Impact of Reviews, Price, Reputation, and Quality on Purchase Decision: Mediating Role of Trust in Pakistani E-Commerce Industry

Abstract

The high rate of the spread of e-commerce sites in Pakistan has changed the overall consumer buying behavior especially amongst the Generation Y and Z. This paper analyzes how online customer evaluations, pricing issues, reputation of the seller, and product quality affect the e-commerce buying choice through the mediating variable of customer trust. One used 300 respondents of Pakistani Gen Y and Z consumers in the fashion/clothing industry to gather the data using a structured questionnaire. Analysis was done using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). Findings affirm that customer trust is significantly affected by all the four independent variables which, in their turn, have a strong predictive power of purchase decisions. More so, the relationship between the customers is completely mediated by customer trust. The research provides empirical evidence to the world of e-commerce in a developing economy setting.