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Abstract
Spam e-mail inundates inboxes. Little is known about consumer responses to spam e-mail advertising computer software products. We conducted a study among 200 college students to determine variables associated both with opening/reading spam e mail about computer software products and with purchasing these items. With regard to opening/reading, we found that increasing age (OR:1.22, 95% CI:1.02, 1.47; p=0.03), previously responding to fraudulent e-mail (OR:2.91, 95% CI:1.31, 6.46; p=0.01), and wanting to learn more information online about computer software (OR:1.72, 95% CI:1.12, 2.64; p=0.01) had significant associations. With regard to purchasing, we found that wanting to learn more information online about computer software had a significant association (OR:2.47, 95% CI:1.32, 4.60; p=0.01) and previously responding to fraudulent e-mail approached significance (OR:2.55, 95% CI:0.99, 6.58; p=0.052). Ethical e-mail advertisers would benefit when advertising computer software products to include in the e-mail relevant information about learning more information online about computer software. This can encourage the recipient to click-through and purchase the advertised computer software product.
Keywords: electronic mail; college students; consumers; computers; software; marketing; e-commerce
© Joshua Fogel and Gavriel Yarmish, 2012
INTRODUCTION
Spam e-mail inundates user inboxes. The Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group reports that in 2010-2011, abusive unwanted e-mail was 88% to 90% of e-mail (Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group, 2011). Not all spam e-mail is viewed in inboxes, as spam filters can block many spam e-mails. Even with the presence of spam filters, approximately 19% of e-mail messages delivered to corporate users' inboxes are spam e-mail (Radicati & Hoang, 2011). A spam survey by Symantec reports that 17% to 18% of spam e-mail consists of product solicitations, not including those for health products (Symantec, 2010). Also, spam e-mail solicitations for computer software products consists of 2.5% of spam e-mail (Panda Security, 2009).
Age
Age has different relationships with consumer purchase perceptions. In a study of a sample of three different age groups of less than 35 years, 35 to 50 years, and greater than 50 years, for the 15 items studied, there were statistically significant differences for 6 of the items. There was a pattern for 5 of 6 items that those from the greater than 50 years group perceived greater levels of major problems than those from either 35 to 50 years or...