Analyzing Consumer Behavior Patterns Toward Online Shopping in Kathmandu Valley: A Socio-Demographic Perspective

Abstract

This paper explores consumer behavior in the online shopping environment in the Kathmandu Valley and examines the factors that affect purchase behavior. In the context of rapidly expanding internet access and the emergence of e-commerce websites in Nepal, it is essential to understand consumer behavior in the digital space. This study utilized a quantitative research design and employed a questionnaire survey among 400 online shoppers. The findings show that time saving, security, and convenience are significantly associated with consumer purchase behavior. On the contrary, website design is not found to be significantly associated with the purchase behavior. The study identifies some of the main reasons why consumers shop online, which include easy accessibility and diversity in products available. Some of the challenges encountered by online consumers are that there might be discrepancies between the actual and advertised qualities of products, and the lack of direct assessment of the products in person. Using the regression analysis, the study demonstrates a high degree of explanatory ability of the model, where 99.5% of the variance in the consumer behavior is explained, and where security and time saving are the most important predictors.