey.
Table 3.1 Sample size
Data collection method Research type Pilot study Sample size
In-depth interview Exploratory 2 5 people
Online survey Descriptive 10 150 people
In addition to the target population, the study aims to recruit Thai females who
live in Bangkok and age between 18-34. This age range is set to cover millennials or
Gen Y group because they are the focus of this study. Regarding criteria, the
respondents must pass all of the screening questions in order to participate in the
surveys and interviews. Additionally, target respondents have to be active users of
Lazada and Shopee which mean this group of people had shopped in Lazada or Shopee
at least once in the past 12 months.
The recruitment method of this study used non-probability sampling to select
the sample. Due to time and budget constraints, convenience sampling was solely used
as a means of sampling selection. The target respondents were recruited through
acquaintances and personal contacts to participate in the online survey. The offline
survey was not conducted in this study as the online survey is more suitable to target
respondents’ behaviors. The survey was published on social media channels such as
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LINE, and WhatsApp. In addition to the alignment of
respondents’ behavior, conducting the survey online was able to reach target sample
size in short period of time due to each social media channel allowed users to advertise
their post to increase the number of viewers which eventually resulted in the higher
response rate in the survey. The central department store gift cards or other gifts of
equivalent value were given away to 10 randomly selected respondents to encourage
people to participate in the survey.
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3.5 Data analysis plan
The primary data, that collected from five in-depth interviews, was used in the
survey questionnaires. Then, the descriptive research data collected from 140
respondents who completed the survey was screened for error, coded, and analyzed.
The data analysis for descriptive research in the study was done using the Statistical
Package for the Social Science (SPSS). Various statistical analysis methods were used
to examine the data such as frequencies, percentages, regression, correlation, cluster
analysis, ANOVA, comparing result between each segment. The structure of data
analysis plan is shown in Figure 3.2.
Figure 3.2 Structure of a data analysis plan
3.6 Theoretical framework
In order to achieve all research objectives, the conceptual framework was
created to illustrate the relationship between key variables in the research in Figure 3.3.
Intention to purchase and perception of value for money were set as dependent
variables. Besides, demographics, behaviors, past experiences, and platform identities
were set for independent variables.
Statistical method
Key research variables
Data analysis objectives
Research objectives
Effects of mobile commerce platforms on purchase skincare products for Thai
millennials female
To identify key factors affecting purchasing intention
of each millennial female segment.
To form consumer
segment among sample
IV: Demographic and behavior
Cluster analysis
To learn differences
between each segement
IV: Past experiences
One-Way ANOVA
To determine which platform identities trigger perception of value for money among each
segment.
To learn differences
between each segemnt
IV: Platform identities
One-Way ANOVA
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Figure 3.3 Conceptual framework
3.7 Limitations of the study
This biggest obstacle for this research study was the numbers of respondent.
The research aims to have at least 150 respondents. From 338 respondents who
participated in the survey only 155 respondents passed all the screening questions.
However, only 140 respondents have completed the survey until the last question. This
research was conducted based on convenient sampling with limited time and budget.
The study examined female millennials’ opinion toward one product category which
was skincare. The population of interest, female millennials, is a rather homogeneous
group in terms of demographics. Thus, the result of this study shows little difference
between each segment and can only represent the overview of female millennials in
Bangkok area not the entire population of Thai female millennials.
Effects of mobile commerce platform in
purchasing skincare
Intention to purchase
Demographic
Behavior
Past experiences
Perception of value for money
Platform identities
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CHAPTER 4
DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS
4.1 Key finding from exploratory research
Data regarding Thai female millennials’ insights related to purchasing goods
and services through the mobile commerce platforms Lazada and Shopee were
collected by the completion of the in-depth interviews with five female millennials.
Table 4.1 In-depth interviews' respondents profile
The insights were summarized as follows:
1. The interviewees stated that they prefer to shop with Shopee more than Lazada
because it has the activities that give away Shopee coins that can be converted
to discount coupons. Another reason is that most of the respondents’ friends
also participated in Shopee marketing activities. Based on their purchasing
behaviors, all respondents can be divided roughly into two groups, which are
regular shoppers and irregular shoppers.
Regular shoppers: This group of people tend to participate in most of the
platform activities in exchange for discount coupons.
No Name-Surname Age Occupation
Mobile
Shopping
frequency
(times/month)
1 Ms.Wipawee
Lertmaraiman 28 Senior specialist 4
2 Ms.Onpimon
Chavalitcheevin 26 Freelancer 1
3 Ms.Wenika Ongpalanupat 30 Credit Analyst 3
4 Ms.Awassada Jitjang 28 Buyer 5
5 Ms.Panvard Binaree 27 Planner 3
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“I visited the Shopee application for seven consecutive days in order to get
Shopee coins and also joined other activities that give away Shopee coins as
well.” - Awassada
“I participated in Shopee Shake activities every day as well as most of my
friends and colleagues. It was like a tradition for us to play this game together
during lunch time.”
- Panvard
Irregular shoppers: This is the group of people that only buy goods when they
need them. They are not sensitive to price and promotions compared to the
previous group.
“I only shopped online and visited the application when I needed to buy
something. I did not care about the discount coupons as long as I think the price
is acceptable.” - Onpimon
“I have never participated in any of the platform activities to get the discounts
or coupons.” - Onpimon
2. All interviewees that preferred Shopee shared that they did not like the
refunding process because it took a long time. Shopee refunds shoppers by
giving back Shopee coins, which are not a real currency, but can be used only
if a shopper buys goods or services from the platform in the next purchase.
“I once transferred money with the wrong amount to a seller on the Shopee
application. It took me nearly three months until I got refund.” - Onpimon
“One thing that I don’t like about Shopee is its refund process. After I returned
the goods, I got a refund in Shopee coins, not the real currency. I don’t feel like
I really got a refund because I cannot use this money to buy things outside of
Shopee.” - Wipawee
3. Most of the respondents buy fashion clothing and skincare products from
Lazada and Shopee more frequently than other goods.
4. Before buying any goods, respondents rely on the reviews, comments, and
rating of the product. This helps them determine the better purchasing decision
regarding a particular product. However, some of them feel that sometimes the
reviews seem to be fake and not reliable.
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“I will make a purchase only if the product has recent comments with pictures
and has a rating that is higher than 4 stars.” - Wenika
“Since I cannot discriminate between the fake and the real goods, I prefer to
buy goods from the official store under the platform and read reviews of the
product before buying it.” – Wipawee
In conclusion, most of the respondents associated the perception of value for
money with the price of the product. However, price judgment is varied among
respondents. One may feel the product is cheap by comparing the price and picture of
the product, while others feel that the same product is expensive. In addition to price,
several factors such as comment, quality of the product and product rating are factors
that related with perception of value for money as respondents revealed that they took
these factors into consideration when they made any purchase.
4.2 Key findings from descriptive research
4.2.1 Summary of respondents’ demographic profile
After all responses were collected, the data was analyzed using the
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). From the 140 respondents, the
majority of these female millennials are single (51.4%), are working in a private
company (87%) and have a bachelor’s degree (57.9%). Moreover, 29.1% earn a salary
ranging from 15,000 THB to 30,000 THB per month, and 27.85% have a monthly
income between 30,001 THB to 45,000 THB. Lastly, 70% of the respondents own an
iPhone, while the remaining respondents use Android. Additionally, the majority of the
respondents are inclined to shop via Shopee (53%), whereas 28% shop via Lazada, and
19% shop via both of these two platforms equally.
Table 4.2 Respondents' demographic profile (n=140)
Respondents' demographic profile Count Column N
%
Marriage
status
Single 73 52.14
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Respondents' demographic profile Count Column N
%
In a relationship 43 30.70
Complicated 6 4.29
Married 18 12.90
Divorce 0 0.00
Occupation Student 11 7.90
Government officer 14 10.00
Office worker 87 62.10
Business owner 10 7.10
Freelancer 6 4.30
Unemployed 5 3.60
State enterprise officer 7 5.00
Others 0 0.00
Income Less than 15,000 THB 8 5.70
15,000-30,000 THB 41 29.10
30,001-45,000 THB 39 27.85
45,001-60,000 THB 27 19.10
60,001-75,000 THB 12 8.50
75,001-90,000 THB 5 3.50
More than 90,000 THB 8 5.70
Education Lower than high school 0 0.00
High School 1 0.70
College 0 0.00
Bachelor's degree 81 57.90
Master's degree 58 41.40
Doctorate / PHD 0 0.00
Others 0 0.00
Phone
operating
iOS (iPhone) 99 70.20
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Respondents' demographic profile Count Column N
%
system
Android (Samsung, LG, Sony, Oppo,
Vivo etc.)
40 28.57
Both 1 0.70
4.2.2 Factor analysis based on respondents’ behaviors and past
experiences
To begin with, factor analysis was conducted in order to determine
the key factors that well represent the respondents’ M-commerce shopping behavior
and past experiences. After using Promax rotation with Kaiser Normalization to
identify the key factors, the results show that the eight statements can be grouped into
three factors – Discount, Past experience, and Functional benefit.
Table 4.3 Summary of eight variables derived from factor analysis
Factor 1
Discount
Factor 2
Past
experience
Factor 3
Functional
benefit
Most of the time, I shop online items from
my mobile phone 0.85
I had a good experience with my recent
purchase 0.75
I am not only shop for myself but I shop for
my friends/family 0.37 0.41
I turn on the notification to receive the latest
news and promotions (Shopee/Lazada) 0.68
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Factor 1
Discount
Factor 2
Past
experience
Factor 3
Functional
benefit
I will suspend my transaction if there’s no
free delivery coupon 0.59
I think the discounted coupon is very hard to
find 0.84
I will participate in the platforms activities
in order to get the discount 0.78
I compare the price with other platforms
before I buy 0.31 0.64
4.2.3 K-mean cluster analysis
Cluster analysis was conducted based on the three factors that had
been identified from the factor analysis. In order to group the respondents that have
similar factor scores, hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted first in order to
examine the differences of the coefficients followed by K-means cluster analysis. From
this analysis, it was concluded that female millennial mobile shoppers can be divided
into three segments: Fun seekers, Regular shoppers, and Bargain-hunters.
Table 4.4 K-Mean cluster analysis (n=155)
Segment
1
Fun
seeker
Segment
2
Regular
shopper
Segment
3
Bargain-
hunter
Discount
- I turn on the notification to receive the latest
news and promotions (Shopee/Lazada)
- I will suspend my transaction if there’s no free
delivery coupon
0.60 -0.65 0.21
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Segment
1
Fun
seeker
Segment
2
Regular
shopper
Segment
3
Bargain-
hunter
- I will participate in the platforms activities in
order to get the discount
Past experience
- Most of the time, I shop online items from my
mobile phone
- I had a good experience with my recent
purchase
0.71 -0.92 0.37
Functional benefit
- I think the discounted coupon is very hard to
find
- I compare the price with other platforms before
I buy
-0.94 -0.48 0.89
Figure 4.1 K-Means Cluster analysis (n=155)
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Segment 1: Fun Seeker (n=35, 23% of total respondents)
Among all segments of female millennial mobile shoppers, this is the group
of people who are willing to participate in platform activities in order to receive
discounts and like to receive news and updates from the platform. Moreover, they have
had good experiences from their past purchases, but they refuse to purchase goods if
there is no free delivery coupon. Additionally, they have the least interest in comparing
prices when buying goods and do not have any problem when searching for the discount
coupons on the platform. Thus, this group can be attracted by promotions and
advertisements.
Segment 2: Regular shopper (n=54, 35% of total respondents)
From the results of the K-means cluster analysis, it can be inferred that this
segment has no significant factors when shopping for skincare products via M-
commerce platforms. They are not concerned about discounts, past experience, and
functional benefit when shopping via M-commerce.
Segment 3: Bargain-hunter (n=66, 43% of total respondents)
This segment is the one that is functional benefit-oriented. They are
interested in all factors including discounts, past experience of using the platform, and
the functional benefit. Among of all three segments, they are most likely to compare
prices prior to their purchase compared to the other segments.
From the ANOVA analysis, it can be concluded that all three independent
variables have a significant impact on determining the clusters. The three factors are
significantly different between the groups, with p-value less than 0.05.
Table 4.5 Mean comparison of three factors and three segments using One-Way
ANOVA analysis (n=155)
Sum of
Squares df
Mean
Square F Sig.
Discount Between Groups 38.24 2 19.12 25.10 0.00
Within Groups 115.77 152 0.76
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Sum of
Squares df
Mean
Square F Sig.
Total 154.00 154
Past
Experience
Between Groups 71.99 2 36.00 66.72 0.00
Within Groups 82.01 152 0.54
Total 154.00 154
Functional
benefit
Between Groups 95.28 2 47.64 123.32 0.00
Within Groups 58.72 152 0.39
Total 154.00 154
4.2.4 Segmentation profile
There are 140 respondents who passed the screening questions and
completed the survey. The respondents are all females who live in Bangkok and are
aged between 18 - 34 years. The demographic profile of all segments is quite similar in
terms of marital status, occupation, income, and education as displayed in Table 4.6.
Fun seekers: Most of the sample in this group are single females,
which accounted for 14 respondents (50%). A total of 18 respondents (64.29%) are
office workers. The largest segment of this group, 8 respondents (28.57%), have a
monthly income ranging from 15,000 THB to 30,000 THB. The highest education level
of this segment is a bachelor’s degree with 17 respondents (60.71%).
Regular shoppers: The majority of this segment are single
(46.94%). Most of the people in this group, 25 respondents (51.02%), work as an office
worker. The highest personal income range is 15,000 to 30,000 THB. A bachelor’s
degree is the highest education level of this segment (55.1%).
Bargain-hunters: This segment is mostly single women (57.14%).
Like the other segments, this group of people mostly comprises office workers
(69.84%). Their highest monthly income range is 30,001 to 45,000 THB, which is
considerably higher than the other two groups. Thirty-seven respondents (58.73%), the
majority of people in this group, hold a bachelor’s degree.
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Table 4.6 Demographic profile of all segments (n=140)
Respondents' demographic
profile
3 Segments (n=140)
1
Fun seeker
(n=28)
2
Regular
shopper (n=49)
3
Bargain-hunter
(n=63)
Count
Column
Total N
%
Cou
nt
Column
Total N
%
Count
Column
Total N
%
Marriage
status
Single 14 50.00 23 46.94 36 57.14
In a relationship 7 25.00 16 32.65 20 31.75
Complicated 3 10.71 3 6.12 0 0.00
Married 4 14.29 7 14.29 7 11.11
Divorce 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00
Occupation
Student 1 3.57 8 16.33 2 3.17
Government
officer 2 7.14 4 8.16 8 12.70
Office worker 18 64.29 25 51.02 44 69.84
Business owner 1 3.57 5 10.20 4 6.35
Freelancer 0 0.00 4 8.16 2 3.17
Unemployed 0 0.00 3 6.12 2 3.17
State enterprise
officer 6 21.43 0 0.00 1 1.59
Others 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00
Income
Less than
15,000 THB 1 3.57 5 10.20 2 3.17
15,000-30,000
THB 8 28.57 16 32.65 17 26.98
30,001-45,000
THB 7 25.00 14 28.57 18 28.57
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Respondents' demographic
profile
3 Segments (n=140)
1
Fun seeker
(n=28)
2
Regular
shopper (n=49)
3
Bargain-hunter
(n=63)
Count
Column
Total N
%
Cou
nt
Column
Total N
%
Count
Column
Total N
%
45,001-60,000
THB 6 21.43 9 18.37 12 19.05
60,001-75,000
THB 2 7.14 2 4.08 8 12.70
75,001-90,000
THB 2 7.14 0 0.00 3 4.76
More than
90,000 THB 2 7.14 3 6.12 3 4.76
Education
Lower than high
school 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00
High School 1 3.57 0 0.00 0 0.00
College 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00
Bachelor's
degree 17 60.71 27 55.10 37 58.73
Master's degree 10 35.71 22 44.90 26 41.27
Doctorate / PHD 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00
Others 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00
Phone
operating
system
iOS (iPhone) 19 67.86 37 75.51 42 66.67
Android
(Samsung, LG,
Sony, Oppo,
Vivo etc.) 8 28.57 12 24.49 21 33.33
Both 1 3.57 0 0.00 0 0.00
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4.2.5 Price perception toward skincare product
The question, “How much would it cost for one unit of the facial
mask displayed above?”, was asked after they had seen the picture of a facial mask as
shown in Appendix B. This question is an open-ended question, so the visual binning
analysis was needed in order to determine the suitable price range (Table 4.7).
Generally, the price of this facial mask is 399 THB per unit; however,
only 10 - 15% of the respondents in each segment were able to identify the correct price
range. The perception of the Fun seekers group is quite fragmented as five of the
respondents (17.9%) believed the price of the product should be around 400 - 450 THB,
four respondents thought that the price ranges between 346 - 399 THB, and an equal
number of respondents believed that the cost would be around 451 - 500 THB.
Regarding the Regular shoppers, 12 respondents (24.5%) believed that the selling price
is 300 THB. For the last group, 14 people of the Bargain-hunter group perceived the
price of the product to be around 230 - 299 THB apiece.
Table 4.7 Comparison of pricing perception among three segments (n=140)
Price perception
3 Segments (n=140)
1
Fun seeker (n=28)
2
Regular shopper
(n=49)
3
Bargain-hunter
(n=63)
Count Column
N % Count
Column
N % Count
Column
N %
How much
would it cost
for 1 pieces
of facial
mask display
above?
(THB)
<195 3 10.70 6 12.20 7 11.10
196-229 4 14.30 4 8.20 8 12.70
230-299 2 7.10 5 10.20 14 22.20
300 4 14.30 12 24.50 8 12.70
301-345 0 0.00 0 0.00 2 3.20
346-399 4 14.30 5 10.20 9 14.30
400-450 5 17.90 3 6.10 5 7.90
451-500 4 14.30 8 16.30 7 11.10
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Price perception
3 Segments (n=140)
1
Fun seeker (n=28)
2
Regular shopper
(n=49)
3
Bargain-hunter
(n=63)
Count Column
N % Count
Column
N % Count
Column
N %
>500 2 7.10 6 12.20 3 4.80
Another way to measure differences in pricing perception among
each segment is to examine its Mean and ANOVA analysis. From table 4.8 and 4.9,
the result shows that there is no significant difference between each segment with
regard to price perception as the p-value is more than 0.05.
Table 4.8 Differences between segments based on consumer perception of price
(n=155)
Fun seeker (n=35) Regular shopper
(n=54) Bargain-hunter (n=66)
Mean Standard
Deviation Mean
Standard
Deviation Mean
Standard
Deviation
In your
opinion,
how much
would it
cost for 1
pieces of
above
product?
364 172 375 213 326 144
Table 4.9 One-Way ANOVA between segments and pricing perception (n=155)
Sum of
Squares df
Mean
Square F Sig.
Between Groups 71,316.75 2.00 35,658.37 1.15 0.32
Within Groups 4,240,924.47 137.00 30,955.65
Total 4,312,241.22 139.00
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4.2.6 Purchasing behavior
All three segments like to visit the M-commerce platform during the
period of 18.00 - 24.00 hours the most. However, there were 3.7% of the second
segment that prefer to use the application during the period of 0.00 - 6.00 hours. In
terms of shopping frequency, every segment prefers to shop from Shopee more than
Lazada - Fun seekers (60%), Regular shoppers (40.7%), and Bargain-hunters (57.6%).
Table 4.10 Purchasing behavior (n=155)
Purchasing behavior
3 Segments (n=155)
1
Fun seeker
(n=35)
2
Regular shopper
(n=54)
3
Bargain-hunter
(n=66)
Count
Column
N % Count
Column
N % Count
Column
N %
When do you
likely use
Lazada and
Shopee
application?
0.00-6.00 0 0.00 2 3.70 0 0.00
6.01-12.00 0 0.00 1 1.90 1 1.50
12.01-18.00 5 14.30 7 13.00 15 22.70
18.01-24.00 30 85.70 44 81.50 50 75.80
How many
times per
month do you
buy goods
from Lazada
or Shopee on
average?
Shop via Lazada
more often 8 22.90 18 33.30 17 25.80
Shop via Shopee
more often 21 60.00 22 40.70 38 57.60
Shop equally 6 17.10 14 25.90 11 16.70
4.2.7 Differences between Lazada and Shopee based on consumer
perception of selected factors.
The respondents saw a screenshot of the facial mask as shown in
Appendix C from either Lazada or Shopee. In Table 4.11, the results show that the
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‘Hard to return goods’ and ‘Hard to contact seller’ factors are the only two that are
significant. Their p-value is 0.03 and 0.04, respectively. Hence, the people in these two
groups perceived differently regarding these two factors. The respondents think that
returning Lazada goods is more difficult than returning Shopee goods. In terms of
contacting sellers, they feel that it is harder to contact Lazada sellers than Shopee
sellers.
Table 4.11 Differences between Lazada and Shopee based on consumer perception of
selected factors (n=140)
Lazada Ads Shopee Ads t p-value
Mean S.D. Mean S.D.
Bad platform reputation 2.99 1.41 2.67 1.27 1.49 0.14
Unreasonable price 3.03 1.44 2.90 1.36 0.56 0.58
Limited range of product
assortments 2.25 1.42 2.28 1.56 -0.13 0.90
Bad service quality 3.21 1.41 3.02 1.44 0.83 0.41
Slow delivery speed 3.07 1.34 3.12 1.41 -0.26 0.80
No free delivery coupon 2.96 1.71 3.10 1.80 -0.49 0.62
Hard to return goods 4.43 1.69 3.83 1.73 2.19 0.03
Complex platform interface 2.51 1.40 2.46 1.37 0.26 0.80
Limited payment methods 2.53 1.55 2.44 1.47 0.37 0.71
Hard to contact seller 3.80 1.64 3.23 1.67 2.13 0.04
Few promotional coupons 3.67 1.61 3.65 1.79 0.06 0.95
Untrustworthy reviews 4.03 1.51 3.67 1.48 1.48 0.14
4.2.8 Differences between perception of each segment and significant
factors
In addition to previous analysis, custom table was used to examine
the differences. The output shows that only Fun seeker had different opinion from the
other segments. Regular shopper and Bargain-hunter have no differences between the
people who saw Lazada screenshot and Shopee screenshot; both groups think that it is
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harder to return goods and contact seller with Lazada. People who saw Lazada
screenshot of Fun seeker think that Lazada is harder to return goods while Shopee is
not. On the other hand, Fun seekers who saw Shopee screenshot perceive that Shopee
is more difficult when contacted seller.
Table 4.12 Differences between perception of each segment and significant factors
(n=140)
Fun seeker Regular shopper Bargain-hunter
Lazada
(n=16)
Shopee
(n=19)
Lazada
(n=25)
Shopee
(n=29)
Lazada
(n=34)
Shopee
(n=32)
Mean (S.D.) Mean (S.D.) Mean (S.D.) Mean (S.D.) Mean (S.D.) Mean (S.D.)
Hard to
return goods 4.31 (1.99) 3.47 (1.74) 4.44 (1.64) 3.90 (1.65) 4.47 (1.62) 4.00 (1.83)
Hard to
contact seller 2.75 (1.73) 2.84 (1.42) 4.28 (1.59) 3.62 (1.66) 3.94 (1.46) 3.16 (1.80)
4.2.9 Factor analysis on important factors of M-commerce based on
shoppers’ past experiences
To identify the key factors, factor analysis was done in order to reduce
the number of variables and to group similar variables together. To extract the key
variables, Principal Axis factoring with Promax rotation was conducted to reduce them
down to 12 statements. The variables can be grouped into four factors as there is one
(1%) non-redundant residual with absolute value greater than 0.05. With eigenvalues
greater than one, all four factors together accounted for 63.48% of total variance. The
four factors were labelled as 1) Product return, 2) Platform limitation, 3) Credibility
and 4) Promotion. The results of the analysis are displayed as follows:
Table 4.13 Factor analysis on important factors of M-commerce based on shoppers’
past experiences
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M-commerce platform that I often
shop has……….
Factors
1
Product
return
2
Platform
limitation
3
Credibility
4
Promotion
Bad platform reputation 0.74
Unreasonable price 0.36 0.384
Limited range of product assortments 0.769
Bad service quality 0.41
Slow delivery speed 0.60
No free delivery coupon 0.51
Hard to return goods 0.78
Complex platform interface 0.38
Limited payment methods 0.55
Hard to contact seller 0.41
Few promotional coupons 0.96
Untrustworthy reviews 0.38
4.2.10 Differences between Lazada and Shopee based on consumer
perception of key factors
The Independent Samples t-test was conducted to identify the
differences between the people who saw Lazada’s screenshot and the people who saw
Shopee’s screenshot, with four key factors that had been identified previously from the
factor analysis. As a result, the two groups are different in terms of ‘Hard to return
goods’ only. To be specific, people perceived that returning goods that were bought
from Lazada is more difficult than returning those bought from Shopee.
Table 4.14 Differences between Lazada and Shopee based on consumer perception of
key factors
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Lazada Shopee
t p-value Mean S.D. Mean S.D.
Hard to return goods 4.43 1.69 3.83 1.73 2.19 0.03
Limited range of product assortments 2.25 1.42 2.28 1.56 -0.13 0.90
Bad platform reputation 2.99 1.41 2.67 1.27 1.49 0.14
Few promotional coupons 3.67 1.61 3.65 1.79 0.06 0.95
4.2.11 Factor analysis on influential factor of platform identities
The factor analysis was used to examine the important factors of the
platform identities and was conducted by using Principal Axis factoring with the
Promax rotation method. The output shows that the seven statements were reduced to
three factors including Comments, Quality of the product, and Product rating.
Table 4.15 Factor analysis on influential factor of platform identities
Factors
1
Comments
2
Quality of
the product
3
Product
Rating
The reviews increase the credibility of the product 0.31 0.59
The discount coupon draw my attention 0.64
In apps banner make the offer a better deal 0.56 0.35
The product displays seem to be a good quality
product 0.72
I like reviews with comments 0.89
I like reviews with score rating/star rating 0.44 0.56
I like reviews with comments and pictures 0.70
4.2.12 Correlation between influential factors between perception of
value for money
The analysis was done using Bivariate correlation method to
measure the relationship between four variables; comments, quality of the product,
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product rating, and perception of value for money. Based on the result of correlation
analysis, none of the three variables has statistically significant linear relationship with
perception of value for money at the significant level of 0.05. The first factor,
comments, is not correlated with perception of value for money (p<0.05). The second
factor is “Quality of the product”; its correlation value is 0.34. For the last factor, the
correlation of product rating and perception of value for money, the value is equal to
0.19 based on n=140.
Table 4.16 Correlation between key factors and perception of value for money
(n=140), (95% CI, p-value ≤ 0.05)
Influential factors Pearson
Correlation Sig. (2-tailed)
Comments 0.14 0.10
Quality of the product 0.34 0.00
Product rating 0.19 0.03
4.2.13 Differences of Lazada and Shopee on perception of value for
money
To measure the differences between two groups, the people who
saw Lazada screenshot and the people who saw Shopee screenshot, Independent sample
t-test was conducted. From Table 4.17, the result shows that none of the three factors
is significant. The influential factors in Lazada and Shopee is not different. Hence,
“both quality of product” and “product rating” are the influential factors of perception
of value for money either on Lazada or Shopee.
Table 4.17 Differences of Lazada and Shopee on perception of value for money
(n=140)
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4.2.14 Differences of key influential factors between each segment
To measure the differences of each segment, One-Way ANOVA
was performed. All factors are significant. To be precise, there are statistically
significant differences between each segment with regard to Comments, Quality of the
product, and Product rating. However, the study focused on two factors, quality of
product and product rating, due these two factors have linear relationship with
perception of value for money based on correlation analysis.
Table 4.18 Differences of key influential factors between each segment (n=140)
Sum of
Squares df
Mean
Square F Sig.
Comments
Between Groups 17.17 2 8.59 11.40 0.00
Within Groups 103.16 137 0.75
Total 120.33 139
Quality of
the product
Between Groups 11.99 2 6.00 8.37 0.00
Within Groups 98.15 137 0.72
Total 110.14 139
Product
rating
Between Groups 8.74 2 4.37 7.49 0.00
Within Groups 79.92 137 0.58
Total 88.66 139
Lazada Shopee t p-value
Mean S.D. Mean S.D.
Comments -0.11 0.97 0.09 0.89 -1.27 0.21
Quality of the product -0.09 0.96 0.08 0.82 -1.11 0.27
Product rating -0.06 0.84 0.05 0.76 -0.78 0.44
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Moreover, Post Hoc multiple comparison with Tukey’s test was
used to identify which specific groups differed. The results in Appendix D show that
Fun seeker is different from Regular shopper but not Bargain-hunter in the Comments
on product factor. Additionally, Regular shopper and Bargain-hunter are different in
terms of product comments as well. For the Quality of the product factor, the output
shows that segment 1, Fun seeker, is different from segment 2, Regular shopper, and
segment 2 is different from segment 3, Bargain-hunter. Regarding Product rating, “Fun
seeker” is different from “Regular shopper” as mean score of Fun seeker is higher than
Regular shopper. Additionally, Bargain hunter perceived that product rating trigger the
perception of value for money more than Regular shopper.
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CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Research summary
The data of this research study were collected 140 from respondents who are
female millennials in Bangkok. The analysis methods were conducted using descriptive
statistics, factor analysis, K-means cluster analysis, ttest, and One-Way ANOVA to
identify the key factors affecting the purchasing intention of each female millennial
segment and to determine which platform identities trigger the perception of value for
money.
As the conclusion of the objectives, “To identify the key factors affecting the
purchasing intention of each female millennial segment.” and “To determine which
platform identities trigger the perception of value for money among each segment.”,
the demographic profiles of all segments are quite similar, as the majority of them are
single women who hold a bachelor’s degree and only one of them holds a high school
diploma as the highest education level. Furthermore, most of them are office workers
who have an average income range of 15,000 - 30,000 THB per month. All respondents
were classified into three segments, Fun seekers, Regular shoppers, and Bargain-
hunters, as follows:
“Fun seekers” is the group of people who prefer to shop via their mobile phone
more than other channels. They have had good experiences with the M-commerce
platform that they shop on most often. Compared to the other groups, the Fun seekers
do not hesitate to sign up for newsletters or turn on the notifications to receive the latest
news and promotions. Moreover, they are the only group that is willing to participate
in activities as long as they receive discounts in return. More of this group of people
(60%) shop via Shopee than those who choose Lazada, and over 80% of them use the
M-commerce application during the period of 18.01 - 24.00 hours. Fun seekers can be
attracted by discount promotions, especially free delivery coupons. The highest
education level of this segment is a bachelor’s degree. In terms of price perception,
around 40% of the Fun seekers group think that the price of the given skincare product
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is higher than the actual price of 399 THB, and only 14 percent know the correct price
range. Additionally, the Fun seekers group perceive that returning goods via Lazada is
harder than via Shopee. For contacting sellers, they are the only group who perceive
that Shopee’s sellers are harder to contact.
“Regular shoppers” is the group that has no significant factors when purchasing
goods and services from Lazada and Shopee. They are not attracted by discounts nor
do they participate in any promotional activities. They rarely compare the prices of the
products before buying them and do not take their past experiences that they have had
with a particular M-commerce platform into consideration when making future
purchases. A total of 24.5 percent of this group perceived that the price of the given
product was 300 THB apiece. In terms of the differences between the two platforms,
regular shoppers thought that Lazada’s platform is more difficult with regard to
returning goods and contacting sellers.
“Bargain-hunters” is the group that has the highest average income range,
30,001 - 45,000 THB per month. They are the people who do not like to receive any
updates from the platform and feel that the discount coupons on M-commerce platforms
are very hard to find, while the other two groups do not. This group of people compares
prices between the various channels before making purchases. When they are making a
purchase, they seek the functional utility of the product with the lowest price regardless
of the past experiences that they have had with that channel. They perceived that the
facial mask selling price is around 230 - 299 THB per unit, which is the lowest price
range among all segments. Compared to other segments, they are the group that rated
Lazada as the platform on which it is more difficult to contact sellers and return goods.
For the second objective, the study shows that only two factors, product rating
and the quality of the product, trigger the perception of value for money. Generally
speaking, the customer perceived no differences between Lazada and Shopee. However,
if we examine the differences between each segment. Regular shopper perceived that
the quality of the product trigger perception of value for money the least comparing to
other two groups.
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5.2 Recommendations
Based on the findings summarized above, the results can be implemented to
help the M-commerce platforms of Lazada and Shopee, as well as the shop owners and
marketing managers of skincare products who want to sell their products through
Lazada and Shopee, and whose targeted customers are female millennials. Fun seekers
and Bargain-hunters are the primary targets for them as these two consumer groups
represent more than half of the sample.
Thus, if brands want to increase their brand awareness, they should run
promotional campaigns to target the Fun seekers group as they are willing to participate in platform activities. Moreover, brands can exploit the benefit of word-of-mouth
generated by the Fun seekers group as they do not only join the activities themselves,
but their friends also participate as well.
Furthermore, both Lazada and Shopee need to improve their product return
services to be more efficient in order to attract more of the Regular shoppers and
Bargain-hunters groups. On the other hand, the Fun seekers group are unsatisfied with
Lazada’s product return service more than that of Shopee. In addition, Shopee should
collaborate with sellers within their platform in order to improve the service level as
customers currently feel that the ease of contacting sellers is low.
In order to increase the intention to buy, platforms should improve the key
factors, which are discounts, past experience, and functional benefit. In particular,
giving away more discount coupons or free delivery coupons can attract the Fun seekers
and Bargain-hunters groups’ attention, but they need to make the coupons easier to
acquire. Improving their services such product returns is another way to increase
customer intention to purchase, which also results in the positive user experiences. For
product assortment, platforms need to ensure that the selling price of the product is
competitive in comparison to their rivals. For perception of value for money, platform
owners and marketers should put more emphasis on product rating and quality of the
product that M-commerce platforms display. All in all, improving these factors will
help the customers who are in the information searching stage to make better
purchasing decisions.
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พร้อมไทยก้าวขึน้เป็นเจ้าอีคอมเมิร์ซอาเซียน. Retrieved November 26, 2018, from ETDA:
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Lim, C. (2018, January 31). High smartphone usage to boost ASEAN mobile
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https://theaseanpost.com/article/high-smartphone-usage-boost-asean-mobile-
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Marketing Oops! (2018, September 12). “Shopee 9.9 Super Shopping Day” ท าสถิติช้อปป้ิง
ออนไลน์ 5.8 ล้านยอดภายใน 24 ช.ม. เผย 3 แบรนด์ยอดขายสูงสุด . Retrieved from
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ภายใน 24 ช่ัวโมง. Retrieved from mgronline:
https://mgronline.com/business/detail/9610000093643
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https://richtopia.com/strategic-marketing/perceived-value-branding
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APPENDICES
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Appendix A: In-depth interview questionnaires
Screening questions
1. Have your ever purchase goods or service from Lazada and Shopee mobile
application in the past 12 months?
2. How old are you?
3. Do you live in Bangkok?
Interview questionnaires
1. How do you know Lazada and Shopee?
2. Which platforms did you recently buy goods or services from?
3. What did you buy on your last purchase?
4. Which product categories did you buy the most?
5. How many times per month do you shop online on average?
6. Do you regularly visit applications? If yes, what time of the day you often
browse the application?
7. Between the two applications, which one do you prefer? Please explain.
8. What are the things that you like the most about this platform?
9. What are the criteria that you use when deciding to purchase things online?
10. Based on your past experiences, what are things you like and dislike about
Lazada and Shopee?
11. Are there any platform you may not shop in the future? Please explain.
12. In your opinion, which platforms offer the better deal?
13. Do you normally read the review given in the platform?
14. Do you find it useful?
15. Does it help you to make a better purchasing decision?
16. In your opinion, which platform is more friendly to use?
17. Which platforms would you recommend your friends to use?
18. In your opinion, Is there any difference between these two platforms?
19. Have you ever returned the goods you bought?
20. Have you ever bought goods from other M-commerce platforms?
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Appendix B: Survey questionnaires
Dear Participant,
I would like to invite you to take part in a research study entitled “Effects of
mobile commerce platforms”. I am students currently enrolled in the Master’s Degree
Program in Marketing at Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand.
The research aims to find factors that influence mobile shoppers. Your
participation will help the researcher better understand consumer behavior and
perception toward M-commerce platform, especially Shopee and Lazada.
The study is for academic purpose only. Your response will remain confidential
and anonymous. There are no right or wrong answers to these questions, please feel
free to answer these questions as you deem fit. The estimate time to complete the survey
is around 15 minutes.
Your assistance is highly appreciated.
Part 1: Screening questions
1. Do you currently live in Bangkok?
⃞ Yes ⃞ No (Not qualify for the questionnaires)
2. Have you ever purchase goods/service from Lazada and Shopee mobile
application in the past 12 months?
⃞ Yes ⃞ No (Not qualify for the questionnaires)
3. What is your gender?
⃞ Female ⃞ Male (Not qualify for the questionnaires)
4. How old are you?
⃞ Below 18 (Not qualify for the questionnaires)
⃞ 18-34
⃞ More than 34 (Not qualify for the questionnaires)
Part 2 : Attitude and factors influencing millennial female purchasing intention
5. How many times per month have your bought items from Lazada and Shopee
on average?
⃞ Lazada ___________________ times per month
⃞ Shopee ___________________ times per month
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6. On average, I visit Lazada or Shopee mobile application ……. times per
month?
⃞ Lazada ___________________ times per month
⃞ Shopee ___________________ times per month
7. When do you likely visit the application?
⃞ 0.00-6.00
⃞ 6.01-12.00
⃞ 12.01-18.00
⃞ 18.01-24.00
8. Please rate your opinions toward mobile commerce platform on the following
items.
M-commerce platform that I often shop has………
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Bad platform
reputation
Good platform
reputation
Unreasonable price Reasonable price
Limited range of
product assortments
Wide range of product
assortments
Bad service quality Good service quality
Slow delivery speed Fast delivery speed
No free delivery
coupon Free delivery coupon
Hard to return goods Easy to return goods
Complex platform
interphase
Easy to use platform
interphase
Limited payment
methods
Many payment
methods
Hard to contact seller Easy to contact seller
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Few promotional
coupons
Various promotional
coupons
Untrustworthy
reviews Trustworthy reviews
9. Please rate your opinion toward how important the following factors are.
(1=most important, 7=least important)
Factors 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Platform reputation 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇
Reasonable price 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇
Product assortments 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇
Service quality 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇
Delivery speed 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇
Free delivery coupon 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇
Ease of returning goods 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇
Platform interphase 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇
Payment methods 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇
Ease of contacting seller 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇
Promotional coupons 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇
Trustworthy reviews 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇
10. To which extent do you agree with the following statements
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Strongly
disagree
Slightly
disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
agree
Most of the time, I shop online
items from my mobile phone
⃞ ⃞ ⃞ ⃞ ⃞
I had a good experience with
my recent purchase
⃞ ⃞ ⃞ ⃞ ⃞
I am not only shop for myself
but I shop for my
friends/family
⃞ ⃞ ⃞ ⃞ ⃞
I turn on the notification to
receive the latest news and
promotions
⃞ ⃞ ⃞ ⃞ ⃞
I will suspend my transaction if
there’s no free delivery coupon
⃞ ⃞ ⃞ ⃞ ⃞
I think the discount coupon is
very hard to find
⃞ ⃞ ⃞ ⃞ ⃞
I will participate in the
platforms activities in order to
get the discount
⃞ ⃞ ⃞ ⃞ ⃞
I compare the price with other
platforms before I buy
⃞ ⃞ ⃞ ⃞ ⃞
Part 3 : Perception of value for money
11. Please use picture below answer the question 12 and 13
(System will randomly select respondent to either answer question about shopee or
lazada)
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Platform – Lazada
Platform – Shopee
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12. In your opinion, how much would it cost for 1 pieces of above product?
________________________ baht per piece
13. How would you agree with the following statements after seeing picture
above?
No. Statements
Str
on
gly
dis
agre
e
Dis
agre
e
More
or
less
dis
agre
e
Un
dec
ided
More
or
less
agre
e
Sli
gh
tly a
gre
e
Str
on
gly
agre
e
1 I feel that the product given is value
for money 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2 The reviews increase the credibility
of the product 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
3 The discount coupon draw my
attention 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4 In apps banner make the offer a better
deal 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
5 The product displays seem to be a
good quality product 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
6 I like reviews with comments more
than reviews with star rating solely 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7 Overall, I satisfy with product details
that is given by the platform. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Part 4 : Demographic
14. What is your status?
⃞ Single
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⃞ In a relationship
⃞ Married
15. What is your occupation?
⃞ Student
⃞ Government officer
⃞ Private employee
⃞ Business owner
⃞ Unemployed
⃞ Others
16. What is your monthly income?
⃞ 15,000 baht or less than
⃞ 15,001 - 30,000 baht
⃞ 30,001 - 45,000 baht
⃞ 45,001 - 60,000 baht
⃞ 60,001 - 75,000 baht
⃞ 75,001 - 90,000 baht
⃞ 90,001 or above
17. What is your highest level of education?
⃞ Lower than high school
⃞ High School
⃞ College
⃞ Bachelor’s degree
⃞ Master’s degree
⃞ Doctorate / PHD
⃞ Others, Please specify _________
18. What is your mobile operating system?
⃞ iOS (iPhone)
⃞ Android (Samsung, LG, Huawei, Sony, Oppo, Vivo, Google Pixel, HTC,
etc.)
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19. After data collection, 10 lucky draw of 100 THB Central Gift vouchers will be
randomly sent to participants (worth total 1,000 baht). If you want to
participate in this lucky draw, please put in your LINE id for our team
members to contact you.
LINE id :_______________
THANK YOU
- - END OF SURVEY - -
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Appendix C: Screenshots of Lazada and Shopee
Platform – Lazada
Platform – Shopee
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Appendix D: Multiple comparison table using Post Hoc test
Segment 1 : Fun seeker
Segment 2 : Regular shopper
Segment 3 : Bargain-hunter
Dependent
Variable
Segments
(I)
Segments
(J)
Mean
Difference
(I-J)
Std.
Error Sig.
95% Confidence
Interval
Lower
Bound
Upper
Bound
Comments 1 2 0.94 0.21 0.00 0.45 1.42
3 0.38 0.20 0.13 -0.08 0.85
2 1 -0.94 0.21 0.00 -1.42 -0.45
3 -0.55 0.17 0.00 -0.95 -0.16
3 1 -0.38 0.20 0.13 -0.85 0.08
2 0.55 0.17 0.00 0.16 0.95
Quality of the
product 1 2
0.63 0.20 0.01 0.16 1.11
3 0.03 0.19 0.99 -0.42 0.49
2 1 -0.63 0.20 0.01 -1.11 -0.16
3 -0.60 0.16 0.00 -0.99 -0.22
3 1 -0.03 0.19 0.99 -0.49 0.42
2 0.60 0.16 0.00 0.22 0.99
Product rating 1 2 0.66 0.18 0.00 0.24 1.09
3 0.26 0.17 0.28 -0.15 0.68
2 1 -0.66 0.18 0.00 -1.09 -0.24
3 -0.40 0.15 0.02 -0.74 -0.06
3 1 -0.26 0.17 0.28 -0.68 0.15
2 0.40 0.15 0.02 0.06 0.74
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BIOGRAPHY
Name MISS JINJUTHA HEMATULIN
Date of Birth December 28, 1990
Educational Attainment 2009-2013: Bachelor of Business Administration,
Major in International Logistics management,
Chulalongkorn University Work Experiences 2013-2016: Buyer
Toyota Motor Asia Pacific Engineering and
Manufacturing
2017-2018: Category Buyer
Tetra Pak (Thailand) Limited
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