Exploring the impact of usability in e-commerce website on the buying behaviour: A study of top Sri Lankan e-commerce websites

Abstract

In this digital era, e-commerce websites have become a fundamental component of the digital marketplace, enabling users the convenience of exploring/ purchasing products and services at their fingertips from the comfort of their homes. This research explores the impact of e-commerce website usability by considering four main factors: learnability, efficiency, satisfaction, and ease of use, which shape customers' buying behaviour. Although various international contexts explore the impact of website usability on consumer behaviour, there is a noticeable dearth of studies focused specifically on the Sri Lankan e-commerce market. This means the impact of e-commerce website usability within the unique context of Sri Lanka still needs to be explored. This study aimed to compare the selected ecommerce websites in terms of usability attributes, such as learnability, efficiency, satisfaction, and ease of use. For the study Kapruka.lk, Daraz.lk, Ikman.lk, Abans.lk, and Wow.lk were chosen based on their popularity among e-commerce users in Sri Lankan context. The study used a quantitative approach, 146 Sri Lankan e-commerce users participated in the online questionnaire survey. Responses were analyzed using the IBM SPSS Statistics software and SmartPLS 4 software. The findings of this study suggest that from a customer perspective, the most crucial usability factors are efficiency, ease of use, and satisfaction. Since the structural model of the PLS-SEM analysis indicates that the p-value of the learnability factor is greater than 0.05, learnability is not a usability factor that drives consumer behaviour on e-commerce websites in Sri Lanka. After analyzing the gathered responses, Daraz.lk emerged with the highest usability score of 45.85, while Abans.lk demonstrated the lowest usability score of 39.8. The order of usability levels among the selected platforms was daraz.lk, kapruka.lk, ikman.lk, wow.lk, and abans.lk. This study provides valuable insights into the specific aspects of usability that significantly influence customer behaviour in the Sri Lankan e-commerce market. The results aid in understanding user preferences and provide a foundation for e-commerce platforms to enhance their usability, positively impacting customer satisfaction and driving effective buying behaviour.