Antecedents of consumer trust in e-commerce

Abstract

E-commerce offers a plethora of products & services to its customers. The virtual market since years has been trying to beat the traditional shopping patterns of customers. In this process it faced many difficulties. Researches revealed that customers were used to buying from brick & mortar stores because of lack of trust, perceived risk & discomfort of using technology which acted as deterrent in on-line shopping growth. Based on Literature review related to antecedents of trust in e-commerce & findings of three focus groups conducted, eleven parameters were finalized for testing. Primary survey of 429 respondents was conducted on different strata, with a questionnaire, to include different perspective. The study contributed to antecedent factors of trust in Indian context. The results indicated six major antecedents of trust as Honesty & Transparency, Payment options, Security in online Transaction environment, Brand building activities, After sales follow-up & Website design. A model was designed which ranked the antecedents on importance. The implications of the study would help the marketers take steps to build trust of the customers.

Keywords: E-Commerce, E-Trust, Antecedent, Factors, Construct

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