ONLINE FOOD PURCHASING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN NORTH MACEDONIA AMID COVID-19 PANDEMIC: AN EXTENDED TAM APPROACH

Abstract

The current COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world on irreversible way towards digitalization. It has changed people’s attitude and behaviour towards online shopping, leading to global e-commerce unprecedented growth. The pandemic crisis accelerated an expansion of e-commerce worldwide, but impacted it in different ways. The progress varies between developed and developing countries, as well as between different industries. The biggest increase in online shopping is evident in food and daily use products category, especially during lockdowns. Despite the cross-country difference of e-commerce growth, the e-commerce in North Macedonia has increased at high rates as a result of COVID-19 with evident increase in online food purchasing. The goal of this study is to analyse which factors affect young consumer intention to buy food online during COVID-19. In order to get insights regarding the young consumer behaviour towards online food purchasing in the country, a survey was conducted among more than 150 young people during April and May 2021. This study examines the crucial factors encouraging young consumers to use online food delivery channels on the basis of the extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), including the following constructs: perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitude towards using, actual use and website trust. The analysis revealed that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and website trust are important drivers of attitude towards online food purchasing. Attitude towards online food purchasing has the highest positive and statistically significant impact on the Intention towards online food purchase. This research provide relevant theoretical and practical implications by confirming that the above factors are critical in attitude towards online food purchasing in a developing country context.