Article Arrival Date

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Akademik Sosyal Araştırmalar Dergisi, Yıl: 6, Sayı: 82, Kasım 2018, s. 363-378 Yayın Geliş Tarihi / Article Arrival Date 22.10.2018

Yayınlanma Tarihi / The Publication Date 30.11.2018

Dr. Sibel AYDOĞAN Marmara Üniversitesi, İşletme Fakültesi, Pazarlama Anabilim Dalı [email protected] Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Güzide Öncü EROĞLU PEKTAŞ Istanbul Üniversitesi-Cerrahpaşa, Mühendislik Fakültesi, Deniz Ulaştırma İşletme Mühendiliği Böl., [email protected]

MOBİL UYGULAMALARIN SATIN ALMA DAVRANIŞINA ETKİSİ: Y KUŞAĞI GENÇLERİ ÜZERİNE KALİTATİF BİR ARAŞTIRMA Öz Bilgi ve iletişim teknolojilerinde yaşanan gelişmeler ve mobil iletişim araçlarının kullanımının artması işletmelere yeni pazarlama kanalları sunmaktadır. Bu değişim tüketim davranışlarını da şekillendirmiş ve yeni yaşam tarzlarını beraberinde getirmiştir. Bu bağlamda mobil iletişim araçlarının, özellikle akıllı telefonların çok yaygın kullanılması mobil pazarlamayı işletmeler için cazip bir kanal haline getirmiştir. Bu çalışmada, sosyal bilimciler ve pazarlama uzmanları için tüketim toplumunun en aktif bireyleri olan Y kuşağı ile pazarda kendilerine ciddi bir pay sunan mobil uygulamaların Y kuşağının satın alma davranışı üzerine etkileri araştırılmıştır. Şuan Türkiye’deki Y kuşağı nüfusu yaklaşık olarak 25 milyon kişidir ve bu sayı tüketim kültürü açısından da önemli bir yer tutmaktadır. Türkiye’de ki her üç kişiden biri Y kuşağındandır denilebilir (Marketing Türkiye 2016,s.84). Araştırma, Y kuşağı gençlerini oluşturan 1980-2000 yılları arasında doğmuş olan ve üniversite eğitimi gören, İstanbul’daki üniversite öğrencileri ile yapılmıştır. Çalışmada kalitatif araştırma tekniklerinden olan ve son yıllarda gittikçe önem kazanan odak grup görüşmesi tekniği kullanılmıştır. Odak grup görüşmesinin tercih edilmesinin nedeni, Y kuşağı gençlerinin istek ve ihtiyaçlarını daha yakından inceleyerek, davranış ve tutumlarını irdelemektir. Bir devlet üniversitesinde okuyan 25 öğrenci ile yapılan odak grup görüşmesinde Y kuşağı gençlerinin satın almaya

Mobil Uygulamaların Satın Alma Davranışına Etkisi: Y Kuşağı Gençleri Üzerine Kalitatif Bir Araştırma

yönelik tutum ve davranışları analiz edilmiştir. Çalışmanın daha sonra kantitatif bir araştırma ile tamamlanması düşünülmektedir. Anahtar kelimeler: Mobil Uygulama, Tüketici Davranışı, Satın Alma Davranışı, Y Kuşağı, Odak Grup Görüşmesi THE IMPACT OF MOBILE APPLICATIONS ON PURCHASING BEHAVIOR A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH ON THE GENERATION Y Abstract Developments in information and communication technologies and the increasing use of mobile communication tools present new marketing channels to businesses. This change has also shaped consumer behavior and brought new lifestyles together. In this context, the widespread use of mobile communication devices, especially smartphones, has made mobile marketing an attractive channel for businesses. In this study, the effects of generation Y, which is the most active consumer of consumer society for social scientists and marketing experts on the purchasing behavior of generation Y of mobile applications, which provide themselves a serious share in the market, were investigated. The population of Turkey's generation Y is approximately 25 million people in Turkey and now holds an important place in terms of number of consumer culture. One out of every three persons in Turkey is said to be from the Generation Y (Marketing Turkey, 2016, p.84). The study was conducted with university students who are from the Generation Y and who are born in Istanbul between 1980-2000.The focus group interview techniques, which are gaining importance in recent years as one of the qualitative research techniques, has been used in the study. Keywords: Mobile application, Consumer Behavior, Purchasing Behavior, Generation Y, Focus Group Study. 1. Introduction The “Mobile era" has begun on a global scale together with today's technological developments (UNESCO 2014). In addition to this, the needs and demands of consumers are undergoing a rapid change. In purchasing, the technological environment directly affects the decision making processes of the consumers (Çabuk and Nakıboğlu, 2003, p.39). One of the most important trends that provide this change is the use of mobile devices. With the increasing use of mobile devices by consumers, the impact of mobile devices on the sectors is also increasing in today's world. It is stated that mobile devices generate brand loyalty by responding to consumers' needs and expectations, repeating purchasing behavior and triggering various behaviors such as spending money (Oliver, 1999; p.460; Agustin and Singh, 2005). Today, with the advancement of technology, rapid change and progress in the life of human beings have influenced and shaped lives in many directions. (Ertemel, Pektaş, 2018, p.18)Together with the rapidly evolving technology, the use of smart phones in both business and social life of individuals is increasing rapidly. By realizing that mobile devices have become so important in the lives of individuals, businesses have begun to realize marketing strategies through mobile devices, especially smart phones. According to the date of 2014, 7.1 billion people in the world have 7 billion mobile communications equipment, 2.8 billion Internet users and 1.2 billion fixed telephone users

The Journal of Academic Social Science Yıl:6, Sayı: 82, Kasım 2018, s. 363-378

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(IWS, 2014, p.16; ITU, 2014). In Turkey, a total of 77 million people, corresponding to a penetration rate of 91.5% at 70 million are mobile subscribers, 46 million are Internet users and 29 million use fixed phones (TUIK, 2014). Mobile technology is developing in a fast way together with other evolving technologies developments over the last few years and the entry of powerful competitors into the latest technologies have caused the mobile market to grow exponentially. With this rapid development in the market, mobile technology has begun to take its place as an indispensable part of everyday life, allowing attention to be concentrated on mobile services offered at this point. Together with rapidly increasing smart device penetration and the potential for mobile internet usage, service providers are trying to be strong in the competitive world by offering mobile services that consumers can use anywhere and anytime. Nevertheless, the conditions that are present in the mobile environment make it a necessity more than a plus in terms of competitors. For example, a bank that provides internet banking services must offer the mobile environment as an alternative channel. Likewise, the service provided by an airline company for the web is transforming into a structure that can be utilized by the consumers in every situation in the mobile environment. These wide choices offered to consumers have brought about rapid consumption, leading consumers to be more selective. For this reason, it is important that the mobile services offered are presented to the user in order to be meaningful at the point of preference. The intent of this work is to examine the mobile applications offered as a mobile service and try to demonstrate the impact that these mobile applications have on the adoption behavior of the Generation Y. 2. Literature Review and Theoretical Framework Assessment of previous studies and developing hypothesis will be done in this section. 2.1. Generation Concept, Generation Classification and Characteristics of Generation Y The Turkish Language Institution defines generation as “The group of people who were born in the same years and who were obliged to the same age and conditions, and therefore have similar duties" (http://www.tdk.gov.tr/). Changes in the standards of living of individuals and technological developments have also changed the scope of the generation word and brought it to a wider dimension (Aygenoğlu, 2015, p. 4).It is seen that the concept of generation is also evaluated sociologically. The word ‘’Generation’’ does not only mean one age or one period. Generation also regards to people who have common experiences, living with similar lifestyles, being in similar places, and living similar events (Haydari, 2014, p.8).People's behavioral patterns and views of life directly affect the characteristics of the period they were born. Even the generation they are in can affect the character, purpose, decision-making structure and working life of the individual (Çelik, 2014, p.5). Each generation has its own characteristics, value judgments, attitudes, strengths and weaknesses (Albayrak and Özkul, 2013, p.17). The unique experiences, lifestyles, values, and common histories of each generation influence and separate each other from their particular behavior. There are five different generations living in Turkey (Aclıoğlu, 2015, p. 21; Çatalkaya, 2014, p.18; Kuyucu, 2014, p.58; Başol and Aydin, 2014, p. 4; Altuntuğ, 2012, p.206). These are: • "Silent Generation" (Traditionalists) created by the people who were born between 1925 and 1945, • "Baby Boomers", born between 1946 and 1964, • "Generation X", which covers the births between 1965 and 1979, • "Generation Y", which came to the world between 1980 and 2000,


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• "Generation Z" born after the year 2000. Characteristics of the Generation Y: The Generation Y covering the years between 1980 and 2000 is also expressed in different sources such as the millennium generation, the next generation, the digital generation, and the net generation (Tolbize, 2008, p.4). The letter "Y", which is the same as the pronunciation of the word "Why", which means "Why?" In the English language, was deemed suitable for naming this genre. The basis for naming the cluster in this way lies in the fact that the individuals are in a questioning structure. It is believed that this generation is the most equipped and perspective generation in regards of education (Cekada, 2012, p.40).In addition to its interrogative feature, the Y Generation is defined as; libertarian, selfconfident, collaborative and selfish. This generation has grown up with technology and has caught the opportunity to meet with computers, mobile phones and the internet at early ages. The Generation Y was born in a very different world than its parents, grew up with modern technologies and literally fell into a world of consumption (Puybaraud, 2010, p.37). Both businesses and researchers are conducting a number of studies to understand the Generation Y. Ünal (2013) lists the main features of the Generation Y; Fondness of their freedom, not loving to work according to their working hours, rising quickly because they do not like authority and they are not willing to do their own work, criticable, acting together by joining social groups, using social media effectively, and using social networks as a serious tool in order to form a unity (Ünal, 2013). The classic marketing activities for the Generation Y, which leads a very fast life, do not mean much. Everything is developing very fast and differently in the Generation Y market. If it is the target audience, businesses need to keep pace with changes, follow up to date, trends and technology. Y Generation is no longer a generation who is satisfied with what their parents like and want, but today it is a generation that has a place in the consumption decisions of both themselves and their parents. Especially in the purchase of technology products, families pay considerable attention to the ideas of the Generation Y, and even leave this decision entirely to them. As well as playing an active role in consumer decisions, the needs and desires of Generation Y also determine the qualities of products and services that firms will produce (www.capital.com.tr). According to Özer (2011), Generation Y uses online shopping actively. It considers comments and user experiences on social media before buying a product. These generations of smart phone users enjoy sharing their lives, experiences and feelings on social media platforms. This situation leads the marketers to find new circles and new applications. It is almost impossible to reach the Generation Y by using traditional methods, for example, television commercials. Generation Y does shopping through internet, reads newspapers and magazines from digital media, performs banking transactions via internet and even makes internet ordering and uses the internet to research in many subjects such as health, sports, fashion, travel and education, telephone and computer (Berkup, 2015, p.107). The Generation Y, a.k.a. Millennium, is the second largest generation in the general population. These are independent, self-confident and self-expressive people (Maier et al., 2015, p.387). The things that Y generation mostly cares about are entertainment, traveling, living, experimenting with new things, success, money, shopping, knowing what they want, working hard, chasing after their dreams, taking time to inquire and love the things they like (Erden, 2013, p.101). Higher Education (2013), the most basic features of Generation Y; Following technology closely, making purchases online, paying more attention to freedom, being willing to research and learn but being impatient, talented in technology but weak in social skills such as listening, communicating, being a team player, time management, etc. (Yüksekbilgili, 201, p.346). Y's who are willing to


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spare their time for social technology for approximately 15 hours a day, are also known to interact with media communication technologies (Yaşa and Bozyiğit, 2012, p.33). Generation Y believes in the power of technology and uses technology intensively (Ferri and Reed, 2013, p.23). Nowadays, technology-based mobile applications have a higher rate of use (Poulson, 2012, p.15). Technology has always existed for Generation Y. Smart phones are like an alarm for them, a clock, a radio, and a television they can often watch. Almost all of them (83%) sleep with mobile phones in their hands and have a higher confidence in a mobile phone than others. While previous generations were "digital immigrants", they are "digital locals". As a result of the rapid adaptation of the Generation Y to technology, the use of it for different purposes and networking has increased and the world has become smaller (Kenee and Handrich, 2010, p.38). Typically, communication is short and compact. They write blogs and read blogs. The most comfortable way to communicate are via text messages and electronic mail. They are active users of sites and mobile applications such as Facebook and Linkedin and are extremely skilled in keeping up with new methods. According to them, using the internet to communicate is the best way (Leigh, 2011, p.38). 39% of the Generation Y's youngsters are from high-income families. Therefore, when compared to the population as a whole, they tend to buy more frequently. Their needs are mostly provided by popular culture-producing sectors and their distributors (Engin, 2014, p.28). They can do more than one job at the same time. While researching a business on the internet on a computer, they can talk about their plans with their friends in WhatsApp at the same time, and this does not prevent them from doing their business (Aciloglu, 2015, p.34). Researchers say that Y is a tough consumer mass, and that this is caused by massive changes in market constructions. Therefore, it can be said that there is an important consumer group that needs to be emphasized (Erciş and Ünal, 2009, p.21). According to Oracle Report, Generation Y, which is thought to shape the consumption society, only spent 2.45 trillion TL in the US in 2015. According to the research, the Generation Y loves spending and it's spending amount increases with each passing day (www.marketingtürkiye.com.tr). However, McQueen, one of the leading strategists of the world, says that Generation Y representatives are not wasteful and they are highly conscious consumers (Aclıoğlu, 2015, p.29). In addition, although consumption habits are at a high level, they want to reach maximum knowledge about that product before purchasing a product (Mavnacıoğlu, 2015, p.13). Y’s are a generation that emphasizes individual consumption in the context of information, focuses on instant pleasures but also attaches importance to the concepts of sustainability, ethics and social responsibility. In addition to the economic pressures of the "Y", it is a conscious generation that recognizes its needs in diversity and brands, consumes its own needs, and internalizes product / brand diversity (West, 2015, p.146). It is expected that this generation will account for 70% of the working population in the world by 2025, and by 2018 it will have more spending power than before. An important aspect of this is that young people have the power to direct their own purchasing power as well as their families on consumption (Altuntuğ, 2012, p.209). The world's largest communications agency that conducted its 4b personality extensive research with the participation of 11 countries in 2012 by Edelman "8095", Generation Y includes important data regarding consumer characteristics for the world as well as for Turkey (https: // www .behance.net). 2.2. The Impact of Mobile Applications over Generation Y's Purchasing Behavior Today, the methods used to deliver products and services to the right target group have changed. The effectiveness of traditional channels, such as TV, radio, newspapers and magazines, is now being discussed. Social networks and mobile applications are a communication environment


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that allows businesses to spread their messages, deliver more product offerings, manage the products, attract new customers, and sell more to existing customers. In informing the existence of products and services, the influence of internet based environments is great when brands establish strong ties with consumers (Kırcova and Enginkaya, 2015, p.87). It is seen that there are big differences between the consumers in the period when only traditional purchasing methods were used and today's consumers. In the past, only the knowledge which was brought by communication was available to people, but today online communities where people are friends over the internet, mobile applications and social networks are available (Deneckli, 2015, p.23). There has also been a significant increase in the use of mobile devices and applications in recent years. In parallel with this development, businesses use mobile applications to differentiate themselves. Mobile applications can be expressed as applications that provide wireless communication with or without a network connection (Chen, Skelton, 2005, p.229; cited by, Kazançoğlu, Ventura and Tatlıdil, 2011, p.235). With the programs downloaded using smart mobile phones, it is aimed to facilitate the life of the consumers by providing the information on the internet in a shorter way. Consumers of Generation Y speed up the access and sharing of information by using these paid and free applications, which give them time and functionality (Kazançoğlu, Ventura and Tatlıdil, 2011, p.235). Since the development of text messaging features, mobile phones, which are widely used by the Generation Y youth, play an important role in the development of mobile technologies (Grinter and Eldridge, 2001, p.220). Mobile devices, phones and other personal devices have increased the speed, frequency and availability of communication. The technological infrastructure that is compatible with these tools enables business owners and marketers to communicate with consumers more easily (Scharld et al., 2005, p.159; cited by, Carpenter, Çelikkan and Aydın, 2012, p.727). With the rapid change in mobile applications and technology, mobile phones have become a constantly used tool that facilitates access to information we need every day in our daily lives. Today, the use of smart phones is rapidly increasing in both business and social life. The fact that smart phones became so important in our lives is also a challenge as a marketing alternative for businesses and related institutions (Krum, 2010, p.6). With the programs downloaded using these devices, the information on the internet can be accessed from a shorter distance, making the life of the consumers easier. Time is a very important factor for today's Generation Y consumers. This is why businesses and marketers are committed to using mobile applications to meet consumers' expectations and to respond quickly to their needs. Smart phones, tablets, portable computers, etc. have become one of the most popular workspaces in areas such as mobile services, information systems and marketing delivered through mobile devices (Wang et al., 2006, p.157). In addition to the developments experienced in wireless technologies, the increase in internet usage rates has increased the consumers' usage of mobile devices. At the same time, these mobile devices accelerated the development of mobile services offered to both companies and consumers (Pascoe et al., 2002, p.726; Rupp et al., 2002, p.26; Wu et al., 2005, p.723; Wang et al., 2006, p.159). According to the GSM Association report, the number of mobile technology users by 2015 is estimated to exceed 5 billion worldwide (Wu, 2008, p.925). With a market share of around 5% in the world, mobile-purchasing is expected to grow rapidly in the coming periods with the rapid technological developments in mobile devices and communication technology (Sezgin, 2013, p.143). Deloitte and United Brands Association jointly published by the e-procurement in Turkey in recent years, according to a research report which showed a great improvement. With the increasing use of smart phones, the Mobile-Purchasing (m-Retail) market in 2012 has started to become a sub-sector of the e-procurement market (Deloitte et al., 2014). With advanced smart


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mobile technologies, applications such as mobile shopping, mobile banking, reservation, ticketing and payment can be realized without space limitation (Lu et al., 2009, p.446). Retailers can enter into the consumers' natural environments through mobile devices, which is an important opportunity for the Generation Y consumer (Shankar et al., 2010,p.113), as it is necessary for the consumer to enter the retail environment depending on the location and time conditions in order to achieve sales in the traditional purchasing mentality. The Internet has changed the way businesses do business, and how consumers buy goods and services. Among all internet users, Generation Y is the most active group when purchasing online (San et al., 2015, p.1). Consumers in the Generation Y are making more online purchases than the general population and are making frequent purchases such as clothing, computer software, books, event tickets, music, flowers, airline tickets and hotels (Valentine and Powers, 2013, p.76). Since the members of the Generation Y still have a tremendous expenditure over their parents, the expenditures of this generation exceed the expenditures of the previous generations. This generation is receiving strong interest from marketers (Noble et al., 2009, p.617). Businesses have begun to take into account the shopping habits of Generation Y which are now developed with their own sales experience, technology, creativity and the internet. The purchase of Y is getting serious. It conducts online research for hour’s on-the-go and frequently makes purchases using mobile applications. They set up fantasies for their products, follow instant sales promotions, imagine what their celebrities are wearing and imagine what they are like in those clothes, share their products with family members using sites like printerest.com, and keep up with food and fashion blogs (Lanchman and Brett, 2013, p.18). When the influential factors in the purchasing decisions of Generation Y are examined, search engines are in the first place. Internet and mobile applications, which are the most used media, are also prominent in purchasing. The dialogue with friends and family, respectively, continues in the form of product review sites. 94% of the Generation Y is using different sources while making a purchase decision. These resources are mainly internet based environments and mobile applications. The most effective way to influence Y is to try to reach them from multiple and different channels using technology. 3. Research Method The ideal number of persons in focus group interviews is 8-10. In order to create a warmer and more sincere atmosphere in the workshop, there were 3 focus group meetings consisting of a total of 8 participants and an assistant in each group. The number of one focus group is 9 and the number of the other two is 8. A total of 25 university students were interviewed. The participants in the interviews are students who are studying in various departments at Istanbul University's engineering faculty. The interview data was recorded by writing through the assistant reporter. Each interview lasted for an average of 70-80 minutes and 3 focus group interviews were conducted within 1 week in total. A total of 10 questions were asked in the interviews. Care has been taken to ensure that the questions are appropriate for chat and daily use. A pretest was conducted with a group of eight people for the clarity of the questions, and questions were repeated with two subsequent focus group interviews. Participants were provided with seating and a variety of food and beverage offerings. At the beginning of the focus group interview, the purpose and subject of researching was explained to the participants. Before the interview, the participants have briefly introduced themselves and asked a number of daily questions in order to create a comfortable conversation atmosphere. The focus group questions were divided into three groups. The first part, which includes pre-purchase behaviors and attitudes, followed by the part about purchasing behavior, and the last part, including post-purchase be-


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haviors and attitudes. Focus group interview questions were prepared by Sarı, Gürsoy and Özmen (2016, p.87-104). Sarı, Bozkurt, Kalkan (2016, p.883-897); Ozcan and Akıncı (2017, p.141-154), taking into consideration the current behavior of Generation Y youths. Focus group interview questions are: Pre-purchase behavior questions: 1. Do you have a smart phone? 2. How long is the time you spend with a mobile phone during a day?; 3. Will you get help from mobile applications before you buy a product or service? 4. What mobile apps do you use mostly?; Purchasing behavior questions; 5. Where do you perform your purchases? From the store - from the internet - mobile; 6. Which product group do you buy mostly using mobile phones?; 7. Which mobile applications are most affected by your buying behavior?; 8. How do bloggers influence buying behavior?; 9. Do you have a business or branded mobile? Questions after purchasing behavior; 10. Have you been satisfied or dissatisfied with the product or service you purchased, and have you shared it on the social media? 4. Findings The results of the three interviews conducted separately in the focus group interviews were collected via the voice recorder and rapporteur during the interview meeting. The data obtained from 25 participants are shown below. The first question is whether the participants have smart phones. As seen in Table 1, only 2 of the participants did not have a smart phone. The second question was about the time they spent with the mobile phone during the day. 40% of the participants spend 4-6 hours a day on mobile phones. 16% spend 0-1 hour, 16% spend 1-3 hours, 24% spend 7-9 hours, and 20% spend over 10 hours. As seen, the average daily use times of the Generation Y young people is between 4-6 hours, and near to half of them spend a minimum of 7 hours and more. This shows us that the youngster of the Generation Y has a high mobile phone dependency.

Gender

Age range

Educational Background

Table 1. Demographic and Socioeconomic Findings N % Woman 13 52 Shop Where do you Internet (ComputMale 12 48 er) purchase Mobile Total 25 100 more? N % Total 17-20 3 12 21-23 7 28 CD-DVD Books 24-27 10 40 Computer products 28 and 5 20 Clothing items above Total 25 100 Mostly pur- Food & Beverage chased item Perfumes and cosN % metics group over Internet License 18 72 Holiday Master 7 28 Games of chance Electronic stuff Total 25 100 Household goods, N % furniture


N 13

% 52

9

36

3 25 N 4 4

12 100 % 5,8 5,8

7

10,3

5

7,5

4

5,8

4 3 2

5,8 4,4 2,9

1

1,6

370


Yes

21

84

4

16

25

100

N

%

Yes

23

92

No

2

8

Total

25 N

100 %

4

16

4

16

10

40

6

24

5

20

25

100

Do you benefit from No mobile applications to purchase? Total

Smart phone use

0-1 hours 1-3 hours How much time you 4-6 spend with daily mo- hours bile phone? 7-9 hours 10 hours or more Total

Theater and cinema tickets Market Special buses and other transport tickets

7

10,2

4

5,8

11

16,4

3

4,4

3

4,4

6

8,9

68 N

100 %

Facebook

6

11,3

My Instagram

14

26,5

11

20,8

5

9,5

8

15

6 3 53

11,3 5,6 100

Accommodation Mobile applications are Souvenirs - The flowers Total

Which virtual YouTube applications mostly affect Zomato your buying behavior? Personal Bloggers Forum pages Affected groups Total

In the third question, we asked "Do get help from mobile applications before buying a product or service?" In this question, 84% of respondents answered yes, 16% said no. As seen in the data, the majority of Generation Y youths participating in the survey are affected by mobile applications. This result is not surprising in this generation where mobile use is high. In this question, the answers that emphasize and express the feelings and thoughts of the participants are as following; Participant (Woman): "I am definitely getting help. First, I like Mango and Zara applications and then buy it from the store. Participant (Male):" I read user comments on Forum sites. These comments are affecting my decisions. I generally consider comments that do not include ads.” Participant (Woman): "Yes, I will search for it on the internet even when I buy the smallest item." In question 4 participants were asked "Which mobile applications do you use more?”. The majority of participants indicated multiple mobile apps. The answers given to this question are the responses from the participants in the focus group discussion of mobile applications in the horizontal column of Table 2. In the other column of mobile applications, mobile applications such as banking services, language applications, diet and sports are grouped. Regarding brand applications, participants prefer clothing brands (Zara, H-M, Mango, Trendyol, etc.). Another group is mobile applications related to transportation. There are Airlines, Pegasus TCDD (Turkey


371


Republic State Railways), and mobile applications located on other bus companies. Except 4 participants who participated in the survey, the participants gave different answers to this question. In this question, 60% of the participants preferred YouTube, 40% Yemeksepeti and Hepsiburada, 36% Instagram and Zomato, 28% Uber and other applications, and 20% brand applications.

I do not take advantage of mobile applications

1.Participant 2.Participant 3.Participant 4.Participant 5.Participant 6.Participant 7.Participant 8.Participant 9.Participant 10.Participant 11.Participant 12.Participant 13.Participant 14.Participant 15.Participant 16.Participant 17.Participant 18.Participant 19.Participant 20.Participant 21.Participant 22.Participant 23.Participant 24.Participant 25.Participant Total %

YouTube Instagram Facebook Zomato Yemeksepeti Uber Getir HepsiBurada Sahibinden Booking Airbnb Brand Aplications Zubizu Other (dictionaries, banking, diet prog) Transportation Applications

Table 2. Mobile Applications Used By Participants Which do you use mobile apps?

x x x x x x x x x x x

x

x x x x

x x x x x x x x x x

x

x x

x

x

x

372

x x x x x x

x x x x x

x x

x

x

x

4 16

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x 15 9 4 9 10 7 5 10 4 5 60 36 16 36 40 28 20 40 16 20

x x x

x x

x

x 6 2 24 8

x x 7 28

x x

3 12

In question 5, they were asked "Where do you purchase from (Store, Internet Mobile)?” ; In this questionnaire, 52% responded shop, 36% prefer internet-computer and 12% buy from mobile applications (Table1). In this question, it is seen that most of the participants prefer to



research from mobile phones and later go to shops to purchase their products. It has been observed that especially in clothing products, they perform stock body check by mobile and try and purchase their products at the store. In the sixth question, we asked “Which product group do you buy most from Mobile?”. In this question; while 16.4% of the respondents say that they buy airplane, bus and transportation tickets, the second place is clothing with 10,3%. In the third place, theater and cinema tickets with 10.2%, and finally, souvenirs and flower orders with 8,9%. In addition, participants buy products such as food, beverages, vacation, perfumes and cosmetics on the Internet. After that, the participants show the behavior of buying on the internet such as food, drinks, holiday, perfume and cosmetics. (Table1). Question 7, "Which mobile applications mostly affect your purchasing behavior?” This question is influenced by 26.5% instagram, 20.8% YouTube, 15% personal bloggers, 11.3% facebook and 11.3% forum pages. On the other hand, 5.6% stated that they are not affected by any mobile applications. (Table 1). Question 8, "How do bloggers influence your purchasing behavior?” Participant1 (Woman): "I am particularly impressed by travel bloggers, photographers and places to take photos who write their opinions which are very influential." Another participant 2 (Woman): "People's lifestyles, cultural situations affect me and my curiosity. For this reason, bloggers affect my purchasing behavior. "In this question, the participants talked more about experiences, their differences in their lifestyles. It has been observed that women are mostly influenced by travel trips, while men are affected by blogger personalities. Male participants are more interested in blogs about topics such as technological products, cars, sports, computer games. Question 9. "Do you have business and brand mobile applications?” This question indicated that most of the participants did not reach to the businesses but they could easily reach to the state service agencies such as Yemeksepeti, Turkcell, bus transportation and operations and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Beyaz Masa and Bimer which are mobile applications. Some of the attendees stated that they are provided with transportation by mail. Question 10. "Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the product or service you purchased?” This question also indicated that most of the participants, if they were dissatisfied, first shared their experiences by orally speaking to people in their close surroundings and later post on forum websites. 5. Conclusion and Discussions According to the research results, we can say that Y is paying attention when making purchases using today's mobile applications:  It is seen that Generation Y youths have very high phone dependency.  It is seen that Generation Y youths mostly bought airplane, bus and train ticket from by mobile.  Generation Y youngsters are absolutely doing research on their products or services before purchasing a product. This is mostly through price research and interpretation.  Product-based services rely on information and comments written by those who have used it before.  Participants take into account the opinions of the people or bloggers they follow on the social media regarding this product or service when they will buy the product or service. At the same time, they prefer to buy products of brands they like and follow on social media.


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 Generation Y youths are more likely to benefit from and be influenced by bloggers.  It was observed that female students were more influenced by trips, and men were influenced by bloggers' personalities. Male participants are more interested in blogs about topics such as technological products, cars, sports, computer games.  It is seen that Generation Y youngsters prefer to purchase at stores after doing research by mobile.  It has been observed that social media is the most important factor in the behaviors of Generation Y youngsters both before and during the purchasing process.  It has been stated that the Generation Y of youngsters have a positive effect on them by reaching out to the businesses related to the products and services they buy, but this shows that the firms have deficiencies and the feed-backs are very few. Local governments and state authorities said they were receiving more feed-backs.  Generation Y youngsters make scoring and commenting after purchasing only when they are not satisfied. However, in some applications it has been observed that they have scored points with the scoring systems they have put in front of the service after the purchased product.  By choosing brand applications of youngsters, businesses are encouraged to give special discounts on those applications and sell them over mobile applications. The reason of selecting the focus group interview as a research type is to closely examine the feelings and thoughts of youngsters' purchasing behaviors over mobile applications. One of the most important findings obtained from the research with Generation Y youngsters in focus group interview is that young people use mobile phone very well. It has been seen that university students with the sample group in which the study was conducted know and follow the mobile applications and opportunities offered by the company. Participants living in a metropolitan city like Istanbul, especially with a low budget, manage their economies better, use their time very well and make the right decisions about various places and time thanks to their mobile applications. These mobile applications also contribute to the social and cultural levels of the Generation Y youth, provide opportunities to follow different life experiences and stories, and support them to be global. Of course, it is also important that the Generation Y youth are conscious to the point of being ready for self-development. As a result of the qualitative research done with this study, a second quantitative research will have gained a complete integrity. The knowledge that social media, bloggers and internet phenomena are important for young people's purchasing behavior is another important result of this study and is expected to support and help firms and brands. REFERENCES Albayrak, A. and Özkul, E. (2013). Y Kuşağı Turistlerin Destinasyon İmaj Algıları Üzeriṅe Bir Araştırma, Turkish Studies - International Periodical for The Languages, Literature and History of Turkish or Turkic. Vol. 8/6 Spring, pp.15-31, Ankara- Turkey. Acılıoğlu, İ. (2015). İş'te Y Kuşağı. Ankara: Elma Yayınevi. ss.21-27. Agustin, C. and Singh. (2005). J. Curvilinear Effects of Consumer Loyalty Determinants in Relational Exchanges. Journal of Marketing Research. Vol. 42, pp.96-108. Altuntuğ, N. (2012). Kuşaktan Kuşağa Tüketim Olgusu ve Geleceğin Tüketici Profili. Organizasyon ve Yönetim Bilimleri Dergisi, Vol. 4(1), pp.203-212.


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