Shopping Online in Qatar

Chapter One: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Chapter Overview

This chapter argues for the necessity of this study and lays out its general framework.

We must first establish Qatar's status as a developing country when considering online

buying there. Online Shopping Acceptance Model (OSAM) and the importance of

communication in the shopping decision-making process can be better understood by

focusing on these two factors alone. Lastly, all of the study's goals and hypotheses are clearly

stated. Finally, a list of upcoming contributions is provided. The final section of the chapter

provides a summary of what is to come.

1.2 Introduction

There has been a dramatic increase in the use of the internet. In many aspects of our

lives, it has become a need, and shopping will be no exception. Throughout many countries

with higher Internet penetration, online shopping has become a vital part of the trade

(Pragarauskaite & Dzemyda, 2012).

A projected 42% of the world's population accessed the internet in 2012, however in

the span of four years, this figure surpassed 50% (Sathya, 2020). There have been several

stages of active development since its first commercial application in the 1990s (Ariff et al.,

2014). There are numerous chances for merchants to take advantage of the internet's

development around the world and into homes and companies, not to include personal mobile

devices (Jalil, 2018). Customers can now buy anything they want and do whatever they want,

from any location and at any time, thanks to the rise of online shopping (Cheng & Fu, 2018).

Shopping online has many advantages, but one of the most important is the ability to save

money, as evidenced by the results of Bhatti and Ur Rehman (2019).

Qataris and three for Americans alike revolve around price. However, there are drawbacks to

online shopping, including the need for customers to accept the risks involved with both the

products and services they buy and the actual online purchasing process itself (Xiaoyang et

al., 2021).

However, customers have always worried about the possibility of an item going

missing in the mail or some other bad result of utilizing or purchasing services or products, so

this concern is nothing new (Khare et al., 2010). When clients considered mail-ordering

shopping, these hazards were present (Aref & Okasha, 2020). The inability to physically

investigate a product before purchasing it, the risk of wasting time and money, the risk of

disclosing private or financial information free on the web, and the perception of thier

purchases by others in thier social circle are all risks users face as a consumer when making

purchases over the internet (Bhatti & Akram, 2020). Customers may lose faith in online

shopping as a result of these drawbacks. Since trust is a cornerstone of both online and offline

commerce, endeavors have been undertaken to maintain a high customer level of confidence.

Consequently. Online buying relies heavily on the concept of "customer trust." Customer

trust in shops and the techniques used to purchase products or services are two aspects of this.

Shopping online is viewed as riskier when the client is purchasing from an international

retailer that has different cultural values than the customer's own (Fihartini et al., 2021).

There is an improvement in client confidence when there are no perceived hazards (Singh &

Srivastava, 2018). The customer's confidence grows as risk is reduced.

Online buyers avoid e-shopping if they have any doubts about the company they are

dealing with. Vendors who lack credibility and reliability are unlikely to be approached by

customers. As a result, customers become suspicious of sellers' motives and become wary of

doing business with them (Kuswanto et al., 2019). According to another study, trust has a
positive influence on customer satisfaction shopping intentions and behaviour purchasing

decisions, as well. A high degree of trust can satisfy transactional expectations while

simultaneously reducing uncertainties and perceived risks, according to the findings of

Bangun and Handra (2021).

It is critical to understand how customers perceive and accept online buying because

obtaining customer trust is a critical component of any business's success. In order to supply

services and remedy any gaps, companies and decision-makers have been seeking for ways to

evaluate client confidence in online purchases (Senecal et al., 2005). Customers' opinions of

online trust and whether or not they will buy a product or service online are becoming

increasingly important to retailers and researchers alike (Vu et al., 2019). Investing in social

media communication might help you build trust with potential customers (Siyal et al., 2021).

Firms and companies can use social media to connect with marketing their products

and services while also reassuring them about their product or service offerings (Bhatti, Saad,

& Gbadebo, 2019). In many social media applications, augmented reality (AR) has been

made possible by smartphones with Online data services (Dang et al., 2020). Individuals are

less likely to spend more money at a physical store if they can find identical goods for a

lower price on the internet, which is why showrooming is a growing trend. Numerous new

and disadvantaged customers have come online because of mobile devices in these markets,

and this trend will only continue.

Consumers who utilize social media to write reviews of goods and services have the

potential to control other buyers and vendors (Sharma et al., 2019). In other terms, social

media has made it easier for customers to communicate with shops and has increased the

importance of customers in the product-offering process (Rose & Dhandayudham, 2014).

lack of research in emerging economies employing similar methods (Kuswanto et al., 2020).

Information technology (IT) studies are scarce in underdeveloped nations, and the technology

has not been efficiently transferred (S M Sohel Rana, 2019). Internet shopping's adoption and

growth in developing countries has thus far received little scholarly attention (Nasidi et al.,

2021). In order to close the knowledge and practice gaps, it is imperative that customer

perceptions and perspectives be understood in research. If this study's findings are accurate, it

will be helpful in understanding the unique challenges that developing countries like Qatar

face in promoting internet shopping.

1.3 Problem Statement

There has not been much progress in Qatar's e-commerce technology because

everything is decided by the Chamber of Commerce and industry and Investment, even

though innovation and social media are widely accepted. The government's e-commerce

policies are woefully inadequate to bring the country up to global e-commerce benchmarks

(Handa & Gupta, 2014). Electronic commerce technologies are to be introduced in Qatar as

part of an overall plan drawn up by the Qatar Ministry of Commerce & Industry. For

example, IT infrastructure, payment security, rules and laws, and delivery systems are all

areas that will be addressed by the framework (Pappas et al., 2016). In 2006, the Department

of Telecommunications and Information Technology assumed responsibility for Qatar's e-

commerce. Contact well with Ministry was necessary to learn more about this move. E-

commerce was considered by the Ministry of Commerce, although they were merely doing a

general survey on the implementation of thee in Qatar at that time. Outcomes of this poll

were given in May/June 2013, demonstrating that 40% of firms and 24% of governmental

entities in the world acquire goods and services online, but just 17% of businesses offer their
goods and services online. As a result, online shopping is less popular in Qatar than in the

rest of the civilized world (Mokhtar et al., 2020).

However, when looking at statistics from the world, the highest ratios of internet

purchasing are seen in Hong Kong, Scandinavia, Israel, and the US. With an average of $607

spent online each year in 2016, Qatar ranks 17th in online purchasing (Svobodová &

Rajchlová, 2020). There is a wide disparity between industrialized and underdeveloped

countries when it comes to Internet use and customer perceptions of online shopping. In

developing nations like Qatar, such as Mahmood et al. (2021), researchers are increasingly

interested in finding out what influence’s customers' judgments about whether or not to shop

online (Budak & Onar, 2021).

Notwithstanding its position as the world's leading oil producer in recent years, Qatar

remains a major challenge in the e-commerce sector. As a result, a great number of

investigations were carried out to discover what was preventing this growth. Although Qatar

has the 7th fastest development in communication technology marketplaces among the

Middle Eastern nations, online purchasing activities are not expanding at the same speed

(Manwaluddin et al., 2018).

About 35 percent of all commercial entities in Qatar are participating in e-commerce.

The manufacturing industry's medium and big businesses account for the vast bulk (Kearney,

2016). Online shopping in Qatar is hindered by a lack of solid legislation, regulations, norms,

and processes to protect all relevant stakeholders in the Infrastructure investment

advancement, trust, confidentiality of the information, and cultural stumbling blocks (Bhatti

et al., 2020).

An increasing number of online shoppers are experiencing difficulties due to the lack

of suitable regulations and legislation in place to monitor and regulate online transactions
(Johnson & Ramirez, 2021). Additional restrictions, laws, and guidelines are needed by the

administration of Qatar in order to protect the interests of all parties participating in online

communication is essential (Bhatti & Rehman, 2019).

The financial and social changes in Qatar are among the most profound in the world.

In the 1960s, the majority of the population was made up of migrants, but today, 95% of the

population is quietened down, with 80% of the population residing in metropolitan areas

(Rehman et al., 2019). Social networking has risen to prominence in the highly developed

country of Qatar. Now, Qatar has the largest number of Twitter users and the highest number

of YouTube viewers per capita than any other country (Rehman et al., 2019). We need to

keep track of how social media is being used for online shopping in Qatar and what is driving

people to use it or not.

According to the literature review, there are a variety of theories about information

systems. Technology Acceptability Model (TAM) is one of a variety of models that

concentrate on Internet use as well as acceptance (Lim et al., 2016). The goal of this model is

to show how people use new technologies and the characteristics that influence their choices.

User convenience and ease of use are the most important factors in this model's success

(Bhatti, Saad, & Salimon, 2019). In other words, individuals tend to innovation activities if

they were really aware of the opportunities and can use it at their own pace.

TAM, on the other hand, has the drawback of not being restricted to a single area of

technology but rather pertains to a wide range of fields within the industry (Asiedu & Dube,

2020). Researchers have utilized the TAM to analyze the adoption and acceptability of

Internet technologies, according to Daroch et al. (2021). Using the TAM has allowed

researchers to generalize the model to more specialised domains, such as shopping online,

that have led to the adoption of newer, more particular models, such as with the Online
Shopping Acceptance Model (OSAM)(Tham et al., 2019). Online purchase research in the

Middle East lacks theoretical and applied research to fill in the gaps. TAM has been widely

employed there (Moshrefjavadi et al., 2012). For the purposes of this investigation, the

OSAM will be used as a theoretical framework for analysing the collected data (Li et al.,

2020). In an attempt to optimize or replace products and services, this paradigm of

acceptance investigates customers' perspectives and opinions.

1.4. Research Aim

The primary aim of this study will be to analyze the online shopping behavior and attitude of

consumers in Qatar.

1.5. Research Objective

Following research objectives will be focused on in this study.

1. To identify the online shopping practice in Qatar

2. To examine changing trends in online shopping behavior among consumers

3. To investigate the benefits of online shopping in Qatar

1.6. Research Question

This research study will consider the following research questions:

1. How is online shopping influenced by consumer behavior in Qatar?

1.7 Dissertation Structure

The chapters of this dissertation are Introduction, The Qatar Context, Literature

Review, Methodology, Descriptive Analysis, Hypotheses Test, and Discussion and

Conclusions. They are divided into seven sections.

purpose and background. According to the study that introduced this topic, this chapter also

defines the online buying experience by presenting terminology based on that study.

The evolution of online shopping in Qatar is discussed in detail in Chapter 2. It is

important to understand the backdrop of Qatar in order to comprehend better the nature of e-

mail, social networking sites, and retail e-commerce in Qatar. To better understand online

purchasing behavior and intent to purchase, Chapter 2 of the assessment delves into OSAM

data as well as consumer demographics. As a result of this chapter, you will be able to

comprehend better the online buying process, as well as how social media affects it.

Research methods are outlined in Chapter 3, which is the chapter on methodology. It

supports the choices made for the data gathering strategy in accordance with the research

goals and settings even further. Quantitative research can be made more efficient and

productive with the inclusion of easily measurable features in this chapter.

Chapters 4 is devoted to analyzing the results. Analyses of the online survey data are

presented and discussed in Chapter 5. Tables, graphs, and charts are used to give statistical

data analysis of the material discussed. The OSAM's development is aided by the statistical

proof provided by the data analysis process. The Structural Equation Model (SEM) is used to

answer the research questions and the research model in Chapter 4. Also included in this

chapter is a description of how the reliability and validity of each construct and the model's

fit are evaluated using the SEM indices.

Chapter 5 discusses the findings from the primary data collection as well as the

findings from the literature review. This chapter's analysis of the findings reveals Qatar's

social media strategy for online purchasing.

discusses how future researchers should understand the study's hypotheses, which constitute

its theoretical and empirical contributions to the literature. This section also addresses the

study's shortcomings and potential future research paths.

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