SHOPPING ON SOCIAL NETWORKING WEB SITES: ATTITUDES

TOWARD REAL VERSUS VIRTUAL ITEMS

Jiyoung Cha

ABSTRACT: Assuming that shopping is a business area into which U.S. social networks can expand, this study explores whether
and how factors affecting shopping attitudes on social networking sites may differ according to product type. This study focuses
on two types of items that social networking sites carry: real and virtual. It reveals that shopping services have different target
consumers and factors according to product type. Age, usefulness, ease of use, security, and fit are critical in establishing favorable
attitudes toward shopping for real items. For virtual items, gender, social networking site experience, ease of use, and fit influence
the attitudes.

Keywords: Social networking Web sites, online shopping, virtual, real, technology acceptance model.

Most social networking Web sites based in the United States
have relatively short histories. The growth of these sites is,
however, exponential. According to ComScore Media Metrix,
MySpace ranked second in visitor page views, behind only
Yahoo, by May 2006 (Knowledge @ Wharton 2006). As of
August 2007, six social networking Web sites ranked in the top
20 of U.S. Web site traffic lists: MySpace was ranked 6th,
Orcut 8th, Facebook 10th, Hi5 11th, and Friendster 18th
(Alexa.com 2007). Moreover, major U.S. social networking
Web sites have seen a rapid increase in the numbers of their
registered users. As of May 2009, Facebook and MySpace had
more than 307 million and 123 million users worldwide,
respectively (Albanesius 2009).
Social networking Web sites have succeeded in attracting not
only users but investors too. Media conglomerates have tried
to acquire or invest in social networks. Despite some doubt
about the stable revenue structures of social networks in their
nascent business stage, News Corp. acquired MySpace, the
largest U.S. social network, for $580 million in 2005. Yahoo
and Viacom both offered $1 billion to buy Facebook in 2006.
Venture capital firms recently put up $25 million in funding
for Facebook (Rosenbush and Mullaney 2006; Vara 2007).
Several venture capitalists also invested from $1 million to $10
million in Friendster (Kawamoto 2006).
Despite the success of social networking sites with respect to
attracting users and investors, academics and industry
observers are concerned about their potentially vulnerable
business models (Knowledge @ Wharton 2006; Olsen 2004).
Specifically, the profitability of some social networks is highly
questionable (Claburn 2006; Tedeschi 2004) because the
growing number of users and explosive Web traffic do not
necessarily mean that the social networks will make a profit.
The finances of social networking Web sites also depend
substantially on revenues from outside advertisers. For
example, Friendster's revenues come solely from advertisers
(Hopkins 2003). According to Framingham, a media research
firm, MySpace generated about $125 million in advertising
revenue in the fourth quarter of 2006 (Havenstein 2007) and
$440 million in revenue in fiscal year 2007. There is little
doubt that the primary source of revenue is advertising
(Williamson 2007). Facebook generated $150 million in
revenue and $30 million in profit during calendar year 2007,
through August; an advertising deal with Microsoft accounted
for half of that revenue (Vara 2007).
For community-oriented Web proprietors, network
externalities are a critical factor for success. Researchers
suggest that companies with the greatest installed network
bases will dominate the market (Arthur 1996; Brynjolfson and
Kemerer 1996; Katz and Shapiro 1985; Lee and O'Connor
2003). As an increasing number of people register on popular
Web social networking sites, they may eventually turn away
from smaller social networks—even though these smaller
social networks serve as niche sites that gratify specific needs.
Such a trend seems to be occurring in the United States, where
as of August 2007, six social networking sites ranked in the top
20 list of most visited sites, but two years later, only Facebook
and MySpace remained on that list (Alexa.com, 2009). In
addition, Facebook has started to outperform MySpace in
terms of traffic and the number of unique visitors (Albanesius
2009). Given the importance of network externalities in the
context of social networking sites, it is imperative for social
networks to develop stable revenue structures that utilize their
massive user bases.

Journal of Interactive Advertising, Vol 10 No 1 (Fall 2009), pp. 77-93.

© 2009 American Academy of Advertising, All rights reserved
ISSN 1525-2019
78 Journal of Interactive Advertising
In retrospect, myriad Internet companies have drawn huge
numbers of users and received substantial attention from the
press, but then disappeared within a short period of time—
largely due to their lack of solid business models that generate
profits. Advertisers and investors remain in flux as interesting
new technologies emerge. For example, e-Marketer, an online
business research firm, has cut its ad spending estimates for
social networking Web sites; advertisers were thus predicted to
spend $1.4 billion on U.S. social networking Web sites in 2008,
a significant drop from its previous estimate of $1.6 billion.
Specifically, the company cut revenue estimates for MySpace
and Facebook, predicting MySpace would take an 11.2% hit
and decline from $850 million in advertising income to $775
million. Facebook was projected to suffer a 12.5% drop, from
$305 million to $265 million (Nicole 2008; Sanders 2008).
The economic downturn is one plausible reason for these
lowered advertising spending estimates, but the industry
pinpoints another primary cause, namely, the lack of
advertising and business models customized for social
networking Web sites. The U.S. social networking sites are still
trying to figure out how to turn their massive audiences into
advertising dollars (Sanders 2008). From a managerial
perspective, the key to success lies in learning how to monetize
their mass user bases by building stable and relevant business
models. This need reflects the intense competition in the social
networking site market segment, as well as the lack of existing
solid business models in the overall online industry. In that
regard, this study suggests that shopping services may provide
an area of possible business growth for social networks.
Operators of social networking sites must establish user bases,
which gives them potential shoppers in hand. It would not be
necessary for social networks to invest a huge amount of
money in promoting and advertising shopping services or
attracting potential shoppers; large social networks already
have potential shoppers in hand. In addition, whatever it is
that keeps users coming back to a particular social networking
site should be pivotal for shopping services in general. The
socially interactive nature of social networking sites also likely
increases the exposure of these returnees to the goods and
services that the sites market.
This study also considers shopping services attractive for social
networking sites because of the user demographics of social
networking sites. Audiences of traditional media spread across
all age groups, whereas social networks are highly
concentrated on teenagers and people in their 20s and 30s. As
of July 2009, users between the ages of 13 and 34 years
Fall 2009
accounted for nearly 65% of Facebook users. The largest age
group of users, between 18 and 25 years, constitutes 30% of all
Facebook users (Inside Facebook 2009). In addition, 85% of
U.S. college students use at least one social networking Web
site, and 60% and 85% log on to social networking sites daily
or once a week, respectively (Arrington 2005). A more recent
industry report confirms these trends remain valid, in that
more than 80% of U.S. college students use social networking
sites on a regular basis (The Info-Shop 2007). Users who range
in age from their teens through their 30s are particularly
attractive targets for sellers of goods and services; they also are
more likely to purchase products or services online than are
older consumers (Akhter 2003; He and Mykytyn 2007).
Due to the unique characteristics of social networks, items sold
through social networking sites may differ from those sold in
other online stores, whose businesses focuses entirely on
shopping services. Online shopping sites mostly sell "real
goods" or "real services," whereas social networks can carry not
only real items but also "virtual items." Real items refer to
goods or services that can be used offline, regardless of
whether the goods or services are bought online or offline,
such as books, furniture, clothes, flight tickets, DVDs, and so
on. Virtual items instead are products or services whose use
and purchase are constrained to a particular Web space.
Profile layouts, avatars, virtual gift items, and music that can
be only used on specific Web sites are examples of virtual
items. Despite the considerable amount of buzz around social
networking sites in the press, academia has paid scarce
attention to them, and most existing studies consider social
aspects or privacy issues (e.g., Barnes 2006; Ellison, Steinfield,
and Lampe 2006; Tong et al. 2008) rather than investigating
social networks from a managerial perspective.
By integrating the technology acceptance model (TAM) with
other perceptions of social networks and characteristics of
individual users, this study aims to investigate whether and
how the factors that affect attitude toward shopping on social
networking sites differ according to product type (i.e., real
versus virtual items). This investigation therefore sheds light
on the similarities and differences between the drivers of
consumers' online shopping for real and virtual items. Also, it
offers insights into whether widely accepted theories in the e-
commerce context apply to shopping on social networking
sites as well. Unlike shopping-driven sites, such as Amazon
and eBay, shopping services are not the primary business
domain for social networking sites, so consumers may
perceive their shopping services differently. From the
perspectives of social network operators, launching shopping
79 Journal of Interactive Advertising
services represents a category extension, and this study may
help them find ways to boost the chances of success for their
shopping services venues.
Shopping on Social Networking Web Sites
Social media play increasingly important roles as a marketing
platform. More and more retailers use social media to target
teens and young adults, and social networking sites are a
central venue in that trend (Market Watch 2008). A survey
commissioned by the American Marketing Association reveals
a positive outlook for likelihood of e-commerce on social
networking sites, in that 47% of consumers said they would
visit social networking sites to search for and discuss holiday
gift ideas, and 29% said they would buy products there
(Horovitz 2006).
Some U.S. social networks have geared up to provide shopping
services. Facebook added a shopping application that enables
users to search for products they want to buy, then share their
opinions of those products with other Facebook members
(Forbes 2007). Facebook has supplied virtual gifts, valued at $1
apiece, since April 2007. The addition of shopping services to
social networking sites is in the nascent stage in the United
States, but social networking sites in some other countries
employ shopping services aggressively. For
example, Cyworld.co.kr, a popular Korean social network that
attracts more than one-third of the country's population and
90% of people in their 20s, carries both real and virtual items.
It generates approximately $300,000 daily from individual
users by selling virtual items such as music, avatars, and
customized profile layouts (Schonfeld 2006). Although U.S.
social networking sites provide users with similar items, such
as music and profile layouts, they usually are provided for free.
Cyworld also generates revenues from selling real items, such
as clothes and fashion accessories.
Research suggests that consumers rely on two different sets of
values in making their shopping decisions: hedonic and
utilitarian (Babin and Darden 1995; Babin, Darden, and
Griffin 1994). Batra and Ahtola (1990, p. 159) define these
values as follows: "(1) consummatory affective (hedonic)
gratification from sensory attributes, and (2) instrumental,
utilitarian reasons." Hedonic shopping value thus reflects the
value received from the multisensory, fantasy-related, and
emotive feeling a consumer receives from a particular product,
whereas utilitarian shopping value focuses on the acquisition
of products and/or information in an efficient manner, which
reflects a more task-oriented, cognitive, unemotional outcome
(Babin, Darden, and Griffin 1994; Holbrook and Hirschman
Fall 2009
1982). Utilitarian value therefore is more associated with
cognitive aspects of attitudes, such as economic benefit
(Zeithaml 1988), convenience, and time savings (Jarvenpaa
and Todd 1997; Teo 2001).
Online shoppers tend to seek utilitarian values rather than
hedonic values (Reibstein 2002), because online shopping
services lack multisensory attributes. The primary utilitarian
values that online shoppers seek include the convenience of
locating and comparing merchants, evaluating price/quality
ratios, and conserving temporal and psychological resources
(Grewal et al. 2003; Mathwick, Malhotra, and
Rigdon 2001). Adding virtual items to social networking sites
could expand the value of online shopping. Shopping for
virtual items also is more relevant to hedonic than to
utilitarian values, because consumers would not purchase
virtual items out of necessity. Thus, whether a social
networking site sells real or virtual items may determine
consumers' attitudes toward shopping on that site.
Considering the different nature of real and virtual items in a
shopping context, this study explores the differences and
similarities between factors that affect shopping for real and
virtual items on social networking sites.
RQ1. Are there differences between real and virtual items
with respect to which factors affect attitudes toward
shopping on social networking sites? How different or
similar are the factors?
Perceived Usefulness, Ease of Use, and Enjoyment
The technology acceptance model (TAM) posits that the
perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of a particular
information technology drive users' attitudes and intentions to
adopt that technology (Davis 1989; Davis, Bagozzi, and
Warshaw 1989). According to empirical tests in different
technologies and settings, the TAM is a parsimonious, robust
model for predicting technology acceptance intentions (Gefen
and Straub 2003). Perceived usefulness is "the degree to which
an individual believes that using a particular system would
enhance his/her job performance" (Davis 1989, p. 320),
whereas perceived ease of use refers to "the degree to which an
individual believes that using a particular system would be free
of real and mental efforts" (Davis 1989, p. 323). Recent studies
show that perceived usefulness and ease of use both affect
consumers' intentions to use e-commerce (Gefen and Straub
2000; Lee, Park, and Ahn 2001).
Another construct added to the model is perceived enjoyment.
Perceived enjoyment is defined as "the extent to which the
80 Journal of Interactive Advertising Fall 2009

activity of using the computer is to be perceived enjoyable in Perceived Security

its own right, apart from any performance consequences that
Security is a salient issue for e-commerce because users must
may be anticipated" (Davis, Bagozzi, and Warshaw 1992, p.
submit sensitive information to purchase goods or services
1113). Enjoyment usually emerges as important for shopping
online. Salisbury and colleagues (2001, p. 166) define
experience, along with convenience and social interactions
perceived security on the Web as "the extent to which one
(Javenpaa and Todd 1997). Thus, perceived enjoyment,
believes that the World Wide Web is secure for transmitting
perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use may be able to
sensitive information." They also find empirically that
predict attitudes toward shopping services offered on social
perceived security on the Web positively affects purchase
networks.
intentions online. That is, the less secure someone perceives
H1a(b). Perceived usefulness, ease of use, and enjoyment the Web to be, the lower the probability that he or she will
of shopping services on social networking sites are make a purchase through that channel. Yenisey, Ozok, and
positively associated with attitude toward shopping for Salvendy (2005) assert that this barrier causes increasing
real (virtual) items on social networking Web sites. numbers of people to hesitate when asked to submit sensitive
information over the Web.
Perceived Fit
Perceived security also may be critical for social networks that
The perceived fit construct often appears when a brand
introduce e-commerce. Unlike online shopping malls, such as
introduces a new product or service in different product or
Amazon, shopping services are not the primary business area
service categories. In marketing literature, perceived fit refers
offered by social networking Web sites. If people doubt the
to the degree of similarity between an extension product
transactional security of social networks, they may not shop
category and existing products affiliated with the brand
for or purchase things on social networking Web sites.
(DelVecchio and Smith 2005). Previous studies suggest that
Therefore,
perceived fit between parent brands and their extensions can
enhance the performance of the latter. If new products or H3a(b). Perceived security of social networking Web sites
services are perceived as similar to their parent brand, is positively associated with attitude toward shopping for
consumers are more likely to evaluate the new product real (virtual) items on social networking Web sites.
favorably (Boush et al. 1987; Papadmitriou, Apostolopoulou,
Experience with Social Networking Web Sites
and Loukas 2004). The fit between the brand and the
extension category also can reduce uncertainty triggered by a Zajonc (1968) suggests the influence of a "mere exposure
particular extension category (Smith and Andrews 1995). effect," such that continuous exposure tends to increase
Papadmitriou, Apostolopoulou, and Loukas (2004) confirm people's liking for given stimuli. As a person experiences more
the significant impact of perceived fit on intention to purchase exposure to a particular stimulus, he or she establishes a more
the extended products or services. positive attitude toward that stimulus (Monroe 1976; Wilson
1979; Zajonc 1968). The more familiar they are with a
Even though some U.S. social networking Web sites have
medium, due to their frequent use of it, the more favorably
introduced shopping services and applications, the extension
people feel toward that medium. Several prior studies
is considered fledgling; these sites are not yet very aggressive
specifically focus on the relationship between overall Internet
about selling goods and services in general. Therefore,
experience and purchase intentions and behaviors on the
introducing and developing shopping services can be
Internet. Aldridge, Forcht, and Pierson (1997) assert that the
considered category extensions from a managerial standpoint.
likelihood of buying online increases as overall use of the
In that regard, consumers' perception of the fit between social
Internet increases, and Hoffman, Novak, and Peralta (1999)
networking sites and the individual items they sell would
empirically find that Internet experience has a positive
influence their attitudes toward the shopping services.
association with purchase behaviors on the Internet. Applying
Therefore,
this theory to social networking sites,
H2a(b). Perceived fit between social networking Web sites and
H4a(b). Experience with social networking sites is
real (virtual) items to be sold on the sites is positively
positively associated with attitude toward shopping for
associated with attitude toward shopping for real (virtual)
real (virtual) items on social networking sites.
items on social networking Web sites.
81 Journal of Interactive Advertising
Online Shopping Experience
Despite promising outlooks for online shopping in its nascent
stage, Forrester Research projects that online shopping will
account for only 9% of overall U.S. retail sales in 2010 (Linn
2007). Although online shopping has grown rapidly in recent
years, some Internet users remain reluctant to purchase goods
on the Internet because they are skeptical of how much
privacy and security they have in doing so (Aldridge, Forcht,
and Pierson 1997; Wang, Yeh, and Jiang 2006). Others may
hesitate to shop online because they would miss the social
interaction or direct experience with products. Online
shopping analysts argue that people who have not purchased
online tend to continue to buy goods or services offline (Linn
2007). Rogers (1995) also explains that people are more likely
to adopt an innovation they are comfortable with and that is
compatible with other technologies they already use.
Therefore,
H5a(b). Online shopping experience is positively
associated with attitude toward shopping for real (virtual)
items on social networking sites.
Gender
More men used the Internet in its nascent years than did
women, so online shopping was more prevalent among men
than among women in the late 1990s (Ernst and Young 1999;
Pew Internet 1998). Research also indicates that male
consumers spend more money and buy more frequently
online than do female consumers (Graphics, Visualization,
and Usability Center 1999; Li, Kuo, and Russell 1999). Yet the
gender gap has decreased in recent years; according to the Pew
Internet (2001) survey, 58% of men and 54% of women were
Internet users as of 2001. More recent surveys, such as the Pew
Internet (2002) and Sky News (2002), indicated that women
are more dominant than men when it comes to e-commerce.
Focusing on expenditures online, women accounted for 58%
of online shopping, whereas men were responsible for 42%
between April 2004 and March 2005, according to comScore
(Maguire 2006). Nevertheless, men still report higher levels of
online purchase intentions than do women (Doolin et al.
2005).
Dittmar, Long, and Meek (2004) maintain that differences in
conventional shopping motivations between men and women
may explain why women are less likely to buy online. Because
the online shopping environment does not offer emotional
involvement or social interaction, women may be less likely to
shop online. However, the situation could differ on social
Fall 2009
networking sites. Unlike other e-commerce sites that tend to
mitigate opportunities for social interaction during shopping,
social networking sites enable users to interact with their
friends. For example, Facebook's shopping application allows
users to rate and discuss products they want to purchase with
their friends. Therefore, users of social networks can obtain
their online friends' opinions about the products they want to
buy.
Meanwhile, Girard, Korgaonka, and Silverblatt (2003) find
that online shopping preferences depend on product types.
Men are more likely to shop online for books, computers, and
other "utilitarian experience" goods (e.g., cell phones,
televisions). Women instead shop online for hedonic
experience goods, such as perfume and clothing. The unique
characteristics of social networks as venues for shopping and
product types suggest the following hypothesis:
H6a(b). The female gender of consumers is positively
associated with attitude toward shopping for real (virtual)
items on social networking sites.
Age
Previous studies indicate that age and technology adoption
have an inverse relationship in various technology contexts.
Older people tend to exhibit more negative perceptions of new
technologies and feel greater reluctance to adopt them (Gilly
and Zeithaml 1985; Pommer, Berkowitz, and Walton 1980).
Madden and Savage (2000) specify that age is negatively
associated with Internet use, and the Pew Internet (2004)
project supports this relationship. These findings extend to the
adoption of specific Internet-related technologies, such as
online chat rooms and Webcasting (Lin 2004; Peter,
Valkenburg, and Schouten 2005). Age also has a negative
relationship with the adoption of e-commerce. Akhter (2003)
suggests that younger people are more likely than older
consumers to purchase products or services using the Internet,
and He and Mykytyn (2007) reveal a negative relationship
between age and the intention to adopt online payment
methods. Therefore,
H7a(b). Age is negatively associated with attitude toward
shopping for real (virtual) items on social networking
sites.
METHOD
Sample and Procedures
The data for this study come from a survey. Before the main
test, two pretests, using two samples of 38 and 40 college
82 Journal of Interactive Advertising Fall 2009

students, were conducted. On the basis of the pretests, the
questions and wordings for the questionnaire were carefully
refined. For the main survey, a total of 167 students at a large
university located in the southeast part of the United States
participated. Although the use of college students can be
viewed as convenient, Basil (1996) suggests this sample is valid
if their demographic group is of interest to the topic of study.
A college student sample is reasonable to study shopping
services on social networking sites, because college students
are the primary users of social networks (Arrington 2005; The
Info-Shop 2007) and represent a significant portion of the
demographic age group that social networking sites and
related retailers target for marketing (Market Watch 2008).
The sample for this study consists of students enrolled in two
large introductory mass communication courses. The courses
were open to all of the majors across campus, so the
participants' majors were heterogeneous. The sample consists
of 77.2% women (n = 129) and 22.8% men (n = 38); 6% of
them where first-year students (n = 10), 13.8% second year (n
= 23), 17.4% junior (n = 29), and 62.9% senior (n = 105). Their
ages range17 to 30 years, though more than 95% of the
participants were between the ages of 17 and 25 years, and the
average age was 20.71 years (SD = 1.52). Of the participants,
99.4% used at least one social networking site (n = 167). With
respect to time spent on social networking sites per week,
57.7% said that they spent 1 to 5 hours per week on average;
29.8% spent 6 to 10 hours; and 9.6 % spent 11 to 20 hours.
The participants were first asked to indicate the social
networking site with which they were most familiar; they
answered the remaining questions on the questionnaire with
regard to that social networking site. This approach was taken
because their perceptions (e.g., perceived security) of and
familiarity with social networks vary. For real and virtual items
that social networking sites could carry in their shopping
services, this study considers 10 products or services:
computers and computer accessories, DVDs, video games,
books, tickets, clothes and accessories, profile layouts, avatars,
virtual gifts, and playable music. The selection of real items
reflects the products college students purchase most often
online (Pew Internet 2001), and the virtual items include items
available on social networks that already offer shopping
services in the United States and other countries.
and Davis, Bagozzi, and Warshaw (1989) to assess perceived
ease of use; four items from the same sources measure
perceived usefulness. The measures for perceived enjoyment
come from Davis, Bagozzi, and Warshaw (1992). Two items
that measure perceived security are adapted from
Vijayasarathy (2003). To measureperceived fit, one item
captures the holistic similarity between items that a site might
sell and the social networking site that the respondent uses.
Morrin (1999) and Tauber (1988) suggest that the similarity
between existing products affiliated with the brand and the
extension category can be construed holistically. The one item
for the perceived fit comes from Keller and Aaker (1992). All
these measurement items use a seven-point Likert scale,
ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). In
contrast, respondents indicate their experience with social
networking sites and Internet purchasing, on the basis of their
frequency of using the social networking site and online
purchasing, on seven-point scales ranging from 1 (never) to 7
(all the time). Respondents also specify their age in years. To
measure attitude toward shopping for the 10 real and virtual
items on social networking sites, an item from Goby (2006)
provides the measure, which uses a seven-point Likert scale
ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).
A principal component factor analysis using Varimax rotation
was conducted first to examine whether attitude toward
shopping for individual items differs according to product
type. Bartlett's test shows that the overall correlations for
individual shopping items are significant (χ2 = 900.66, p <
.001), which suggests factor analysis is an applicable method
for classifying the shopping items. As Table 1 summarizes, the
factor analysis successfully yields two factors: real items (α =
.89) and virtual items (α = .81). The first factor (attitude
toward shopping for real items) refers to six items: computers
and accessories, tickets, clothes and accessories, books, DVDs,
and video games. The second factor (attitude toward shopping
for virtual items) includes four items: profile layouts, music
that can be played on social networks, virtual gifts, and
avatars. The real and virtual items account for 53.08% and
12.87% of the total variance, respectively. The means of
attitude toward shopping for real items (M = 4.16, SD = 1.37)
and virtual items (M = 4.10, SD = 1.41) are similar.

Measures
Appendix 1 shows the measurement items and reliabilities for
the constructs. Appendix 2 indicates the descriptive statistics
for the constructs. Three items are adapted from Davis (1989)
83 Journal of Interactive Advertising Fall 2009

Table 1. Factor analysis results for attitude toward shopping Avatars .42 .69
on social networks
Music played on profile .28 .69
Attitude toward Shopping for Real Items Virtual Items
Items
Notes. The first factor (real items) achieves an eigenvalue of 5.31. The
Book .84 .09 second factor (virtual items) reaches an eigenvalue of 1.29.

Ticket .82 .17 RESULTS

DVD .81 .31 Two separate multiple regressions assess the research question
and hypotheses. Tables 2 and 3 show the results from the
Clothing and accessories .71 .26
regressions. The conceptual models explain 76.4% (adjusted
Computers and accessories .68 .44 R2 = .75) and 58.0% (adjusted R2 = .55) of the variance for the
Video game .61 .52
attitude toward shopping for real items and virtual items,
respectively. Neither model suffers from multicollinearity
Profile layouts .10 .84 problems. The variance inflation factor (VIF) values range
Virtual gifts .18 .77 from 1.07 to 3.25.

Table 2. Multiple regression for attitude toward shopping for real items on social networking Web sites

B SE β

Perceived usefulness .15 .06 .16**

Perceive ease of use .27 .05 .26***

Perceive enjoyment -.12 .07 -.12*

Perceived security .07 .04 .07*

Perceived fit between social networks and real items .67 .05 .66***

Experience with social networks -.09 .06 -.07

Internet purchasing experience .05 .05 .04

Age -.10 .04 -.11**

Female .23 .14 .07

Notes: R = .87; R2 = .76.

* p < .05.
** p < .01.
*** p < .001 (one-tailed tests).
84 Journal of Interactive Advertising Fall 2009

Table 3. Multiple regression for attitude toward shopping for virtual items on social networking Web sites

B SE β

Perceived usefulness -.06 .08 -.06

Perceive ease of use .15 .08 .14*

Perceive enjoyment .12 .09 .13

Perceived security -.01 .05 -.02

Perceived fit between social networks and real items .64 .06 .63***

Experience with social networks -.17 .08 -.13*

Internet purchasing experience -.01 .07 -.01

Age -.04 .05 -.04

Female .55 .20 .16**

Notes: R = .76; R2 = .58.

* p < .05.
** p < .01.
*** p < .001 (one-tailed tests).

Hypothesis 1a postulates that perceived usefulness, ease of use,
and enjoyment are positively associated with attitude toward
shopping for real items on social networking sites. The
hypothesis receives partial support, because perceived
usefulness (β = .16, p < .01) and perceived ease of use (β =
.26, p < .001) are positively associated with attitude toward
shopping for real items on social networking sites. However,
perceived enjoyment (β = -.12, p < .05) indicates a negative
association with attitude toward shopping for real items.
Hypothesis 1b postulates that perceived usefulness, ease of use,
and enjoyment are positively associated with attitude toward
shopping for virtual items on social networks. Perceived ease
of use (β = .14, p < .05) is positively associated with attitude
toward shopping for virtual items, but perceived usefulness
and enjoyment do not statistically affect this attitude.
Hypotheses 2a and 2b propose that perceived fit is positively
associated with attitude toward shopping for real and virtual
items on social networks, respectively. Both of the hypotheses
receive support. That is, if college students perceive a good fit
between real items and social networking sites (β = .66, p <
.001), their attitude toward shopping for those items on social
networking sites is more favorable. The same logic applies to
virtual items (β = .63, p < .001). Hypotheses 3a and 3b suggest
a positive association between perceived security of
social networks and attitude toward shopping for real and
virtual items on the social networks, respectively. Hypothesis
3a is supported, but hypothesis 3b is not. Perceived security (β
= .07, p < .05) associates positively with attitude toward
shopping for real items, but it has no statistically significant
association with attitude toward shopping for virtual items on
social networks.
Hypotheses 4a and 4b suggest that experience with social
networking sites is positively associated with attitude toward
shopping for real and virtual items on social networks,
respectively. Neither hypothesis receives support; rather,
experience with the social networks has a negative association
with attitude toward shopping for virtual items (β = -.13, p <
.05). Hypotheses 5a and 5b presume that online purchasing
experience is positively associated with attitude toward
shopping for real and virtual items on social networking sites,
respectively. Online purchasing experience does not exhibit a
positive association with attitude toward shopping for either
real or virtual items on social networking sites. Neither of the
hypotheses receives support.
Hypothesis 6a and 6b propose a positive association between
female gender and attitude toward shopping for real and
virtual items on social networks, respectively. Hypothesis 6a is
not supported, but hypothesis 6b is supported. Although the
85 Journal of Interactive Advertising
results do not indicate a positive association between female
consumers and attitude toward shopping for real items, this
study indicates that women (β = .16, p < .01) are more likely
than men to have a favorable attitude toward shopping for
virtual items on social networks. Hypotheses 7a and 7b posit
that age and the attitude toward shopping for real and virtual
items on social networks have negative associations,
respectively. Hypothesis 7a is supported. Age is a significant
predictor of attitude toward shopping for real items on social
networking sites, such that younger people are more likely
than older people to shop for real items on social networks (β
= -.11, p < .01), even with the fairly narrow age range of the
subjects in this study. However, age has no association with
attitude toward shopping for virtual items on social
networking sites. Therefore, hypothesis 7b does not receive
support.
In response to RQ1, the factors that affect attitude toward
shopping are quite different for real versus virtual items.
Perceived usefulness, ease of use, security of shopping services,
and perceived fit between social networking sites and real
items have positive impacts, whereas perceived enjoyment and
age exhibit negative associations with attitude toward
shopping for real items on social networks. With respect to
virtual items, perceived ease of use, perceived fit, and female
gender predict favorable attitudes, but experience with social
networks has a negative association.
DISCUSSION
Noting the dearth of research investigating shopping
possibilities on social networking sites and purchase intentions
toward virtual items online, this study attempts to identify
predictors of attitude toward shopping for real and virtual
items on social networking sites by expanding the TAM.
Although the TAM serves as a prevalent explanation of
attitude, intentions, and actual use of new systems, it may be
too parsimonious, which implies it should be supplemented
and extended with other constructs (Venkatesh and Davis
2000). Therefore, this exploratory study integrates the primary
constructs of TAM-perceived usefulness, ease of use, and
enjoyment-with other constructs to predict attitude toward
shopping for real and virtual items on social networking sites.
The proposed conceptual models add more variables
pertaining to subjects' perceptions of and experience with
social networking sites (i.e., perceived security, fit, and
experience with social networking sites), as well as other
consumer characteristics (i.e., experience with online
purchasing, gender, and age) to the TAM.
Fall 2009
The proposed models explain much of the variance in attitude
toward shopping in a social networking site context, namely,
76% of the variance for real items and 58% of the variance for
virtual items. However, these proposed models remain quite
simple. In addition, the model for the real items explains more
variance than models in prior studies that center on shopping
for real items in e-commerce sites (e.g., Limayem, Khalifa, and
Frini 2000; Pavlou 2003; Shih 2004).
The findings help identify how valid the critical predictors of
attitude toward shopping-oriented sites are in the context of
social networking sites that operate shopping services as an
additional business area. The proposed models explain the
results for real items better than they do those for virtual
items. More unexplored factors remain regarding attitude
toward shopping for virtual items. This finding should be
expected, because the conceptual models are based on existing
studies focused on online purchasing of real items, whereas
little existing research examines virtual items in an online
shopping context.
In line with most prior studies on Internet technology
adoption (Gefen, Karahanna, and Straub 2003; Suh and Han
2002), this study reveals that the more people perceive
shopping services on social networking sites as useful and easy
to use, the more favorable they feel toward shopping for real
items on those social networks. Perceived enjoyment has a
negative association with shopping attitude toward real items,
which appears to contradict Atkinson and Kydd's (1997)
suggestion that perceived enjoyment strongly influences the
entertainment purposes of the Web. The shopping values
sought through online shopping may offer a possible
explanation for this result.
According to Reibstein (2002), cost savings are a primary
reason for purchasing products and services through online
channels. Some people consider shopping a recreational
activity, yet consumers' overarching tendency to seek
utilitarian values from online shopping seems to overshadow
the possible recreational value of shopping services on social
networking sites-if the items sold are real items. Therefore,
perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of shopping
services, which represent utilitarian values, determine the
attitude toward shopping for real items. In contrast, the
perceived enjoyment of shopping on social networks, a
hedonic shopping value, presumably hinders the efficiency of
shopping for real items.
Unlike the findings for real items, only perceived ease of use,
among the TAM constructs, has a positive impact on attitude
86 Journal of Interactive Advertising Fall 2009

toward shopping for virtual items on social networks. e-commerce, so the impact of the security issue suggests that
Perceived usefulness instead appears rather negatively social networking sites should boost their levels of security
associated with attitude shopping for virtual items on social when selling real items and increasing the price of virtual
networking sites, though it is not statistically significant. The items on social networking sites.
inherent nature of virtual items, including their usage limited
Furthermore, this study illustrates that perceived fit is a
to virtual spaces and the emotional gratifications they may
common and the strongest predictor of attitudes toward
provide, could explain why perceptions of usefulness of
shopping for both real and virtual items on social networking
shopping services do not matter, in parallel with Heijden's
Web sites. Social networks' expansion into shopping services
(2004) study, which shows perceived ease of use is a stronger
therefore appears to represent a category extension to
predictor than perceived usefulness of intentions to adopt
consumers. Because such shopping services are just beginning
hedonic systems.
and peripheral business units from users' perspectives,
Regarding the role of perceived ease of use, its effect is selecting and introducing product or service categories that fit
stronger than that of perceived usefulness for both real and well with their existing brand images are keys to success.
virtual items, whereas the effect of perceived usefulness
Strikingly, this study indicates that experience with social
traditionally has appeared stronger in the context of e-
networking sites has an inverse association with attitude
commerce-oriented sites (Gefen, Karahanna, and Straub 2003;
toward shopping for virtual items. On the surface, this finding
Pavlou 2003). A meta-analysis of the studies that have
contradicts prior studies, but it also reflects that people who
employed TAM confirms that perceived usefulness has a
frequently use U.S. social networking sites are accustomed to
greater effect than perceived ease of use on the adoption of
receiving many free virtual items. Thus, frequent social
various new technologies or systems (Ma and Liu 2004).
network users should be more reluctant to shop for virtual
Shopping services on social networking sites represent a
items because they possess the strong belief that virtual items
category extension and a new feature for the site users; the
on social networking sites are or should be complimentary.
findings in this study imply that by placing more emphasis on
establishing and promoting an easy interface for searching and This finding offers another critical insight: Consumers still
transactions, merchants can lure customers to shop on social have strong perceptions that intangible goods available on the
networking sites. Web are free, whereas they accept that they must pay for
tangible goods, regardless of the channel through which they
Perceived security of shopping services on social networking
purchase them. Therefore, Web proprietors should take care
sites is one of the salient factors that is positively associated
in their long-term decisions regarding whether to provide
with attitude toward shopping for real items but not with
consumers with a particular service for free or require
shopping for virtual items. According to a report by Nielsen
payment for a new service. The decision is even more
(2008) report, 94% of U.S. Internet users have shopped online.
important when the service is innovative and new to the
Internet users may become increasingly comfortable with
market.
online transactions in general. As the number of online
shoppers increases, the impact of the security concerns about Although the participants indicate similarly favorable attitudes
online shopping might decline. Yet this study also reveals that toward shopping for real and virtual items, they evaluated
such concerns still pose a barrier for social networking sites virtual items, rather than real items, as better fits for social
that wish to offer shopping services for real items. networking sites overall. Papadmitriou, Apostolopoulou, and
Loukas (2004) find that a good perceived fit increases the
The findings show that security is a critical factor affecting the
likelihood that consumers will purchase the products or
attitude toward shopping for real items on social networking
services. Launching virtual items could help social networking
sites-but not so for shopping for virtual items on social
sites reduce their investment risks when they expand their
networking sites. A plausible reason for this finding is the
business into shopping services. However, U.S. social
perceived price difference between real and virtual items.
networking sites must determine how they can change the
Because many virtual items on U.S. social networking sites are
perceptions of low value of virtual items among frequent social
free or cost very little, people may not have a concept of paying
networking site users and to encourage willingness to pay. As
for virtual items on social networking sites. Apparently, they
the online music industry has, social networking sites might
recognize that real items are more costly than virtual items in
need to transition to alter consumers' perception of the value
87 Journal of Interactive Advertising
of intangible virtual products. This issue is also important for
the copyright protection of intangible products.
The finding that women are more likely than men to support
shopping for virtual items on social networks builds on
previous studies that suggest women tend to shop online for
hedonic experience goods (Girard, Korgaonkar, and Silverblatt
2003). The characteristics of virtual items categorize them as
hedonic experienced goods. The interactivity of social
networking sites also may mitigate the flaws of online
shopping for female consumers, such as the lack of social
interaction and emotional involvement. Interestingly, female
gender also has a positive association with attitude toward
shopping for real items, but a statistical significance is not
detected. In that regard, further research should explore how
the addition of social interaction functions in an online
shopping context might increase female consumers' shopping
intentions and behaviors.
Despite the narrow age range of the subjects in this study, they
reveal that age is negatively associated with attitude toward
shopping for real items on social networks. This finding aligns
with prior studies that indicate an inverse association between
age and intentions to shop online. Some e-commerce sites,
such as eBay, have launched social networking functions; the
finding from this study also implies that such social shopping
is likely to attract more young people to shopping venues
online for real items.
From a managerial perspective, the findings of this study
indicate that the target consumers and social networking site
features should differ according to product type, if the sites
want to expand their businesses to include shopping services.
That is, younger people with positive perceptions of the
usefulness, ease of use, and security of shopping services on
social networks, as well as those who recognize the fit between
social networks and the real items to be sold, will have more
favorable attitudes toward shopping for real items. Women
with have less experience with social networking sites but
adopt a positive perception of the ease of use of shopping
services and the fit between shopping services and virtual
items on social networking sites will exhibit more positive
attitudes toward shopping for virtual items.
This study also suggests social networking sites can act as
unique venues that combine social interaction, emotional
involvement, and hedonic experience items and thereby boost
female consumers' online shopping. Attitude toward shopping
for virtual items includes even more unexplored driving
Fall 2009
forces, so further studies should examine other factors that
may influence the purchase likelihood of virtual items.
As an exploratory study, this investigation provides a starting
point for determining how the sale of virtual items might
contribute to the growth of the Internet as a shopping channel
and create a unique shopping experience. It also suffers some
limitations. Most social networking sites based in the United
States do not actively offer shopping services. To measure
college students' attitudes toward shopping services on social
networks, this study uses an assumption that social
networking sites provide shopping services, because some
participants in the survey may not be familiar with shopping
services on social networks. For the same reason, the focus
remains on attitudes toward shopping rather than attitude
toward purchase, purchase intentions, or actual purchase.
Other studies should investigate purchase intentions and
actual purchase behaviors in other countries in which social
networking sites actively offer shopping services.
Finally, the selected shopping items all reflect popular items in
existing online shopping stores and social networking sites
that already offer shopping services. The survey data also come
from students at only one university, and though the
participants represent different majors, the results must be
interpreted with caution. Despite the narrow age range, the
results indicate that age has a negative relationship with
attitude toward shopping for real items. The increasing trend
of introducing shopping services on various online venues,
including virtual communities and game sites, should enable
additional studies to examine the effect of age on the intention
to purchase real and virtual items among more diverse age
groups. Further studies also should pay more attention to
issues related to how the unique features of social networking
sites (e.g., network size) may influence users' intentions to
purchase virtual items.
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Appendix 1. Constructs and items

Constructs Items

Perceived ease of use Shopping services on the social networking website will be easy to use.
Cronbach's α = .88
Learning to shop on the social networking website will be easy for me.

It will be easy to get shopping services on the social networking website to do what
I want to do.

Perceived usefulness Shopping services on the social network will be useful for me.
Cronbach's α = .93
Shopping services on the social network will make me more efficient.

Shopping services on the social network will make my life easier.

Perceived enjoyment I will find shopping on the social networking website to be enjoyable.
Cronbach's α = .96
The actual process of shopping on the social networking website will be pleasant.

I will have fun shopping on the social networking website.

I will find shopping on the social networking website to be interesting.

Perceived security Using credit cards to make purchases on the social networking website would be
Cronbach's α = .95 safe.

Making payments on the social networking website would be secure.

Perceived fit There is a good fit between the social networking website and each of the items.

Attitude toward shopping on Given that the social network has access to the shopping system, using the social
social networking websites networking website to shop for each of the following items would be a good idea.

Appendix 2. Descriptive statistics

M SD

Perceived ease of use 4.34 1.29

Perceived usefulness 3.11 1.43

Perceived enjoyment 3.43 1.45

Perceived security 3.90 1.50

Perceived fit between social networks and books 4.33 1.87

Perceived fit between social networks and DVDs 3.83 1.68

93 Journal of Interactive Advertising Fall 2009

Perceived fit between social networks and clothing and accessories 3.10 1.65

Perceived fit between social networks and computer accessories and computers 3.82 1.67

Perceived fit between social networks and video games 3.63 1.80

Perceived fit between social networks and tickets 4.82 1.74

Perceived fit between social networks and profile layouts 4.70 1.90

Perceived fit between social networks and avatars 3.41 1.68

Perceived fit between social networks and virtual gifts 5.15 1.68

Perceived fit between social networks and music that can be played on your profile at the social 5.14 1.79
network

Experience with social networking websites 6.07 1.10

Experience with online purchasing 3.78 1.24

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jiyoung Cha (Ph.D., University of Florida) is an assistant

professor in the Department of Radio, Television, and Film at
the University of North Texas. Her research interests include
the relationship between the media and the audience and the
interaction between emerging new media and traditional
media from management and marketing perspectives. She
received her Ph.D. in mass communication with a minor in
marketing from the University of Florida and her master's
degree in Television, Radio, and Film at the S.I. Newhouse
School of Communications at Syracuse University. E-
mail: jcha@unt.edu.