This IDC study, based on a study of attitudes, behaviors, and assessments of 1,514 consumers, including those both with and without experience with online shopping, details our structural equation model (SEM) that associates a measure of purchase intention with four key factors underlying perceptions of the Web shopping experience. In addition, using a simulation tool developed for use with the SEM, one can measure the sensitivity of purchase intention to each the four factors as well as their underlying components.

"By examining Internet households that are highly likely to purchase over the Internet by the end of 2006 and those that are not likely, online vendors can decipher which aspects are most important to these distinct groups and target them more effectively," says Research Manager Nicole Comiskey. "IT vendors need to offer solutions that address these distinctions to show their customers that indeed one size does not fit all."