Exploring Perceptions and Realities of Online Shopping: A Study on Youth E-Consumers in Lahore, Pakistan

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore perceptions and realities of online shopping: A study on youth e-consumers in Lahore, Pakistan using a qualitative research method. Sixteen e-consumers were purposefully selected for conducting face-to-face, audio recorded semi-structured interviews. Self-designed interview guide was used for data collection. Useful information was extracted through manual generated codes for thematic data analysis. Analysis of data revealed that perceived non-financial benefit i.e. convenience and financial benefits i.e. cost saving and Cash-On-Delivery (COD) positively influence the online shopping, however, perceived risk i.e. health and security risks have an negative impact on the online shopping. Moreover, demerits of the online shopping i.e. lack of regularity authority, inflated prices, lack of empathy, burden of delivery charges, and fixed prices affects the online shopping preferences negatively. In future, the sample size shall be increased with the scope encompassing other cities of Pakistan to further refine the findings. In addition to this, the e-commerce websites analyzed in this study can also be critically compared in relation to their services and policies with other international well known E-commerce platforms like Amazon, eBay etc.