Abstract
Most marketing specialists recognise that consumer behaviour can be explained by knowing the system of factors and variables that influence it. The purpose of our research is to get to know and analyse the behaviour of EU consumers within the online environment. In order to do so, we have selected a group of indicators and variables of consumer behaviour from the Eurostat database. The specific values for each EU Member State were processed using cluster analysis, by means of which we aimed to identify clusters with as many similar elements of the same class as possible (minimal variability within classes) and as many elements which differ from each other as possible if these elements belong to different classes (maximum variability between classes). Our research led to the identification of five clusters in which the EU states are grouped according to the characteristics of consumer behaviour in the online environment. An overview of consumer behaviour on the digital European market is provided and different types of generally similar consumers are identified. The results of our research could be interesting to specialists and experts in the marketing departments of companies doing business on the digital market of the European Union. We further suggest some future research opportunities.
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Appendix: Data in Clusters
Appendix: Data in Clusters
Cluster | V1 | V2 | V4 | V3 | V6 | V11 | V5 | V10 | V8 | V7 | V9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CL1 | 40.2 | 35.8 | 23.4 | 34.8 | 27.6 | 71.0 | 24.2 | 7.2 | 18.0 | 13.8 | 13.8 |
CL2 | 17.0 | 13.0 | 8.0 | 14.0 | 10.0 | 54.0 | 10.0 | 5.0 | 37.0 | 34.0 | 35.0 |
CL3 | 14.8 | 13.9 | 7.8 | 13.1 | 8.6 | 23.4 | 8.3 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 5.1 |
CL4 | 30.5 | 19.5 | 20.0 | 21.3 | 24.8 | 59.0 | 22.5 | 7.0 | 23.3 | 14.8 | 19.3 |
CL5 | 27.2 | 27.1 | 13.4 | 24.2 | 14.3 | 41.8 | 12.3 | 5.5 | 8.0 | 7.1 | 9.2 |
EU-28 | 26.1 | 23.3 | 14.3 | 22.1 | 16.4 | 44.6 | 14.6 | 5.5 | 12.0 | 9.5 | 11.2 |
Cluster 1 | V1 | V2 | V4 | V3 | V6 | V11 | V5 | V10 | V8 | V7 | V9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Denmark | 47 | 44 | 23 | 23 | 34 | 72 | 26 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 24 |
Germany | 27 | 45 | 28 | 36 | 25 | 67 | 20 | 7 | 9 | 17 | 12 |
Luxembourg | 38 | 26 | 22 | 39 | 22 | 73 | 21 | 6 | 32 | 18 | 10 |
Netherlands | 44 | 39 | 20 | 37 | 26 | 68 | 23 | 6 | 12 | 10 | 10 |
UK | 45 | 25 | 24 | 39 | 31 | 75 | 31 | 8 | 26 | 13 | 13 |
Cluster 2 | V1 | V2 | V4 | V3 | V6 | V11 | V5 | V10 | V8 | V7 | V9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ireland | 17 | 13 | 8 | 14 | 10 | 54 | 10 | 5 | 37 | 34 | 35 |
Cluster 3 | V1 | V2 | V4 | V3 | V6 | V11 | V5 | V10 | V8 | V7 | V9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bulgaria | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
Greece | 21 | 22 | 6 | 19 | 6 | 28 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Croatia | 21 | 25 | 6 | 23 | 7 | 28 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 4 |
Italy | 13 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 27 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 7 |
Cyprus | 15 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 11 | 27 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Lithuania | 18 | 13 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 30 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 6 |
Portugal | 13 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 25 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 10 |
Romania | 8 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Cluster 4 | V1 | V2 | V4 | V3 | V6 | V11 | V5 | V10 | V8 | V7 | V9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Belgium | 23 | 20 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 52 | 20 | 5 | 15 | 14 | 13 |
France | 34 | 13 | 19 | 25 | 27 | 61 | 21 | 5 | 31 | 12 | 14 |
Finland | 32 | 18 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 59 | 22 | 8 | 27 | 14 | 20 |
Sweden | 33 | 27 | 22 | 17 | 26 | 64 | 27 | 10 | 20 | 19 | 30 |
Cluster 5 | V1 | V2 | V4 | V3 | V6 | V11 | V5 | V10 | V8 | V7 | V9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Czech Rep. | 21 | 23 | 19 | 17 | 20 | 42 | 17 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 10 |
Estonia | 29 | 33 | 15 | 27 | 17 | 48 | 14 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 12 |
Spain | 24 | 31 | 11 | 30 | 8 | 41 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 6 |
Latvia | 26 | 23 | 13 | 18 | 15 | 42 | 14 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 11 |
Hungary | 24 | 25 | 11 | 18 | 13 | 33 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
Malta | 30 | 21 | 14 | 31 | 11 | 42 | 12 | 7 | 17 | 6 | 8 |
Austria | 34 | 23 | 13 | 30 | 14 | 54 | 15 | 3 | 20 | 10 | 14 |
Poland | 24 | 26 | 13 | 22 | 15 | 39 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
Slovenia | 27 | 27 | 9 | 22 | 12 | 32 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 7 |
Slovakia | 33 | 39 | 16 | 27 | 18 | 45 | 13 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 11 |
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Androniceanu, A., Kinnunen, J., Georgescu, I., Androniceanu, AM. (2020). Multidimensional Analysis of Consumer Behaviour on the European Digital Market. In: Sroka, W. (eds) Perspectives on Consumer Behaviour. Contributions to Management Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47380-8_4
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