THE ROLE OF CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS IN ADOPTION OF ONLINE SHOPPING IN TANZANIA

This study examines the role of consumer perceptions in adoption of online shopping in Tanzania. The study specifically determines the role of consumer’s perceived ease of use, perceived risk and perceived usefulness in the adoption of online shopping in Tanzania. The researcher used explanatory research design to describe the relationship that exists between consumer’s perceptions and in the adoption of online shopping in Tanzania. A sample size consisted of 110 respondents who were online shoppers based in Dar es Salaam was used. The data was collected by self-administered questionnaires which consisted of both open and close ended questions and 5point Likert scale. The researcher used convenience sampling method to collect data from the respondents. The data collected was primary and secondary data. The researcher used SPSS software version 20.0 to compute descriptive analysis percentage techniques and multiple regression analysis then analysed the data. The results of the study indicated that both perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness are positively significant with online shopping, while perceived risk is negatively significant with online shopping. The recommendations of the study are online retailers should eliminate risk by offering secured website, personal information provided by online shoppers should be kept confidential and only used for online shopping purpose. Moreover, online retailers should deliver good quality products and services as they are ordered, online stores should ensure quick delivery of products and services to the online consumers, online stores should provide clear information on the products and services that are available on their websites and refund policy should be ease and clear to both online shoppers and online retailers in Tanzania. Further study may focus on other regions in Tanzania like Arusha, Mwanza and by using the same variables used in the present study.