Factors influencing consumer attitudes towards e-commerce: a study on online shopping of apparel in the UK

With the increased use of technology, e-commerce has created valuable opportunities for UK ‘bricks-and-clicks’ retailers. This business model is well-known for having a strong online and offline presence in the apparel sector (Debenhams, John Lewis and Partners, House of Fraser, and Marks & Spencer Group). This has inevitably impacted traditional consumer behaviors as people are now able to be active actors in their purchasing experience. Through the use of digital channels, consumers are able to have access to more information than ever before – which directly influences their attitudes towards purchasing apparel via the Internet. The aim of this study is to examine the key variables that affect the online re-purchase intentions of apparel consumers in the UK. This research explores the e-commerce practices of ‘bricks-and-clicks’ retailers and addresses the prior gaps in its literature. For this purpose, a conceptual model was developed based on the integration of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), UTAUT2, and related components of the Hierarchy of Effects Model. The new model, which is an extended version of the UTAUT2, was validated through a survey of 202 online consumers residing in the UK – who purchase apparel from ‘bricks-and-clicks’ retailers. The results confirm that hedonic value, price value, perceived risk of online shopping, and consumer trust are the key factors of re-purchase intention. Another contribution of this study is finding that, social media influence enhances the performance of such key factors in order to encourage a repeated purchasing habit. Therefore, it is included as a mediator variable. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed as well as recommendations for further research