Factors Influencing Consumer Intentions to Purchase Groceries Over the Internet: an Exploratory Study During the Pandemic

Purpose:  As a result, the current study focused on e-commerce in the retail sector to examine the factors influencing consumer purchasing of online groceries throughout Covid-19 in Bangkok, Thailand.   Theoretical framework:  Using Technology acceptance model (TAM) as the underpinning theoretical framework, which was presented by Davis and his colleagues it in 1989, to accomplish this, this study identified five independent variables that can influence online grocery purchase intent. These are perceived utility, perceived ease of use, and other additional variables such as online accessibility, security perception, and shipment services.   Design/methodology/approach: The convenience sampling approach, which is considered a nonprobability sampling method, was used to collect the data from 384 respondents via an online survey from the population in this study. Internet users between the ages of 19 and 65 years or older who live in Bangkok and buy groceries for themselves and/or family members from Thai physical and/or online retailers were the target demographic. Multiple regression analysis is used to test the significance of the research model.   Findings:  The findings reveal that pandemic has a considerable influence on Bangkok customers' online purchase intent. The result of linear regression analysis shows the three variables: perceived ease of use, shipment services and online accessibility significantly affected the online grocery shopping intent of consumers in Bangkok. While security perception and perceived utility had no significant effect on the online grocery shopping intent of consumers in Bangkok.   Research, Practical & Social implications: The implication drawn from this study helps the researchers and firms to rapidly adapt and adjust their marketing strategy, with a focus on digitization, as consumers want to prevent the infection and the danger of Covid-19, but stores are having difficulty reaching clients.   Originality/value:  The findings reveal that Covid-19 has a considerable influence on customers' online purchase intent residing in Bangkok and this research adds another perspective from Thailand Context

INCREASING PURCHASE INTENTION AND WORD-OF-MOUTH THROUGH HOTEL BRAND AWARENESS

Purpose – Mobile applications (apps) have been widely used in many industries as a method for companies to communicate with customers. The hotel industry is one of the top sectors that utilizes mobile apps. The majority of luxury hotels are updating themselves being a part of this new wave. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of hotel brand awareness from hotel-branded mobile application towards WOM and purchase intention by the travelers based on the theory of consumption values. Design – A survey was administrated to 453 foreign travelers in Bangkok who used hotel-branded mobile apps in order to evaluate the accuracy and effectiveness of the conceptual model. Methodology – Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used for model estimation. Findings – The results revealed that hotel brand awareness acted as a mediator in the relationship between the attributes of mobile applications and travellers\u27 consumer behaviour such as purchase intention and word of mouth. In order to raise brand awareness in mobile apps, it is essential to create value through the mobile apps, have proficient virtual interactivity, and reasonable rewards. Originality of the research – Only limited amount of the previous research is available attempting to identify insights into how the value proposition attributes of mobile apps could be better designed to deliver enhanced brand awareness

The Application of Technology Acceptance Model 2 (TAM 2) E-Purchase Intention Among Health Tourist in Thailand

Thailand is considered as having an excellent potential for becoming a hub in health tourism in Asia. Indisputably, health tourism seems to be a lucrative business in Thailand. Thailand is increasingly enjoying international acclaim for its health care services while touring the country. Health tourism has seen a marked increase in the number of health tourists which reached 2 million in 2008 as compared to just 1.2 million in 2005 (Department of Export Promotion, 2009). However, in 2009, there is a marked decline of health tourism to only 1.3 million mainly due to political instability. Since the hospitals do not have electronic commerce (e-commerce) infrastructure for securing e-purchase intention, also due to the low internet penetration rate (2.1%) and low on-line purchase for health care services (4.2%) in Thailand, the health tourism slumps further. This may not happen if the health businesses in Thailand have proper e-commerce sites to offer e-purchase facilities to customers. Thus, the main objective of the study is to examine the predictors of electronic purchase intention of health tourism based on Technology Acceptance Model 2 (TAM 2) as the underpinning theory (Venkatesh and Davis, 2000). E-purchase intention is defined as the degree to which the consumer would like to purchase on-line in the future (Chu and Lu, 2007). Based on the literature, four factors (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use image and price) could be hypothesized as affecting e-purchase intention and attitude. Also, attitude is hypothesized as a mediator on the relationship between the four predictors and e-purchase intention. Measurement constructs for purchase intention (5 items) was adapted from Heijden et al., (2003); perceived ease of use (6 items) was adapted from Davis (1989); perceived usefulness (5 items) was adapted from Lymperopoulos & Chaniotakis (2005), image (8 items)was adapted from Venkatesh & Davis (2000) and Yun and Good (2007; and attitude (8 items) was adapted from Lanseng and Andreassen (2007) and Lymperopoulos & Chaniotakis (2005); and price (5 items) was adapted from (Broekhuizen & Huizingh, 2009). All measures use the 7-point Likert-scale of “strongly disagree - strongly agree” continuum. The primary data was collected from 320 target respondents of international patients who came for health care services in Thailand’s private hospitals. The responses collected were 236 completed questionnaires representing 73.75% response rate. The data was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) method. The result shows that the revised model achieves goodness of fit (p=0.242, CMIN/df=1.063, GFI=0.923, RMSEA=0.041, AGFI=0.903, TLI=0.997). This study found two direct significant predictors of e-purchase intention which are perceived usefulness (β=0.194; CR=2.494; P=0.013), thus asserting H7, and attitude (β=0.385; CR=7.562; P<0.001) thus asserting H5; and four direct significant predictors of attitude which are perceived ease of use (β=0.367; CR=7.511, p<0.001), H1 is asserted; perceived usefulness (β=0.385; CR=7.562; P<0.001), H2 is asserted; image (β=0.311; CR=6.170; P<0.001), H3 is asserted; price (β=0.139; CR=3.02, p<0.001), H4 is asserted. Attitude is also found to be a full mediator for all four linkages. The underpinning or competing model also achieves model fit, thus indicating the robustness of TAM2 model for explaining international patients e-purchase intention for health tourism. The findings of this study are discussed in the perspective of health tourism and its implications to patient’s e-purchase intention

Gamers' Reasons for Purchasing Gaming Virtual Products: A Systematic Review

With the development of the gaming industry, the trend of gaming virtual goods consumption is gradually growing, and online gaming goods consumption has become a hot topic. Players spend a lot of money purchasing virtual items. Why do people buy these items? Therefore, we conduct a systematic literature review to investigate the reasons for purchasing virtual goods in games. We use the “The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses” (PRISMA) statement to guide the data collection, analysis and reporting project for the systematic review. This article obtained 37 papers from the Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus databases. The article covers research during the period 2013-2023. We review the independent and dependent variables, research methods, theoretical background, and findings involved in the relevant literature. The study finds that the "enjoyment", "social attributes" and "functional value" of gaming products often play a key role in consumer purchases at certain times and among certain user groups. It is the hope of this paper that these findings will increase gaming companies' understanding of what drives players to purchase virtual items. Game designers can grasp the needs of game users and better convert ideas into payment points so that game companies can get higher profits

Factors influencing intention to purchase through VR platforms

With technological advancement, Virtual Reality (VR) significantly impacts various industrial sectors, including education, medicine, gaming, and tourism. In particular, the idea of VR has been extensively applied in e-commerce to create realistic online shopping experiences. The purpose of this study is to investigate factors influencing purchase intention through VR platforms by applying the concept of the IS success model and flow theory. The data were collected from 300 respondents with experience in online shopping via e-commerce websites. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to test the proposed research model. Results indicate that factors influencing purchase intention through virtual reality platforms are attitude, satisfaction, concentration, information quality, service quality, system quality, enjoyment, and time distortion. The findings could guide entrepreneurs and platform developers to develop a virtual reality platform suitable for ecommerce to enhance the consumer experience

Augmented Reality Technology Adoption in Tourism Using Structural Equation Model

Purpose:  Less attention has been given to the barriers that prevent consumers from using augmented reality in tourism (ART). Therefore, this research objective to propose a model that examines a study adopting innovativeness (i.e., service innovation and technology innovation) to use ART as the mediating role of attitude and word of mouth (WOM) in Thailand’s tourism industry.   Theoretical framework:  To identify individual characteristics that influence the use of augmented reality in tourism (ART), despite the technology's growing popularity in the country. We propose a conceptual model derived from studies on innovativeness, attitude, WOM and intention to use (ART).   Design/Methodology/Approach: A total of 551 responses were considered for research analyses. Both confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses (CFA and EFA) were employed during the preliminary stages of the development of the measurement model. The significant impact that innovativeness has on ART in Thailand was subsequently identified through the use of the structural equation modeling (SEM).   Findings: The findings of this study provide the tourism sector with recommendations for developing facilities that allow tourists to utilize ART. This study also lays the groundwork for future research, as the use of augmented reality (AR) has become an increasingly valuable tool for travelers.  Furthermore, ART developers can use the outcomes of this research to design and implement this service effectively and promote user adoption.    Research, practical &amp; social implications: This study has outlined the primary indicators that encourage travelers to utilize AR-based applications. Travelers engage in a more dynamic and enhanced tourism activities if ART is utilized in a way that enhances their enjoyment of the city and stimulates their desire to explore new places. This study demonstrated that utilitarian motivation has the greatest effect on travelers’ attitudes toward AR applications.   Originality/Value:  To create a digital tourism experience in Thailand. This relatively new technology is a unique application that goes beyond the use of mobile devices to access relevant ART applications. It also has the potential to function as an AI tour guide that helps consumers save money without sacrificing the quality of their travel experience.

A mediation–moderation framework of consumers’ intention to participate in crowdfunding

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of perceived risk and shopping frequency as a mediator and a moderator in supporting a reward-based crowdfunding (CF) project by potential backers. A research framework is developed based on consumer decision-making styles and literature studies. A total of 218 valid responses are collected from offline shoppers through an online questionnaire to examine their perceptions and motivation to participate in a CF project on Indiegogo, one of the largest reward-based CF platforms. Descriptive statistics and Hayes’ PROCESS macro are used to analyze data. The results reveal five decision-making styles of Thai offline shoppers. When combining these styles, they significantly directly increase the tentative of offline shoppers to support a CF project, but indirectly decrease their backing intention through perceived risk. Past behavior in terms of respondents’ offline shopping behavior insignificantly moderate the relationships between consumer style inventory (CSI) and perceived risk, perceived risk and intention, and CSI and intention, but significantly help to lower their perceived risk. The results guide project owners in reward-based CF platforms in drawing attention from future backers, expanding their market, and creating marketing strategies for potential consumers with different decision-making styles. This work is one of the first papers that explores offline shoppers as potential backers, examines the impact of consumer decision-making styles, and analyze mediation and moderation models in the context of a reward-based CF platform

MICROCELEBRITIES: THE NEW CELEBRITIES IN THE DIGITAL ERA

There have been numerous research studies related to the amount of influence that celebrity endorsements have on purchase intention and brand value. Traditional advertisements had celebrities endorsing brands and products but now that people spend the vast majority of their time on their mobile phones especially on Social Media, it has become a platform where brands can tie-up with a new breed of celebrities- internet microcelebrities and increase their reach to an extensive audience. The proposed study aimed to find the influence of internet microcelebrities and the power they have over their followers to make them purchase the brand they recommend. The study will help brands who look forward to establish themselves in the Indian market