Modelling Online Shopping Behaviour Patterns among Higher Education Consumers: A Structural Equation Modelling (SEM-AMOS) Approach

Abstract

Online shopping is a phenomenon that is growing rapidly all over the world. Since 2020, Malaysian consumers have shifted their preference towards online shopping to fulfill their daily needs compared to shopping in a traditional store. Due to this reason, it is vital to identify the characteristics that affect consumers' online shopping behavior between various online websites for business owners to improve their online marketplace. However, only a few studies on online shopping behavior patterns among consumers across different online shopping platforms have been conducted in Malaysia. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify the factors influencing online shopping behavior patterns among Malaysian consumers. The factors involved were web characteristics, external stimulus, affection, and cognition. Data was collected using an online questionnaire, and a cross-sectional research design was used for this study. SPSS version 26.0 and AMOS version 21.0 were used to analyze the data gathered. A total of 371 students and staff were selected randomly from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) in Malaysia. The results show that the best online shopping platform in Malaysia that is preferred by respondents is Shopee. Only two constructs were statistically significant for online shopping behavior, web characteristics, and cognition. However, the direct effect of external stimulus and affection is not statistically significant. In conclusion, e-businesses should enhance the functionality, usability, and appearance of their websites. Effectively enhancing consumers' perceptions of online shopping could potentially have a positive influence on both their purchase intent and behavior.