Analysing Consumer Behaviour Towards Online Shopping in The Context of Demonetisation in India

Abstract

The current study incorporates drivers for digital payments and technology interfaces as additional drivers along with the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) to investigate their impact on online shoppers' Behavioral Intention (BI), In light of the Indian government's demonetisation initiative, the study uses digital payment drivers as a new force behind online shopping. This research area is unexplored and needs more research because there aren't many studies examining how digital payment modes affect behavioral intention in developing nations like India. It's one of the first studies to expand on UTAUT2 by examining digital payment methods as an extra factor influencing online shopping behaviour. Chatbots (CBs) and Virtual try-on (VTO) technologies are examples of technology interface drivers, included in this study. In order to determine whether behavioral intention leads to repeat online purchases, this study also examines the relationship between sustained intention and behaviour. The research is predicated on a survey instrument that employs snowball sampling, obtaining data from 600 respondents residing in three northern Indian states, namely Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. The study gauges the relationship of UTAUT2 drivers, Technology Interface drivers, and Digital Payment mode drivers using PLS-SEM with behavioral intention and links it with sustained intention. The findings indicate that UTAUT2 drivers, digital payment modes and technology interface drivers are positively are significantly related with behavioral intention. The largest impact was caused by UTAUT2 drivers (β: 0.465), which were followed by drivers for digital payments and technology interfaces (β: 0.263 and β: 0.211). Additional analysis indicates that Behavioral Intention has a favourable effect on Sustained Intention (β: 0.868). The results show that 69.5% of the variation in behavioral intention could be explained by the model and with sustained intention the explanatory power increases to 75.4%. The study's findings confirm that in UTUAT2 drivers, hedonic motivation, performance expectations, facilitating conditions, and habit all have a positive and significant impact on behavioural intention. According to the study, in order to make online shopping a pleasurable experience, Indian managers should implement DPM as a support service. The coefficient for technology interface IX drivers is relatively lower, suggesting that consumer adoption of these technologies in India has not yet reached its peak. In order to help improve the customer experience, efforts to convert behavioral intentions into sustained or recurring online purchases could be very beneficial. These efforts would also help to establish a robust and dedicated community of online sellers.