Investigating Factors Influencing Consumers’ Purchase Intention and Decisions towards Bubble Tea in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Bubble tea was invented in Taiwan in the mid-1980s, and its popularity has taken the world by strom in recent years, particularly the first, second, and third largest markets in Southeast Asia were Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, respectively. Bubble teas entered Cambodian markets in the early 2000s and in recent years expanded throughout the country with many different brands, namely Tiger Sugar, Xing Fu Tang, KOI, Gong Cha, An Cha Taiwan Milk Tea, Chatime, etc., making the bubble tea business an intensely competitive industry. Hence, this study aims to empirically investigate the important factors that influence consumers' purchase intention and decision towards bubble tea in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. The study collected data from 400 bubble tea customers while they were buying the drinks from bubble tea shops in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique, the study found that product quality, price, promotion, location, perceived value, hedonic value, brand image, and atmosphere of the shop positively influence consumers' intention to purchase bubble tea. Atmosphere of the shop not only positively influence consumers ‘intention to purchase the bubble tea but also significantly influence their decision to purchase the drinks. In turn, purchase intention has a significantly positive influence on purchase decisions. However, E-WOM does not have any impact on purchase intention. Based on these findings, the study recommends that bubble tea shop owners in Phnom Penh city improve these factors to attract and keep consumers for longer business performance.