Investigating the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Consumer Preferences Towards Social Commerce in Maldives: Business Digitalization in Retail Entrepreneurship

This Descriptive Quantitative research aims to investigate the impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on consumer preferences towards social Commerce for the digital transformation Retail entrepreneurship in Maldives. The literature indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased more digitalized business in Maldives and retail entrepreneurs have expansion plan for business recovery. This research finding shows that there is an increase in online purchasing through social media after pandemic, this study has identified the most frequently used social media apps, the most frequently purchased products and the preferred payment method while purchasing through social media apps. The findings further show the main motives, concerns and the influence of social media on purchasing through social media. This data contributes to the strategic direction for retail entrepreneurs and policy makers for technological integration in the business as a part of Sustainable Development Goal of digitalization for the benefit of society and economy.