The Pseudo-Flow Experience in Online Shopping

Abstract

Should successful e-commerce websites be boring but functional or should they provide immersive flow experiences? Past research showed that providing online consumers with immersive flow experiences is one of the goals of e-commerce websites; to do so can create a competitive advantage. This study challenges this assumption and explores, in the Turkish context, whether achieving a pseudo-flow experience should be the goal. We build on data from a questionnaire survey of 649 active users of idefix.com, the largest e-commerce website in Turkey, and adapt flow theory to identify the drivers of online shopping satisfaction and repurchase intentions. The data was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Results revealed that affective and cognitive experiential states have a direct positive effect on online shopping satisfaction and repurchase intention. This research contributes to the debate on consumers’ experiences in electronic commerce by expanding flow theory. We introduce and define ‘pseudo-flow’ in e-commerce which is the novelty of this research.