Predictors of online shopping in India: an empirical investigation

The paper aims to understand the predictors of online shopping in India. It extends the Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology2 (UTAUT2) model by validating social media, reverse logistics, and pay-on-delivery (POD) mode of payment as new predictors of online shopping. Further, the impact of these variables is also empirically tested on Customer Satisfaction. The data for the study were gathered from 424 online shoppers within North Indian states through a self-administered and structured questionnaire. The proposed conceptual framework was investigated empirically by means of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings of the study reveal that all the new constructs namely social media, reverse logistics, and POD mode of payment had a significant positive impact on customer satisfaction, whereas facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, and habit emerged as insignificant variables. This research is one of the initial endeavors in an online shopping context that empirically validated POD, Social Media, and Reverse Logistics along with UTAUT2. Online retailers preparing to expand their operations in India, shall have essential insights concerned with the drivers of online shopping leading to customer satisfaction. This research further helps in developing marketing strategies and their implementation for targeting the vast untapped market.