What s-commerce implies? Repurchase intention and its antecedents

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of social commerce (s-commerce) cues (i.e. trust, compatibility, reliability and responsiveness) on repurchase intention in apparel s-commerce along with the mediating effect of customer engagement and the moderating effect of s-commerce navigation. Design/methodology/approach Using the purposive sampling technique, face-to-face survey was administered to Gen-Y social media users in Malaysia. Subsequently, 384 respondents were sampled. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling was used to perform the analyses. Findings S-commerce cues have a positive effect on customer engagement, which in turn leads to repurchase intention of apparel among Gen-Y. Particularly, customer engagement also mediates the relationship between s-commerce cues and repurchase intention. S-commerce navigation is found to moderate the effect of engagement on repurchase intention. Research limitations/implications The findings are derived from the perception of Gen-Y in Malaysia and do not represent the entire population. Future research could investigate the same phenomena across generations and consider heterogeneity issues to provide more insights. Practical implications Apparel s-commerce retailers are suggested to engage with customers more in the e-retail environment to build a lasting relationship. Contextual factors such as ease of navigation should be observed to enhance the desired response of diverse customers today. Originality/value This study adds to the growing body of knowledge on relationship marketing by assessing the impact of customer engagement and navigation on the relationships between s-commerce cues and repurchase intention in the contemporary setting.