Online Footwear Sales: Drivers and Challenges With a Perspective of Emerging Markets

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to investigate factors that determine consumers' online purchase intention of buying footwear. Footwear, being a high involvement product, is difficult to sell online as people try size to fit before buying, which is more than any other product category. As per the previous studies, the need for touch is the most prominent factor inhibiting customers to buy footwear online. However, with the increasing need for convenience, superior quality digital catalogs, increasing internet density, attractive offers, and interactive features of websites, the mindset of the people is changing, and they are ready to experiment. The structural equation model technique is used to test the hypothesis. As per the results, consumers perceive website attributes and convenience as driving factors in online shopping. Online consumers interact with e-commerce sites through interactive features provided on the websites. The study can help marketers understand consumer online buying behavior, particularly towards footwear.