Anchoring bias and risk aversion in the digital marketplace: investigating their influence on online consumer spending decisions

This study examines the impact of anchoring bias and risk aversion on online consumer spending behavior in Indonesia’s rapidly growing e-commerce landscape. Utilizing a quantitative approach with a sample of 200 respondents aged 18–45 who frequently engage in online shopping, the study employs multiple linear regression to test three hypotheses. Results reveal that while anchoring bias does not significantly affect online spending behavior, risk aversion has a positive and significant influence. This implies that consumers who are more risk-averse tend to spend more to ensure transaction security—favoring trusted sellers, safer payment options, and reputable platforms. Interestingly, the traditionally strong effect of anchoring bias, such as reference prices or promotional discounts, appears to be weakening among digitally literate consumers. These findings contribute to the behavioral finance literature by highlighting that psychological factors do not operate uniformly across contexts. The research also provides practical insights for e-commerce platforms to prioritize consumer trust and security over superficial price promotions. Overall, only risk aversion was found to individually influence spending, although both variables jointly had a significant effect.