Analysis Of The Behaviour Of Online Consumers From The European Union: Relationships And Extreme Values

Abstract

The present study aims to reveal relationships and extreme values concerning online consumer activity within the European Union. The conclusions of the research are based on official statistics relating to people from the 27 EU member states who made online purchases in 2022. The study utilised analysis of variance (ANOVA) and descriptive statistical methods to analyse the grouped data from the research. In the course of the study, statistically significant correlations between sequentially selected factors, such as age, education, and digital skills of the respondents, and the dependent variable – online purchasing activity of consumers from the EU, were derived. With the help of a box plot, it is observed that the percentages of male and female online shoppers aged between 16 and 24 years from Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus reach moderately low extreme values in the distribution. Using the same graphical method, a moderately low extreme value of the percentage of women with higher education from Bulgaria, who made online purchases in 2022, is visualised. The percentages of online consumers who are "professionals" in the field of ICT from Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania are abnormally low, and for "non- professionals" in this field, the percentage of online consumers from Romania appears as a moderately low extreme value. The obtained empirical results can be transformed into reference points for the formation of market strategies by traders.