Online distribution of pharmaceuticals: investigating relations of consumers' value perception, online shopping attitudes and behaviour in an e-pharmacy context

Even when consumers have a positive attitude towards online shopping, these attitudes are not automatically translated into regular shopping behaviour. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relation of consumer-perceived values and risks, online shopping attitudes and behaviour in the context of online pharmacy shopping. Based on 152 face-to-face-interviews, we provide empirical results for the identification and segmentation of different types of online shoppers in the high-risk domain of medication. In sum, referring to our conceptualisation and exploratory empirical insights, marketing researchers and practitioners might be able to understand why different groups of consumers do or do not hesitate to shop in online pharmacies. Based on the link between perceived values and risks and related attitudes towards online pharmacy usage, our empirically verified principles that attempt to understand and bridge consumers' individual @ttitude-behaviour gap may serve as a first step towards forming appropriate strategies.