The Effect of Perceived Benefits of E-Commerce Platforms on Online Purchase Intentions in The Context of the Pandemic Covid-19

Abstract

E-commerce is an emerging market for every business and it has been started to discuss whether the new pandemic context changed the dynamics of this platform. The aim of this study is to investigate how pandemic anxiety has influenced the relationship between the perceptions of e-commerce platforms and purchase intentions.  This study examines the moderation effect of pandemic anxiety on the relationship between the effectiveness and economic benefits of e-commerce platforms and online purchase intention. 513 individuals participated in the cross-sectional research survey in which, the perceived effectiveness of e-commerce platforms, economic benefits, pandemic anxiety, and online purchase intentions were measured.  The quantitative analysis revealed that pandemic anxiety negatively moderates the relationship between the economic benefit and online purchase intention. Pandemic anxiety seems to alter the economically oriented customer choices and intentions. Our findings reveal that pandemic anxiety negatively moderates the economic benefits and purchase intentions relationship in e-commerce. Individuals in the face of the pandemic threat, seem to choose to invest their material resources to save biological entities and withdrawal from seeking cost reduction in e-commerce activities. We think that the priority of economic benefit in e-commerce changed to saving health due to the pandemic context.