Exploring Factors Influencing the Adoption of Online Shopping with Saudi E-Shops, Female Perspective

Information and communication technology (ICT) is currently the key enabler of most fields and sectors. It contributed to improving the field of commerce by advent, the concept of electronic commerce. The advent of e-commerce contributed to improving the commerce field by enabling customers to conduct their entire business transaction via the internet. Accordingly, e-commerce has become an indicator of the economic growth sought by countries in this digital age. One of the common forms of B2C e-commerce is online shopping in which the customer deals with a website and gets a full shopping experience online. The online shopping environment in Saudi Arabia is expected to grow as a result of the development of ICT, the spread of the Internet, the large proportion of the youth population and the rapid trend of online markets around the world, and in Saudi Arabia in particular. However, it is still immature, and the adoption of online shopping with Saudi e-shops in specific is less than expected. Therefore, this study seeks to explore the factors influencing the adoption of online shopping by females with Saudi e-shops. This study adopted a qualitative methodology, as data were collected by conducting thirty semi-structured interviews with Saudi females and analyzed through applying Thematic Analysis (TA) method using a software tool (NVivo). As a result, the study reported thirteen factors influencing Saudi females to adopt online shopping with Saudi eshops. Those factors were classified under six main themes: products-related factors, logistics-related factors, customer service-related factors, payment-related factors, technology-related factors, and culturerelated factors. Based on the study’s findings, the researcher reported the study contributions and future research recommendations in conclusion.