Title: Undergraduates' e-shopping inhibitors in a developing market context: stimulus-organism-response approach

Authors: Stephen Ikechukwu Ukenna; Edwin Chukwuemeka Idoko; Egharevba E. Matthew

Addresses: Standpoint Consulting Ltd., FT 215 Temples Lodge, Udoko Housing Estate, Awka, Nigeria ' Department of Marketing, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Enugu, Nigeria ' Department of Sociology, College of Management and Social Sciences, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria

Abstract: Originally, shopping in most developing economies takes place in designated marketplaces and physical neighbourhood stores. Few decades ago, e-shops, are attractive alternate shopping channels that emerged in the retail ecosystem. E-channel among university undergraduates is quietly becoming fashionable as technology-enabled transactions become ubiquitous in many developing economies. Despite observed fast-expanding Generation Z consumers (born between 1995-2012) that are largely internet-savvy, under-utilisation of e-shops for shopping appears apparent among most university undergraduates. Therefore, this study seeks to unmask those factors that restrain e-shopping behaviour of undergraduates. Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 320 undergraduates who have made online purchase at least once. Judgemental sampling technique was utilised in respondents' recruitment. Partial least square-structural equation modelling was used in analysis. Findings indicate that explored independent variables - perceived product quality, delivery time, delivery cost, customer relationship/communication, product price, and misinterpretation of customers' order/s emerged as significant inhibitory factors of online shopping; e-shopping intention also predicts e-shops' patronage. Underpinned by the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) theory, this study expands frontiers of e-shopping literature by examining unexplored inhibitory factors culminating in e-shop patronage inhibitory model. Practice and theoretical implications of the findings were discussed.

Keywords: e-shopping; electronic shopping; e-shop/s; electronic shop/s; undergraduates; Generation Y; inhibiting factors; consumer behaviour; Nigeria.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEB.2023.132197

International Journal of Electronic Business, 2023 Vol.18 No.3, pp.346 - 371

Received: 16 Feb 2022
Accepted: 18 Feb 2023
Published online: 12 Jul 2023 *

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