The factors influencing online shopping decisions of customers

Abstract

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed consumers’ purchase behaviour from offline to online, so many Chinese consumers depend on online platforms to purchase commodities. There are two basic online shopping platforms available to Chinese consumers: traditional online shopping platforms and social media platforms. While previous studies have focused on a single platform and analysed the factors affecting online shopping, this study combines traditional and social media and conducts analyses of the factors affecting online shopping and the future development of online shopping, including convenience, wide selection, affordability, economy promotion, and celebrity benefits. The study found that the factors affecting online shopping can be divided into three categories. The most important point is the epidemic, as government control has forced people to purchase goods online, which has had a mandatory impact on the development of online shopping. Secondly, online shopping also has significant advantages, allowing it to constantly follow the trend of the times and be favoured by consumers. Finally, the digitalization trend of the overall environment, national policy support for e-commerce, and the development of e-commerce are also affecting the development of online shopping.