The importance of e-purchase types: exploring economic and digital influence in the EU
摘要
The advantages of electronic purchases (e-purchases) in the digital economy and its use during the Covid-19 pandemic determine the current and future demand for them. While research have largely concentrated on the influence of personal characteristics and attitudes towards e-purchases, we focus on their relationship with economic and digital indicators: income and Internet use, based on data during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. In this article, we assess the comparative impact of income and Internet use on e-purchases in the European Union countries in 2020–2022. Applying regression and cluster analyses, we find that the use of the Internet has the most significant impact on most e-purchases in terms of their characteristics and types. Income has a greater influence on e-purchases in the financial sector and on e-purchases of relatively significant amounts. We identify two cluster groups of countries based on e-purchases, income, and Internet use, with a more even, and potentially equal, distribution on the latter indicator. This study contributes to understanding of policymakers, researchers, and marketers of the comparative role of economic and digital effects on e-purchases, given their characteristics and types, both now and during restrictions similar to the Covid-19 pandemic.