The impact of Covid-19 on E-business practices and consumer buying behavior in a developing country

Abstract

Online trade has shown a sharp increase since the outbreak of pandemic Coronavirus. The COVID-19 has affected almost all financial and business activities around the world, even in Pakistan. It has changed the way consumers used to shop before the pandemic outbreak. Many companies until recently have developed and created their online stores and making up the most of their sales using internet channel. Consumer have no other choice but shop from home. In this research study, we discuss the impact of COVID-19 on e-business practices and consumer behavior in Pakistan. The theory of acceptance model has been applied where consumer behavior, e-business, and COVID-19, and posted as a key construct of the proposed research model. Structural Equation Modelling approach has been used to examine the interrelationship of variables of research. We applied two-step recommended Structural Equation Modelling approach, first, validate the constructs by using Confirmatory Factor Analysis, and then conducted Structural Equation Modelling path analysis and report the results, which indicated that in the present scenario COVID-19 has significantly impacted both e-businesses and consumer buying behavior in the context of Pakistan. This research briefly highlights the e-commerce trends and discusses the rapidly growing scope for online businesses and makes several future research suggestions, especially in the context of cultural and other barriers such as digital payment adoption in developing economies. This study limitation is the study sample and context-specific to Pakistan.