Factors Influencing the Usage of Online Shopping in Albania

Abstract

The increase in the use of the internet worldwide has shifted consumers’ attention to online shopping. The increased confidence in technology, ability to use information and communication technology and online payment methods are changing consumer buying behaviour away from traditional methods. Online shopping is showing encouraging progress among customers in Albania. An incentive for the increase in online shopping is the impact of the pandemic situation of COVID-19 that forced foreign and domestic retailers to offer their products online as well. The purpose of this research was to study the online shopping behaviour of individual customers in Albania. The objectives of this study were: to identify the benefits and challenges of online shopping, the products that are bought more often, and the most frequently used websites; and to determine the demographic and socio-economic factors that influence the usage on online shopping, the experience with online shopping, and the frequency of online shopping. Descriptive analysis and binary logistic regression analysis are used to analyse the collected data for 213 respondents. The results indicated that age, region, and income level significantly influence the usage of online shopping; age and income level significantly influence the experience with online shopping, and marital status and income level significantly influence the frequency of online shopping. The findings of this study provide insights for online shoppers, delivery companies, and online retailers for market segmentation and planning marketing strategies.