Innovations in e-commerce: value proposition for e-buyers

Development and innovation in the e-commerce sector over the last decade have been extremely dynamic. Market development has increasingly been driven by the changing behaviour of consumers shopping online and the growing number of e-stores. This article identifies the pro-innovation areas and actions which are creating special value propositions for e-buyers in Poland and assesses their impact on shopping decisions for each generation (X, Y, and baby boomers) by assessing the impacts of differences in the preferences of the generations regarding e-commerce. Each generation differs significantly from the others in terms of work, education, security, success in professional and personal life, and in terms of consumption. The characteristics of the individual generations and the levels of their digital competencies impact significantly on the ways in which a given generation makes purchases and what they expect during the purchasing process. In order to establish the key determinants of online purchasing decisions and attitudes towards innovation in e-commerce, an online survey was conducted. The sample included three generations of Polish internet users: 260 people at ages between 25 and 37 (generation Y); 200 people at ages between 38 and 50 (generation X) and 100 people at ages between 51 and 70 (the baby boomers’ generation). The structure of the article includes presentations of the problem against the background of relevant literature, the theoretical assumptions of the research, and its findings and conclusions.