An empirical assessment of online shopping behavior among Saudi college students: applying SEM

PurposeIn such a volatile environment, it is difficult to understand customer behavior, especially in online market scenarios, and understanding this area is critical for developing online retailers’ strategies. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the number of online users is growing very rapidly, before covid-19 online shopping is at a nascent stage, but now it is entering a growth stage with indefinite lockdowns and restrictions growing worldwide. In this scenario, the lack of knowledge regarding online shopping behavior makes it very difficult to measure it. Therefore, this research is designed to understand online shopping behavior and at the same time develop empirical measures for the assessment of online shopping behavior.Design/ApproachThis study utilizes the extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to examine the factors that influence Saudi college students’ online shopping behavior for the assessment and testing of hypotheses. Structural equation Modeling (SEM) was used.Proposed FindingsThe outcomes of this research are as follows: Perceived enjoyment, perceived ease of use, social norms, and perceived risk tend to have significant influences on online shopping behavior among college students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).Originality/ValueAs stated above that before covid-19, online shopping is at a nascent stage in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and is now growing rapidly. To address this research gap, this study analyzes the factors influencing customers’ decisions to shop online through a sample of students from Saudi universities. This research makes a unique contribution to understanding, developing, and empirically testing these measures. This study also contributes to the empirical application of the technology acceptance model (TAM) to Saudi consumers.