Abstract:
Online shopping has increasingly received attention since the consumers are unable to cater their
essential goods during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease) outbreak period. Successful positioning
of this concept has been achieved globally, most notably in developed markets. However, in the Sri
Lankan context, this does not appear to be the case. To this end, research has been undertaken in
order to better understand the current position of the online grocery shopping occupies in the minds
of Sri Lankan consumers. Moreover, the Sri Lankan Fast Moving Consumer Goods sector has
identified as an industry which more focus on online shopping in the COVID-19 context. Since these
tools are new to the market, there is a significant lack of empirical research in relation to the area.
Thus, the main purpose of this study is to explore and investigate consumer perception towards
online purchase intention. In this study, consumer perception was conceptualized as a
multidimensional variable comprised of risk, benefits, ease and, past experience of online shopping.
The research was quantitative in nature and both primary and secondary data used for analyses.
Primary data was collected through self-administrated questionnaires while secondary data collected
from supermarkets of Matara District. 150 of Sri Lankan working-age consumers were selected as the
sample of the study using convenience sampling. Simple linear regression was conducted to achieve
the research objectives. Based on the research findings, the study concluded that there is a significant
impact of consumer perception on online purchase intention of essential goods during COVID-19
outbreak and past experience has mostly influenced with online purchase intention in pre-COVID
situation while ease of online shopping has mostly influence in during COVID situation. Further, the
findings of the research recommend that organizations should promote this online essential goods
selling and delivering within the market as it provides a number of benefits to both consumers and
sellers.
Keywords: Online shopping; Consumer perception; online purchase intention; Essential goods
