Customer Perceived Value and Trade-Offs in the Online Shopping Market

Abstract

The rapid expansion of online shopping has increased the importance of understanding how consumers evaluate the benefits they receive relative to the costs, risks, and compromises associated with digital purchasing. This study examined customer perceived value and the trade-offs considered by online consumers in Henan Province, China. Specifically, it assessed perceived value in terms of emotional, social, and economic factors; examined trade-offs involving convenience and cost, product quality and price, and perceived risk and potential benefit; and determined the relationships between these dimensions. A descriptive quantitative research design was employed using a structured questionnaire administered to 386 online customers who had made purchases through e-commerce platforms within the previous six months. Data were analyzed using weighted mean, ranking, and Spearman's rho correlation. Emotional value obtained the highest composite mean (3.28), followed by social value (3.15) and economic value (2.62). Among the trade-offs, convenience and cost ranked highest (3.48), followed by product quality and price (3.45) and perceived risk and potential benefit (3.35). Significant positive relationships were found between all customer perceived value dimensions and the examined trade-offs, with correlations ranging from rho = .262 to .589 and all p-values below .001. The findings indicate that online purchasing decisions reflect both experiential value and deliberate evaluation of convenience, price, quality, and risk. Online retailers should therefore manage customer experience, transparent costs, credible product information, transaction security, and return policies as interconnected components of the value proposition.