The role of demographic and motivational factors on mobile commerce usage activities in South Africa

Background: Many studies have examined the mobile commerce phenomenon and most of these have focused on understanding the organisational and environmental factors that affect its adoption. Few have examined how an individual’s characteristics and their perceived motivational appetite affect their mobile commerce usage and specifically the activities they engage in. Objectives: This study examines the role of demographics (individuals’ characteristics) and motivational factors on mobile commerce usage activities from the South African perspective. Method: An objective approach and a positivistic stance were followed. The research model and instrument from earlier studies by Chong (2013a) were contextualised to suit this study. Data collection was done through an online questionnaire, 88 responses were received and 81 used for data analysis. Results: The findings show that age is significantly related to mobile commerce transactions, and one’s education status influences the following mobile commerce usage activities: transactions and location-based services. One’s gender influences how one uses mobile commerce. A significant relationship between all three motivational variables and mobile commerce usage activities is evident. Conclusion: The findings provide the financial services industry and providers of mobile commerce offerings with a better understanding of the relationships between customer demographics and the mobile commerce activities they engage in. An additional variable of customer income has been identified for future studies to better understand the relationship