Date of Award

2018

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design

Department

Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design

First Advisor

Ji Hye Kang

Abstract

Despite the expansion of internet usage in Saudi Arabia, nearly half of the internet users do not shop online. The Saudi Arabian government is strongly supporting the development of its e-commerce along with other changes, such as Vision 2030, to enhance the quality of life in general in Saudi Arabia while minimizing the reliance on oil resources. The Saudi Arabian market is currently in a changing phase due to many factors, such as the VAT taxes and government support. Thus, the future of the Saudi online market is expected to grow; therefore, further research is necessary to investigate Saudi Arabian consumers shopping behavior.

The diffusion of social media usage around the world now functions as a factor influencing consumer behavior, especially toward online shopping. Scholars have found that perceived risks and innovation attributes make an impact on the online shopping behavior; however, currently, there are limited studies regarding consumer behavior in Saudi Arabia. Thus, this study’s objective was to examine the fashion online shopping behavior among consumers in Saudi Arabia by proposing a conceptual model; it comprised social media usage, perceived risk and innovation attributes. Six hypotheses were proposed to address whether social media usage will impact positively on the fashion online shopping behavior directly, and through the mediating role of perceived risks and/or the innovation attributes toward fashion online shopping behavior.

The sample of 209 participants from Saudi Arabia, males and females, were 18 years or older. Utilizing simple linear and multiple regression, six hypotheses were tested. Data analysis revealed that three among six hypotheses were supported in this study. It was found that social media usage directly impacts positively on fashion online shopping behavior. Social media usage was insignificant to reduce the perceived risk, and perceived risks were insignificant to mediate the relationship between social media usage toward the shopping behavior. However, innovation attributes significantly mediated the path from social media usage toward fashion online shopping behavior.

The results of this study provide theoretical implications to academia and managerial connections to fashion online retailers based on the positive impact of social media usage on the online shopping behavior. It also comprises a number of limitations and suggestions for future studies, which were discussed in the conclusion chapter.

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