Influence of retailers’ website system quality factors on online shopping in South Africa

Abstract

Online shopping, which has grown significantly over the years, has become a popular form of shopping. To succeed, it is important that online retailers ensure that their shopping websites function well and adhere to all aspects of system quality. The purpose of this research was to explore the influence of website system quality factors on online shopping in South Africa. Convenience sampling was used to gather the responses of 123 consumers who shop online, using self-administered internet-based surveys. The research found that almost half of the respondents (45.5%) shop online at least once a month, and that all system quality factors influence their online shopping. The study further found that shopping websites that provide a safe shopping environment, ensure the authenticity of products or services and have a fast response time were the most important factors influencing respondents. Given the influence of system quality factors on online shopping, the research aimed to provide recommendations on how South African retailers can deal with such factors when developing websites.