Determinants of C2C e-commerce: an empirical analysis of the use of online auction websites among Europeans

Abstract

E-commerce has opened up new commercial opportunities for businesses and consumers. In consumer-to-consumer (C2C) online markets, not only can individuals buy from other individuals but also sell. This article investigates the socio-economic factors shaping individuals’ decisions to undertake C2C e-commerce. By means of a multinomial logit model and a unique data set of individuals across the full European Union, C2C purchasing and selling online patterns are analysed. This is an area where empirical evidence has usually focused on consumers’ purchasing behaviour and less is known about sellers. Interestingly enough, results point out that the profile of sellers and buyers differs greatly, except for gender. Hence, certain socio-economic features, social online networks and the breath of internet use show different effects over e-selling and e-buying. Moreover, cross-region differences in incomes appear to be correlated with consumers’ e-commerce use.

Keywords:

• e-commerce
• internet
• consumer-to-consumer (C2C)
• multinomial logit

JEL Classification:

• L86
• C25
• O52