Impact of Quality of Unfamiliar Shopping App on Initial Trust Formation: A Moderated Mediation of Risk Attitude

Abstract

Today, all phases of consumers' buying process from pre-information search, evaluation of alternatives, order placing and post-purchase service are conducted in shopping apps installed in smartphones. A shopping app is omnipresent and is a powerful retail channel for retailers all over the world. However, the primary concern for many customers is that online shopping is not secure. This insecurity is more if customers have to purchase from an unfamiliar shopping app. Customers generally hesitate to purchase using unfamiliar shopping apps, unless they feel that the app is trustworthy. Based on the survey of 264 respondents, this study attempts to measure the impact of the quality of unfamiliar shopping apps on initial trust formation and subsequently, purchase intention. An attempt was also made to study the moderated mediation impact of risk attitude on the relationship between shopping app quality and initial trust formation. The findings of this paper may be of practical use for the online retailers by providing a better understanding of the adoption of unfamiliar shopping apps among prospective customers. It will also provide strategic inputs to online retailers to craft suitable strategies for the adoption of unfamiliar shopping apps.