PLS-SEM for online shopping intention in the fashion sector in Ecuador

Abstract

E-commerce in the fashion sector has increased in recent years in Latin America, especially in the wake of the pandemic, however, there are still issues in the acceptance of this shopping channel. The present research focuses on some factors that could influence purchase intention and aims to test how it is influenced by trust, perceived risks, costs and convenience. For this purpose, a questionnaire was given to 223 students from four universities in Ecuador. A PLS-SEM model was developed for the analysis of the data, in which trust in the seller has a mediating role in the relationship between the other three factors and purchase intention. Results show that this model has acceptable predictive and explanatory power. Likewise, it validates that risks, convenience and trust significantly affect intention, but not costs. In addition, trust would mediate the relationship between the other variables and online shopping intention. It is concluded that the proposed model can serve as a basis for similar studies, and, at the same time, it is considered that the results obtained can be used by business in the fashion sector that pursue to sell through e-commerce platforms for marketing strategies development.