E-Tailing in Lebanon: The Effects of Secure Online Payment, Online Product Information, and Social Media on Consumers’ Online Shopping

The e-tailing market has experienced substantial growth in recent years, with both current and future trends appearing promising. This growth has been driven by rapid technological advancements across multiple levels. Motivated by these factors, this research aims to explore the impact of three key technological factors that are highly relevant to customers in the context of online shopping. Specifically, this research investigates the influence of secure online payment, online product information, and various social media gratifications and product recommendations on online customers' shopping intentions and behaviors, and consequently, on the development of e-tailing. These objectives were achieved through several publications, each focusing on the impact of one factor on online shopping.
The research employed a quantitative methodology and utilized a survey-based research strategy. An online survey was conducted to gather data from potential online customers, considering various variables such as gender, age, and online shopping frequency. To analyze the data, several advanced analytical techniques, including Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis and Structural Equation Modelling, were employed to test the proposed models, propositions, and hypotheses.
The research findings successfully addressed the main research questions and highlighted the significant roles that secure online payment, online product information, and social media play in increasing online shopping activity, and consequently, advancing e-tailing. According to the research findings, various configurations of secure online payment elements could lead to higher levels of online shopping. Similarly, different combinations of online product information elements were found to increase online shopping activity. The research findings also demonstrated that certain social media gratifications and product recommendations could enhance online shopping engagement.
The research offers significant contributions to both academic literature and practice. It introduces new configurations of secure online payment and online product information that significantly influence online shopping. Furthermore, it uncovers new aspects of social media that affect the shopping decisions of online customers, thereby influencing online shopping activities. The main contributions to practice are presented as new concepts and strategies that can be leveraged to drive the development of e-tailing by capitalizing on the research findings.