Post‐adoption online shopping continuance

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine post‐adoption usage of the internet as a shopping channel. It aims to examine the effects of innovation attributes on post‐adoption shopping behaviours to determine whether factors predicting initial adoption will be effective in predicting post‐adoption. It also aims to examine the links between two usage patterns (purchasing experience product versus search product) and online shopping continuance. The paper also seeks to compare strength of identified links among innovation attributes, online purchase behaviors and online shopping continuance.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey of a national sample of online shoppers identifies online purchase behaviours for search and purchase goods; data are analysed using structural equation modelling to test the proposed model and the hypotheses.FindingsThe analysis finds support for the proposed research model and indicates that experience product purchasing has the most salient effect on online shopping continuance. Innovation attributes predicting initial adoption do not play the same roles in post‐adoption usage.Research limitations/implicationsThe survey suffered from self‐selection and self‐reporting limitations normally associated with a panel sample.Practical implicationsPost‐adoption actual use behaviour is the most robust predictor of channel‐loyal shopping behaviour; therefore, focusing solely on improving online shoppers' favourable perceptions or positive attitudes toward shopping online might not be an efficient approach.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the marketing literature on consumer innovation diffusion by extending the consumer innovation adoption process to the post‐adoption context.