Most consumers purchase a product that is right for them only after careful consideration and research of many sources of information. Up until recently, television, magazines, newspapers, stores and surrounding people were the only source of information, but with the introduction of the internet as a new source of information, its use has become not something of choice but of necessity. Business using the internet medium is called electronic business and in this electronic business, it is extremely important to know what induces the consumer to purchase a certain product in the process of information search. Therefore, the objective of this study is in explaining the type of information search depending on demographic and environmental variables centered on golf products and the important factors influencing the selection of certain golf products.
There have been many studies done on information search of various products, but it was difficult to find studies regarding golf products. In addition, although the golf industry itself possesses several weak points in the application of the internet, this study is limited to golf products because of its huge, yet dormant, potential for growth and the number of successful corporations that use the internet as a new source of information.
In this study, online and offline respondents were selected as subjects for a survey used to analyze the factors, which influence the purchasing of golf products through electronic business, and to define the information search pattern of these consumers. Also, this study presents marketing strategies through subdivision of the various consumer groups.