Credible or Reliable Information: What affects Shopper’s Trust and Buying Behavior?

Abstract

The advancement in technology and the changes in consumer behavior have led to the practice of purchasing items online and have recently received a lot of attention. Many consumers prefer to purchase online, while others remain hesitant. Information has traveled faster and become more available on the Internet as social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have increased in popularity in today's culture. However, not all information found online is reliable and credible. Consumers need to check the veracity of the information that is deemed useful in the decision-making process. This research aims to evaluate the effects of reliable and credible information on shopper trust and shopper trust to shopper’s buying behavior. A total of 258 respondents were chosen using purposive sampling. The researchers used principal component analysis (PCA), where a set of data is summarized or "reduced" to a smaller set of features or variables. After applying PCA to obtain the questionnaire variables, the researchers used multiple regression analysis to consider the impact of independent variables on the dependent variables. The results show that reliable information and credible information affect shopper trust. Moreover, it was also confirmed in the analysis that shopper trust influences shopper’s buying behavior. The results of the study will benefit business owners and marketing practitioners in crafting their communication materials and messages and consumers who heavily rely on information as part of their decision-making process.