E-TAILERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF ONLINE RETAILING FACTORS AND CUSTOMER PURCHASE BEHAVIOUR IN BAYELSA STATE
Keywords:
Online Retailing, E-Tailers, Online Trust, Online Risk, Customer Loyalty, Brand Choice, Bayelsa StateAbstract
This study investigated e-tailers' perceptions of the influence of online retailing factors on customer purchase behaviour in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study examined how e-tailers perceived online trust to influence customer loyalty, online risk to influence repeat purchase behaviour, and online quality to influence brand choice. A descriptive survey research design was adopted. Since there was no official database indicating the exact number of e-tailers operating in Bayelsa State, the population size was regarded as unknown. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 200 e-tailers with practical experience in online retailing. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics, Cronbach's Alpha reliability analysis, Pearson Product Moment Correlation, and simple linear regression. The findings showed that, based on e-tailers' reports, online trust had a significant positive effect on customer loyalty (β = 0.645, p < 0.05), while online risk had a significant negative effect on repeat purchase behaviour (β = –0.517, p < 0.05). Online quality also had a significant positive effect on brand choice (β = 0.683, p < 0.05). These findings suggest that e-tailers perceive trust, risk, and quality as important factors influencing customers' loyalty, repeat purchases, and brand preferences. The study recommends that e-tailers strengthen secure payment systems, reduce perceived transaction risks through effective customer protection measures, and improve service quality to enhance customer loyalty, repeat purchase behaviour, and brand preference.
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