Consumer intention towards online grocery shopping during the post-pandemic of Covid-19

Abstract

The advancement in information technology has changed the consumption patterns and behavioral habits of people. Online shopping has been more popular in most developed countries while Sri Lanka is still in its primary stage. Even though some consumers have shopped online even before the pandemic most of the consumers are not aware of online grocery retailing. The Covid-19 outbreak has encouraged consumers to shift to online platforms. The study investigates the factors that influence consumer intention toward online grocery purchasing during the post-pandemic. Tech nology Acceptance Model (TAM) is used as the guiding theory for the study. This study formulated a conceptual framework to identify the relationship between selected variables. Five variables were selected for the study as Hedonic Motivation, Perceived Ease of Use, Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Risk and Purchase Intention. Data was gathered by administering an anonymous pre-tested struc tured questionnaire. The questionnaire consists of two main parts in which the first part represents socio-demographic characteristics and the second part focuses on assessing the constructs proposed in the model. Data were gathered based on five variables and all indicators were measured using a five-point Likert scale ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to analyze the empirical data of 200 respondents. Further, respondents were determined by distributing an online Google form among the consumers who have purchased groceries online. Moreover, the study has given priority to young millennials who are mostly engaged with the new technology. The results revealed that Perceived Ease of Use and Perceived Usefulness has a positive impact on the online Purchase Intention of consumers while Perceived Risk represents a negative effect on online purchasing of groceries. Further, Hedonic Motivation did not affect the online purchase intention of consumers. Subsequently, the study suggested that retailers need to develop user-friendly, safe platforms and faster delivery systems for consumers for a better shopping experience.