Abstract

Consumers who have adopted tuanzhu group buying (TGB) changed from one-on-one online buying to buying led by a tuanzhu (ie. group leader). The tuanzhu integrates the demands and funds of multiple consumers and is responsible negotiating with the seller to achieve better transaction results as well as to acquire more information about the product to reduce various kinds of risk. However, the TGB mechanism is marred by delays and uncertainties, which can trigger potential customer risks. We recruited as participants 193 college students from four business schools. All students participated in the research voluntarily. The respondents were randomly assigned to the traditional online buying and TGB groups. Of the 193 surveys distributed, 146 were returned. Results of this study show that consumers’ perceived risk is higher with TGB than with online buying. As a result, TGB is much more complicated than traditional online buying, and thus consumers’ perceived risk is higher with TGB than with traditional online buying.

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