Abstract
This study examines and compares the crucial factors encouraging Thai customers to use food delivery apps before and during the COVID-19 pandemic on the basis of the modified conceptual paradigm of Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2), including the following external factors: trust, convenience, application quality, and satisfaction. Data were collected from 220 food delivery app users before the pandemic and 250 food delivery app users during the pandemic. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling based on AMOS 23.0 to test model validity and the study hypotheses. The results indicated that satisfaction was influenced by social influence, trust, convenience, and application quality in both the before- and during-the-COVID-19-pandemic samples. In addition, price value was a significant predictor of satisfaction before the pandemic but not during the pandemic, whereas habit was found to significantly influence satisfaction before the pandemic but was found to negatively influence satisfaction during the pandemic. Additionally, the results of both samples showed that customers with a high level of satisfaction using a food delivery app were more likely to keep using it. The findings may assist marketers in developing appropriate strategies for food delivery app activities.
Highlights
The primary model consisted of eight constructs with 27 indicators: price value (PV) = 3 indicators; social influence (S) = 3 indicators; habit (H) = 3 indicators; trust (T) = 3 indicators; convenience (C) = 3 indicators; application quality (AQ) = 6 indicators; satisfaction (SAT) = 3 indicators; intention (I) = 3 indicators
Scale items AQ4, AQ5, and AQ6 were deleted from the initial measurement model for the before-the-COVID-19-pandemic sample, and scale items AQ2, AQ3, and AQ4 were deleted from the initial measurement model for the during-the-COVID-19-pandemic sample
Significant paths were found at the p = 0.001, 0.05, and 0.1 levels, with the price value–to–satisfaction path at p = 0.060; the social influence–to–satisfaction path at p = 0.012; the habit–to–satisfaction path at p = 0.047; the trust–to–satisfaction path at p = 0.013; the convenience–to–satisfaction path at p = 0.080; the application quality–to–satisfaction path at p = 0.014; the satisfaction–to–intention path at p = 0.000
Summary
Food ordering apps propelled the food delivery business to an annual growth rate of over 10% from 2014 to 2018, higher than the restaurant business expansion rate over the same time period, which reached only 3–4% per year [2]
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