ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an opportunity to outline factors that influence the process of consumption on the Internet. It analyzes these very aspects and attempts to formulate a framework in which to explore them. The chapter determines whether the inclusion of the Internet in the daily practices of consumption means that the consumer is closer to the rational actor of the economic model or more similar to the actor of a social oriented action, as sociological theory suggests. It explores the role of social networks in the decision making process, which now takes place in the new social space opened up by the Internet. The amount of information available is one of the advantages of the Internet use. Higher levels of information provide better opportunities to compare prices and the quality of goods and services in the market. Consumers who decide to buy goods and services over the net have more instruments which can drive them into the decision making process.
