An Application of Rogers’s Innovation Model: Use of the Internet to Purchase Apparel, Food, and Home Furnishing Products by Small Community Consumers

The purpose of our research was to assess beliefs of small community consumers regarding use of the Internet for product acquisition. We applied a portion of Rogers’s (1995) innovation diffusion model where he hypothesizes characteristics of an innovation (e.g., complexity, trialability) that facilitate or impede adoption. In addition, we were interested in whether these characteristics differed between small community purchasers and non-purchasers of innovations. Usable questionnaires were returned by 2,198 small community consumers. Data were analyzed using multivariate and univariate analyses of variance. Small community consumers who purchased through the Internet were more likely than non-purchasers to perceive Internet shopping as being relatively advantageous; more compatible with their values, beliefs, needs, and past experiences; less complex; more trialable; and more observable. Furthermore, small community consumers who were purchasers using the Internet perceived Internet shopping as less risky than did non-purchasers. The results were parallel across the three product categories of food, apparel, and home furnishing products.