Despite the growth of cross-border e-commerce, many global shoppers remain skeptical about buying items online from overseas brands and retailers. But new research that looked at consumer behavior differences in Japan and South Korea exposed preferences that may increase online “purchasability.”
The key is to promote a brand or retailer’s corporate social responsibility efforts.
The research report, titled, “How Do Online Sales Channels Affect Global Product Purchases? The Role of CSR and Cross-country Differences,” was published in the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. The author, Ha Kyung Lee, is an assistant professor in the department of clothing and textiles at Chungnam National University in Daejeon, South Korea.
The university said in a statement that the “research highlights how CSR initiatives, when combined with user-friendly e-commerce platforms, boost purchase frequency” and noted that the findings “reveals cross-country differences, with Japanese consumers showing a stronger response to CSR efforts, providing valuable information about consumer behavior and e-commerce strategies.”
Lee said in her report that online shopping is revolutionizing how consumers access and purchase products from international markets. “Despite this growth, many consumers remain hesitant to purchase goods from foreign companies due to trust issues, cultural differences and concerns about unfamiliar products,” the report stated.
The study was based on the behavior of 1,033 online shoppers from South Korea and Japan. Researchers found that companies’ social contributions, which include factors such as supporting environmental or social initiatives, “strengthen the positive effect of online purchasability on purchasing frequency, Lee said, adding that when consumers find it simple to shop online, “they are more likely to purchase global products. In fact, CSR initiatives significantly strengthen this link between online purchasability and purchase frequency.”
Regarding the differences between shoppers in Japan and South Korea, Lee found that while Japanese consumers tend to be less active in online shopping than South Koreans, they showed a stronger response to CSR communications. Lee said CSR cues “likely helped reconcile their positive perceptions of online shopping with their hesitancy to engage, making the influence of social contributions on purchasing behavior stronger in Japan than in South Korea.”
Lee said this suggests that CSR efforts “can help build trust and overcome consumer hesitation, but that the effect of this might be influenced by cultural predispositions.”
Lee encouraged businesses to apply these findings by improving usability and transparency while incorporating CSR messaging into their platform — which can help brands and retailers penetrate new global markets. “Over time, CSR could become a standard feature in global e-commerce, helping bridge the digital divide and making online shopping accessible to more people,” Lee said.
