A Comparative Study of Online and Mobile Shopping among Young Adults in

Indonesia: The Case of Tokopedia

RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Syadif Ammar Taufik
Vityasi Nurul Iman
Winda Tesyarani
Yvoi Katchya Lovinszky

FACULTY OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS

INTERNATIONAL UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM
DEPOK
MAY 2019
 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

We certify that this submission is the work of our own group. All sources used by the group have
been documented.

This piece of work has not previously been submitted for an assessment in this or any other
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We accept that this submission may be screened to detect the existence of plagiarism.

Name : Syadif Ammar Taufik (160689822)

Vityasi Nurul Iman (1606898854)
Winda Tesyarani (1606898873)
Yvoi Katchya Lovinszky (1606898886)

Signature :

Subject Name : Case Study

Title : A Comparative Study of Online and Mobile Shopping among Young Adults in
Indonesia: The case of Tokopedia

Date : October 8​th​, 2019

Lecturer : Sari Wahyuni & Agung Nugroho

Signature :

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS 2

INTRODUCTION 3
1.1 Background 3
1.2 Research Problem 4
1.3 Research Framework 6
1.4 Methodology 7
1.4.1 Qualitative Research Methodology 7
1.4.2 Research Techniques 7
1.4.3 Unit of Analysis 8

REFERENCES 9
Statista Research Department, 2019 ; Number of smartphone users in Indonesia from 2011
to 2022(in millions)*. Retrieved from
www.statista.com/statistics/266729/smartphone-users-in-indonesia/ 10

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 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Throughout the 21​st century, there have been a few more groundbreaking and impactful
technological devices, in this case, smartphones. Its impacts have been widely felt all around the
world on a high level. In Indonesia alone, it is estimated there is about 76.6 million smartphone
​ tatista, 2019). Another technological feat that has become incredibly
users in 2019 (​Source: S
important for the modern consumer is e-commerce websites. E-commerce websites allow
customers to purchase items with very little friction and effort. Historically, E-commerce has
been done with the use of personal computers or laptops. However, along with the increase of
smartphones, M-commerce (​Source: ​E-commerce done through the mobile phone channel)
becomes a new trend sweeping the world. In Indonesia, E-commerce leaders, such as Tokopedia,
Shopee and Bukalapak have capitalized on the high rates of smartphone owners by creating
applications which facilitate M-commerce.
On face value, it is quite easy to understand the reason M-commerce has become so
popular in a country like Indonesia. For a country where infrastructure is often lacking (​Source:
Indonesia Investment, 2017), Indonesia has a very high rate of people using the Internet and
mobile devices. It is estimated that the number of internet users in Indonesia has reached 171
​ atanson, 2019 Indonesia:
million users, or approximately 65% of the total population (​Source:N
The New Tiger Of Southeast Asia, Forbes Magazine). Out of those users, it is estimated that
​ atanson, 2019 Indonesia: The New Tiger Of Southeast Asia,
95% are mobile users (​Source:N
Forbes Magazine). Despite lacking in bandwidth, Indonesia is known for its relatively cheap data
packages, which may be one of the main reasons for the widespread usage of mobile phones
​ cCarthy, 2019 The Cost Of Mobile Internet Around The World [Infographic], Forbes
(​Source:M
Magazine). This all lends to the fact that 76% of all internet users in Indonesia make transactions
from their phones, leads to the highest rate of mobile e-commerce of any country in the world
​ atanson, 2019 Indonesia: The New Tiger Of Southeast Asia, Forbes Magazine). These
(​Source:N
numbers are more staggering when one realizes that the internet-based economy is growing with

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a CAGR of 49% from 2015-2018, which is the fastest growth in the world (​Source: ​Natanson,
2019 Indonesia: The New Tiger Of Southeast Asia, Forbes Magazine). Thus, it is clear that in
Indonesia, M-commerce is a new way of shopping that is rapidly growing and cannot be ignored
by internet economy participants and modern customers.
The above paragraph outlines the conditional enablers which allow for the usage of
M-commerce in Indonesia. However, its growing popularity among Indonesians are clearly
indicative of strong drivers for continued usage of M-commerce services such as Tokopedia.
Tokopedia, a unicorn technology company, is one of the e-commerce leaders in
Indonesia.

1.2 Research Problem

Shcramm-Klein and Gerhard Wagner, who conducted a quantitative comparative analysis

of Mobile Shopping and Traditional Online Shopping argued that “traditional online retailing
(from personal computers) and mobile online retailing are perceived and utilized as two different
ways of online shopping by consumers” (​Source: ​Research Gate, 2003). Creating a dichotomy
between this “traditional online retailing” and mobile online retailing can be a useful tool
through which researchers can study the impact of different channels of online commerce. It is
first important to understand the differences between traditional E-commerce and M-commerce
in order to gain a foundational understanding.
A comparison of the two modes or channels of online commerce has not been done in a
market like Indonesia, which is quite distinct from the markets tested by previous journals.
Firstly, unlike most similar studies, Indonesia is not an established developed country with a
strong internet and telecommunications history. For example, Schramm-Klein and Wagner’s
study had subjects that were from the United States. American customers are very different from
Indonesian ones for several reasons. Firstly, the prominence of early e-commerce players such as
Ebay happened before the boom in mobile-based internet economy (​Source: American
Economic Review: Papers & Proceedings 2014, 104(5): 489–494). As such, they most likely
have a better understanding of the PC-based E-commerce than Indonesian E-commerce

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customers, as companies such as Tokopedia, Shopee, and Bukalapak are relatively new players
which came into prominence during the age of mobile commerce, and into a situation where
most of their potential internet-using customers utilized phones (as indicated by the 76% of
internet users using phones to do commerce) (Natanson, 2019 Indonesia: The New Tiger Of
Southeast Asia, Forbes Magazine). This is significant as it means that the reasons for choosing
the different channels may differ markedly between American and Indonesian customers. A
second point of difference is the fact that many of the studies regarding this topic may be
outdated. In an ever-changing technology driven world, new studies should continuously analyze
the different impacts technologies have on customers. As such, this study can act as the newer
and more up-to-date version of previous studies, which have occurred in more developed
countries, and during times and conditions in which the mobile phone was not as prominent a
factor in everyday commerce and life (SOURCE). Lastly, this study aims to look at one
E-commerce service; Tokopedia. The reason for this is that this study aims to minimize the
number of factors that can impact the utilization of different channels of online commerce. As
has been stated by P. Phani bhaskar on A Study on Factors Influence towards
E-Commerce(2017), factors such as design, brand image, and others can impact the utilization of
E-commerce by customers. By isolating the service to just one, those other factors can be
minimized or eliminated as customers compare only the traditional channel and mobile channel
of Tokopedia.
This study aims to discover the main drivers of the utilization of M-commerce as opposed
to ‘traditional’ PC-based E-commerce. It aims to take a deep dive into understanding the
motivations of customers in Indonesia for using M-commerce as a channel for purchasing items.
As such, this study aims to answer the following research questions:
1) Do Indonesia consumers’ purchase intention via Tokopedia differ depending on
the channel used to make the purchases (mobile vs PC)?
2) What factors influence consumers’ purchase intention via traditional (PC) and
mobile methods in the case of Tokopedia?
3) How do these factors relate to the enabling conditions for M-commerce?

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6
 1.3 Research Framework

Figure 1. Research Framework E-Commerce Figure 2. Research Framework M-Commerce

In order to give a clear analysis of online shopping through different channels, we apply
our research framework for the E-Commerce along with M-Commerce. From the figures above,
it can be seen that both e-commerce and m-commerce conditions depends on the three important
factors, those are perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and perceived enjoyment.
Eventually, the three factors will influence the consumers’ intention to purchase. Davis (1989)
stated that perceived usefulness is one of the variables that might result in people making
decisions to use a technology. Perceived usefulness here can be defined as the degree to which
consumers believe that the use of a technology will make their shopping activity better. The
second important factor that determines the intention to use technology is Perceived Ease of Use.
To be specific, Cha (2011) mentioned that perceived ease of use is positively related with the
intention to purchase. Perceived ease of use refers to the extent to which a user feels the ease in
using a technology (Dachyar & Banjarnahor, 2017). The third factor that has an effect on
consumers’ purchase intention is perceived enjoyment. Perceived enjoyment is the extent to
which customers feel enjoy in using the technology. Perceived enjoyment is a strong indicator
for technology acceptance (A. Mandilas et al., 2013).

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1.4 Methodology

1.4.1 Qualitative Research Methodology

In this study, we will use a qualitative research methodology to get a clear

comprehension on research questions mentioned previously. A qualitative research methodology
seems to be the best option for this study because it gives elaborate descriptions to how a person
experienced something. Besides, a qualitative research methodology is suitable to be used
because this research aims to outline and examine the relationship between shopping channels,
perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, and consumers purchase
intention.

1.4.2 Research Techniques

To get a clear understanding of the participant’s point of view toward the research object,
we will use the interview technique for this analysis. This study will use semi-structured
interviews as its main source of information and data. Utilizing semi-structured interviews will
allow the study to get the best of both worlds of structured and unstructured interviews. Firstly,
the semi structured provides better, more comparable results than unstructured interview. It can
be used for this study because there has already been a relatively good amount of prior research
on the topic. Sheramm-Klien/Wagner’s study is perhaps the most thorough and reliable one out
of all the similar prior studies. Unstructured interviews will also allow the subject to go more in
depth into the different intricacies, opinions, and thoughts they have.
The following is an interview guide for the study, as well as possible questions that may
be asked:
A.​ P
​ erceived Usefulness

1) H
​ ow do you think using the e-channel will improve your ability to search for

products?
2)​ H
​ ow accurate do you believe your searches will be using the channel?

B.​ P
​ erceived Ease of Use

3)​ H
​ ow understandable is the user interface of the channel?

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 4)​ H
​ ow easy do you think using the channel is?

C.​ P
​ erceived Enjoyment

5)​ H
​ ow much fun do you think using your channel is?

D.​ P
​ erceived Satisfaction

6)​ H
​ ow satisfied are you by the channel you used?

7)​ H
​ ow do you feel when you use your channel?

E.​ I​ ntention to Use

8)​ H
​ ow do you feel about using your used channel in the future?

9)​ D
​ o you think you will use the channel regularly?

F.​ E
​ nabling Conditions

10) How do you believe the price of data affects usage of your channel?

1.4.3 Unit of Analysis

Unit of analysis is a very crucial subject to delve into the richness and depth of qualitative
research. A purposive sampling is popular to be used in a qualitative research (Siegle, 2015).
Purposive sampling is a strategy to select respondents based on some characteristics. This study
will look into the participants with a characteristics that they are often using e-commerce to
purchase goods or services. In addition, since we are studying the case object for the young
adults, we will set an age ranging from 18 to 40 years old.

1.4.4 Validity Issues

Construct Validity
This research applies construct validity in it to determine how well this study measures
the theory it is measuring (Ginty, n.d.). The research framework is made based on the literature
review and the research questions. Additionally, the research question will be used for
developing samples for this study’s respondents.
Content Validity
Content validity is used in this study to re-check when examining the operationalization
of online shopping channels. To obtain the evidence of content validity, this study systematically

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defines the testing universe, whereby the research looks into literature reviews providing
theoretical background on each construct of the study such as perceived usefulness, perceived
ease of use, and perceived enjoyment.
Internal Validity
Internal validity refers to a way to measure if the result of the research is convincing and
sound (Stephanie, 2014). According to Cuncic (2019), internal validity is conducted to indicate if
the study are trustworthy and meaningful enough in the eyes of the participants. To ensure
internal validity, we will use source triangulation which is gathering data from multiple sources
because there might be a difference for online customers using channels to purchase goods based
on what they do in life. Moreover, this study will use location triangulation to understand
differences that might exist in different locations of online customers using particular channels.
External Validity
External validity ​is the validity of applying the conclusions of a scientific study outside
the context of that study (Mitchell, M. & Jolley, J. 2001). We will use Thick description for our
external validity. Thick description refers to the detailed account of field experiences in which
the researcher makes explicit the patterns of cultural and social relationships and puts them in
context (Holloway, 1997).
1.4.5 Reliability Issue
Reliability is about whether we would obtain the same results if we could observe the
same thing twice. In this respect, the degree of consistency with which instances are assigned to
the same category by different observers or by the same observer on different occasions
(Silverman, 2000: p.188).

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