Regional Formation and Development Studies

Recent developments of information technologies have supported fast development of Internet shopping worldwide and also using mobile devices. Internet shopping creates convenience for customers, bigger selection of goods and services from one side, but also creates several challenges for companies as well as some problems for companies and customers from the other side. Active research on different aspects is done by businesses, academic researchers alone and in co-operation of business and academic researchers. The aim of research is to find recent ideas of customers on Internet shops and problems raised in Internet shopping using mobile devices and to compare the results with other countries. The authors used the research methods such as: scientific publications’ studies, analysis of statistics on Internet shopping development, a survey realised in Latvia at the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018 on Internet shopping in co-operation with the company iMarketing, University of Latvia, and Chamber of Trade and Commerce of Latvia. The main results and findings of the study, theoretical and practical implications are the following: the response rate of respondents was very high in comparison with other surveys, respondents have also expressed their suggestions and improvements for Internet shopping using mobile devices. The main conclusions of research: increase in Internet shopping in Latvia using mobile devices is not so fast as in other countries, mobile devices for shopping on the Internet are used not so often as in other countries; several local brands already having experience on Internet shopping encounter big challenges in development of Internet marketing; customers highly evaluate previous personal experience and good references of relatives and friends (word of mouth) in use of a respective brand for Internet shopping, but does not want to leave personal information (bank card information, personal code, etc.).

Advanced internet infrastructure and increasing internet usage both in corporate and home levels broadens opportunities for marketers. The internet as a marketing channel became one of the most important tools for communication between the seller and consumer. More and more companies rely on the internet and increases the budget for the next generation strategies. However, the channels (Search Engines Optimization, Search Engines Marketing, Email Marketing, Invasive Marketing, Syndicated content Marketing, Social Media Marketing and etc.) are chosen intuitively. There is no proven efficiency of different channel or tool. Marketers know the technical description, can calculate budgets but the efficiency differences are unclear. The purpose of the article is to analyse and describe the efficiency of each online marketing channel. Quantitative research method was used to analyse the efficiency of online marketing channels. A survey of Lithuania’s internet users reveals the most acceptable (efficient) online marketing channels. The article scientific aim is to identify which online marketing channels are the most efficient. The findings are valuable at least for Lithuanian market as it reveals the efficiency of different online marketing channels. Companies can make the strategic decisions and choose the most powerful and money efficient channels combination to achieve their marketing goals.

Social entrepreneurship is becoming more and more popular as there is a growing share of people who would like to contribute for social enterprises and are ready to become customers of the social enterprises and in this way participate in reduction of poverty in the country and support entrepreneurship development. For social enterprise marketing communications to be effective, an understanding is necessary not only of the information channels which are most effective but also of the preferences customers hold regarding the information channels that they would like to receive information from. Purpose of research: to investigate the preferences for different information channels among customers of Latvian social enterprises. Research methods: scientific publications analysis, analysis of previous conducted research results, social enterprise customers’ survey conducted by Kristīne Casno. Results of research have indicated that regular customers of social enterprises prefer such information channels as social networks, followed by television and radio.