A STUDY OF THE FACTORS IMPACTING ONLINE SHOPPING BEHAVIOR IN GUJARAT

The scope of social e-commerce has grown over the years. Social e-commerce can be best explained if a consumer purchases products or services using a social network. Consumers can purchase online through social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The usage of social media sites in online shopping has grown too much. Almost every individual utilizes these platforms for various purposes, and most of them use them to shop online because they are convenient and save time. These platforms offer multiple items to make it through the consumer's demands in many buying options. Therefore, a study was conducted to determine what factors influence consumers' decision-making through social e-commerce websites. In the present research, a structured questionnaire was designed, and 103 responses were gathered from the users of social media who were shopping online. Data collected were intended to identify the drivers of their online purchasing decisions. Based on the factor analysis, three variables were identified: trust in social media networking sites, Trust in friends' recommendations and reviews on SNSs, and Willingness to Pay for Services on SNSs, which impacted the online shopping behavior of consumers.