Internet shopping in the Covid-19 era: Investigating the role of perceived risk, anxiety, gender, culture, and trust in the consumers’ purchasing behavior from a developing country context

Unlocking the power of information technologies has become a core driver of business transformation and growth, particularly Internet-enabled technologies. It is a recognizable fact that the Internet shopping trend sweeping developed countries and is still in its development stage in developing countries. Covid-19 pandemic triggered a surge in online shopping, resulting in a massive acceleration in online businesses in both developed and developing cultures. This study intends to study the adoption dynamics of Internet shopping during the Covid-19 pandemic era. The current study recognizes that trust is a crucial prerequisite to effectively dampen the noise associated with the uncertainty, insecurity, and ambiguous nature of Internet shopping technology. Certainly, a perceivably trustworthy Internet shopping environment would position individuals in a less difficult mandate to start transacting online. To achieve the goals of this study, the influence of perceived risk, Internet shopping anxiety, gender on trust and intention, and the moderating impact of cultural differences on the trust-intention relationship. A questionnaire was developed utilizing validated measurement items taken from previous research. A convenience sample was used to collect data through a self-administered questionnaire. The empirical data which consists of 215 valid datasets were analyzed utilizing WarpPLS software. Perceived risk, Internet shopping anxiety, and gender were found to exert empirical influence on trust and intention with the exception of perceived risk which showed an insignificant correlation with behavioral intention. Cultural differences, with exception of the masculinity-femininity dimension, negatively moderate the trust-intention relationship as proposed in this study. Finally, theoretical contributions and practical implications are addressed. •The moderating influence of Hofstadtes' cultural values were tested on trust-intention relationship in Internet shopping.•The study has confirmed the influence perceived risk, anxiety, and gender on purchasing behavior.•The study was conducted in a developing country context.•The proposed model was empirically valid, supporting the majority of proposed hypotheses.•The study offers many interesting theoretical and practical contributions.