Is E-Trust a Driver of Sustainability? An Assessment of Turkish E-Commerce Sector with an Extended Intuitionistic Fuzzy ORESTE Approach

Abstract

Due mainly to COVID-19 and the demanding work schedules of many individuals, online purchasing sites have become indispensable. However, the dynamic online environment and everchanging customer demands make sustainable competitiveness challenging for e-commerce platforms. Humans primarily influence the preference for online purchase platforms. This study aimed to discover Türkiye’s top popular online shopping sites by adopting an extended intuitionistic fuzzy ORESTE (Organisation, Rangement Et Synthèse De Données Relationnelles) approach. Our study targeted this by surveying female users of four online shopping platforms using IF-ORESTE. The criteria were determined according to customer preferences. These were as follows: easy accessibility to the platform, providing regular discounts and campaigns, advanced filtering settings, the contractual merchants’ reliability, quick delivery, being more affordable than competing platforms, positive feedback in user comments, having a large brand volume, having an installment option, and having partnered cargo companies. The least important factor was the large volume of brands on the online websites. Quick delivery of orders and positive feedback in reviews were equally important. Similarly, the decision-makers considered regular discounts and promotions and the comprehensive filtering settings as equally critical. However, these criteria were less significant than quick delivery and positive customer feedback. This work’s novelty lies in implementing the IF to the ORESTE in the Turkish e-commerce industry. The implications and future directions are discussed.