Online consumer behaviour

E-Business probably began with electronic data interchange in the 1960s (Zwass, 1996). However, (Melao, 2008) suggests that it was only in the 1990s, primarily via the Internet, that e-Business has emerged as a core feature of many organizations. In his opinion, the hope was that e-Business would revolutionize the ways in which organizations interact with customers, employees, suppliers and partners. Some saw e-Business as part of a recipe to stay competitive in the global economy. Electronic commerce has become one of the essential characteristics in the internet era. Clearly dependant on available technology, it has also been found that the level of education is an especially powerful predictor of internet purchases (Burns et al., 2001). If the future of e-commerce lies with those who are tech-savvy and about to enter the job market, then it is highly relevant to the marketer to know how these people interact with the current technology and how they view the internet as a marketplace. This paper highlights the meaning of online consumer behaviour. This paper focuses factors affecting the online consumer. This paper also discusses the types of online buyers. The author surveys the consumers to understand their behavior. The author finally attempts to suggest innovative practices for online marketers.