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The global online market has been growing exponentially, recording an annual sale of 2.8 trillion U.S. dollars, with approximately 1.8 billion consumers purchasing goods online (Statista, 2019). UNCTAD (2018) measured countries' business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce index, in terms of generated online shopping revenues, the countries' proportion of individuals’ access to the internet, security of internet servers, as well as reliability of postal services. It emerged that Asia, China to be specific, is the top player in the global online market, followed by the USA, Japan, UK, and Germany (UNCTAD, 2018). In Africa, B2C e-commerce is said to be growing at 25.8%; however, its adoption lags compared to the other parts of the world. According to Omar (2015), B2C e-commerce contributes immensely to the expansion of countries' economies. The development of B2C e-commerce in Namibia is relatively low, compared to the rest of African countries. It is not even in the top ten of emerging economies in the Sub-Saharan region in terms of B2C e-commerce development. However, in 2017, Namibia ranked number one in the region, with the highest percentage of individuals who shopped online (UNCTAD, 2018). Although there is imminent growth of e-commerce globally, several studies have confirmed that the adoption of online shopping in many African countries is relatively slow (Aminu, 2013). According to Lim and Ting (2012), internet users mostly make use of online shopping platforms to gain information about online products and services, but they fail to proceed to carry out the actual purchases of products or services. It is estimated that Africa losses billions of annual online revenue due to the poor adoption of online shopping (UNCTAD B2C E-commerce Index 2018), thereby preventing the African online market from reaching its full potential. Ibam et al. (2018) affirm that there is a lot of potential in Africa for the development of e-commerce; however, the absence of trust in the process of online shopping is a critical challenge to e-commerce growth.
According to Amad and Khan (2015), the adoption of online shopping is believed to be hindered by several challenges, since online shopping is different from the physical market where a consumer has the freedom to touch and feel the products. With the growth of digital technology and the internet, online and digital businesses are increasingly taking over the world. Selling goods and services online is preferred by many businesses in recent times to keep up with the industry and competitors. Technology has a significant impact on business activities and it is a source of competitive edge for many businesses across industries (Baporikar, 2014; 2020). Online shopping adoption is important in helping businesses gain a competitive advantage through increased revenues, profitability, and market share. Furthermore, online shopping is also important in contributing to the country’s competitiveness in the global online market. Although many internet users are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits that online shopping offers, they are still unwilling to carry out online purchases. Namibia is one of the few African countries where internet penetration is high, where almost everyone has access to the internet, mostly in the urban areas; however, only 12% of the population does online purchases (Statista, 2018), which shows a slow adoption of online shopping among Namibia consumers.