Online shopping adoption during COVID-19 and social isolation: Extending the UTAUT model with herd behavior

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a new reality for consumers all around the globe. To cope, users of digital technologies have faced the necessity of adopting and using specific technologies practically overnight. They are doing this under the condition of social isolation, all while facing the fear of catching the disease. The purpose of the paper is to study the way unexpected circumstances cause disruptions in existing theoretical models and their implications for the post-COVID-19 era. Therefore, the paper examines the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model under the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and social isolation, and it identifies herd behavior as a possible new mechanism affecting behavioral intention under these unique decision-making circumstances. Behavioral intention toward online shopping was analyzed using data from 420 individuals aged 60 and older who present an increasingly important potential market for electronic commerce and who are particularly affected by COVID-19. The main results show that performance expectancy still has the most important influence on behavioral intention, whereas the impact of social influence was not supported under these conditions. Rather, herd behavior was identified as particularly influential for behavioral intention. Based on the study results, the option to reconsider the social influence factor in the UTAUT model and its possible complementary mechanisms are discussed.

The role of trust and privacy concerns in using social media for e-retail services: The moderating role of COVID-19

“…During the COVID-19 period, people have become much more dependent on technology and information systems ( Erjavec and Manfreda, 2022 ). Technology is being used more and more because it can keep people apart and make them safer ( Eger et al, 2021 ).…”

“…During unusual events, like the pandemic, older people quickly move to broader sources of information, like broadcast media ( Akar, 2021 ). Also, because older adults' face-to-face communication was suddenly cut off, they started to rely mostly on social media apps as their only source of news ( Erjavec and Manfreda, 2022 ). Alhaimer (2022) indicated that stronger messages in the media may cause more fear, which may lead to more compliance with social-distance and lockdown policies.…”

“…Fifth, demographic factors (i.e., age, gender, education, income) weren't included in our model as a moderator. Although we collected information about these variables, prior studies revealed that demographic variables have no significant effect on the adoption and use of online shopping ( Agag et al, 2016 ; Erjavec and Manfreda, 2022 ). Finally, our investigation doesn't consider cross-cultural issue.…”

Exploration on the Influencing Factors of Overseas Students' Online Chinese Learning Intention During the Epidemic Period

“…Firstly, in the UTAUT model, performance expectation refers to the extent to which users believe that technology can help them improve their work performance (Erjavec and Manfreda, 2021 ). It is the main factor affecting users' online learning.…”

Why Do Retail Customers Adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI) Based Autonomous Decision-Making Systems?

“…To investigate the adoption of autonomous decision-making processes and contribute to the state-of-the-art knowledge in the field, this study adopts the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model. The use of the UTAUT model is appropriate because this theory has been applied to investigate technology adoption in retailing [20]. Additionally, this study adds attitude to the UTAUT theory.…”