Brave Consumers for a New Digital World: Exploring Online Shopping Motives During Covid-19

The study aims to explore the e-commerce industry by focusing on consumer behavior during the initial stage of the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. We use survey data from 1027 Italian consumers to examine the relations between utilitarian and hedonic motives, trust in online shopping, perceived risk of Covid-19, attitudes, and online shopping behavior employing structural equation modeling. The results show that perceived risk of Covid-19 exerts both a direct and indirect effect on online purchase behavior. Further, we find that utilitarian motives, hedonic motives, and trust have an indirect effect on online purchase behavior through attitudes