Factors affecting shopping cart abandonment: pre-decisional conflict as a mediator

Abstract

Purpose - This paper aims to investigate the relationship between research purpose, entertainment purpose, perceived cost, perceived risk, transaction inconvenience and shopping cart abandonment, and test whether it is mediated by pre-decisional conflict or not. Methodology – Data of 275 respondents were collected through an online self-administered questionnaire. The respondents consisted of consumers who abandoned a shopping cart at least once in their lives. Simple linear regression analysis and multiple linear regression analysis were applied following mediation paths to test the hypothesis. Findings- The results indicate that there is a significant relationship between research purpose, entertainment purpose, perceived cost, perceived risk, transaction inconvenience and shopping cart abandonment. This relationship is partially mediated with pre-decisional conflict. Conclusion- The findings offer scholars a recognition of consumer motivations for shopping cart abandonment. For retailers, they provide an understanding to prevent shopping cart abandonment which means the loss of potential gain. In consumer behavior research field, this paper fills the gap by testing pre-decisional conflict which is served as a counterpart of post-purchase cognitive dissonance.