Factors affecting online shopping frequency: lessons from New Zealand

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, the number of people shopping online has increased worldwide, and New Zealand is no exception. To date, little is known about the online shopping behaviours of New Zealanders in a pandemic environment. This paper provides the first attempt by exploring the factors affecting online shopping frequency in New Zealand, a country widely regarded as a paragon of excellence for containing the COVID-19 pandemic. A Poisson regression model is utilized to analyze data collected through an online survey between July and November 2020. The empirical results show that people's online shopping frequency is positively affected by payment convenience, competitive pricing, living in the city, and the number of children. The perceived effectiveness of the government's action in combating COVID-19, having poor past online shopping experiences, and being married reduce online shopping frequency.