Critical Issues Digital Natives and E-Market Consumption

The Javanese proverb “yen pasar ilang kumandange” describes real market conditions that have been disrupted by technology, such as the internet. In East Java, internet growth has developed rapidly, so that the number of internet users is increasing every year. The internet has become a basic need and cannot be separated from one’s everyday life. This is because the internet makes everything easy for its users, for instance, online shopping. Before the trend of online shopping, shopping activities were usually carried out in physical markets in the sense of conventional markets, between sellers and buyers making transactions offline, but since the advent of the internet, this culture has shifted to online shopping. This research was designed in an exploratory research scheme with an interpretative qualitative approach. Researchers explore information derived from experience, knowledge, understanding, and views using a type of qualitative research. The study uses a realist ethnographic inductive approach. Realist ethnography is an ethnographic approach that describes the situation and conditions of the culture of the informants. Moreover, two analytical methods were used – the Miles & Hubeman model data analysis method and the data analysis model method from Spradley. Based on the data obtained, five themes were found from the motives behind making purchases on the marketplace. These themes include the vast variety of goods that are sold online, effective and efficient use of time, more affordable prices, there is a review feature, and services provided by the marketplace. Besides, the purchase motives made by students can be classified into two – Utilitarian motives and Hedonism motives.