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Top1 Introduction
The acceptance and usage of advanced technologies became a universal practice as people are keener to adopt a novel technology in their everyday lives (Natrajan, Balasubramanian, & Kasilingam, 2018). As a consequence of the technological advances in the marketplace during the past decades, online shopping has recorded enormous growth (Rubin, et al., 2020). This spectacular change in the consumer purchasing landscape has marked the naissance of online shopping (Faqih, 2016). The growth of online shopping has increased as businesses prefer to have an online presence (Rahman, et al., 2018). This act supports them to gain a competitive advantage relative to other companies in the market (Adnan, 2014). The new method of shopping helps consumers to purchase at any time, and wherever, to save money, and to search and access more information about the product (Al-Debei, et al., 2015).
Despite the benefits of online shopping, transactions over the internet are followed by some concerns which could discourage people and result in their unwillingness to engage in any form of online transactions (Beldad, et al., 2010). The perceived lack of human contact, lack of financial security and privacy, intangible products, failure of technology, and unfamiliar service encounters are some of the main reasons why consumers do not use online shopping (Aldhmour, 2016). When companies increasingly rely on the internet to deliver their goods and services, they should know how to maintain and develop their online presence (Beldad, et al., 2010). The key drivers that motivate customers to make an online transaction should be identified by the companies so that they can formulate strategies to enhance purchase intention (Adnan, 2014). A full understanding of the factors that motivate and deter consumers to buy online may provide novel insights that result in the growth of B2C e-commerce (Rahman, et al., 2018).
For years, many businesses in Lebanon have started to operate online by offering several kinds of products via websites or social media pages as the online environment is cheaper. The popularity of online shopping in Lebanon as a developing country has not received much acceptance from local consumers. The new format of business conducted over the internet has not received much reputation and acceptance because perhaps consumers in developing countries are not quite set yet to admit this technology as it seems risky and insecure (Faqih, 2016). Moreover, since it is crucial to comprehend how consumers react to online shopping based on determining factors; consumers’ attitude should be explored as it helps in the formation of a favorable direction, or not, toward online shopping. Based on this, our study aims to develop an apprehension of the factors that affect Lebanese consumers’ attitude and to detect the influence of that attitude toward online purchase intention of Lebanese consumers to broaden the knowledge of companies in order to better develop their marketing strategies and secure their online presence from failure. Accordingly, there is a need to analyze the factors behind the shift of consumers’ behavior toward using online markets (Aref & Okasha, 2020).