Pricing, Discounts, and Emi Options as Key Drivers of Consumer Buying Behaviour for Home Appliances on E-Marketplaces

Abstract

This paper explores how pricing, promotion discounts, and EMI plans are major factors influencing consumer purchasing behaviour when buying home appliances on online market places in Coimbatore. The cross-sectional survey design was employed where the primary data were obtained through a structured questionnaire, after getting a total of 384 respondents. The researchers aimed at examining the effect of financial constraints and promotion mechanisms on the purchase intention and purchasing behaviour of customers in the online home appliance market. The theoretical model suggested that the purchase intention is driven by pricing, discounts and EMI payments, which further results in the buying behaviour. PLS-SEM was used to measure the measurement and structural models with data analysis. The measurement model demonstrated satisfactory reliability and convergent validity, with Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability exceeding recommended thresholds and AVE values AVE values ranging from 0.502 to 0.837, all surpassing the minimum acceptable threshold of 0.50. The HTMT criterion was also used in establishing discriminant validity. The structural model depicted great explanatory power with R 2 of purchase intention and buying behaviour of 0.892 and 0.791 respectively. The structural model showed that discounts and EMI options had stronger positive effects on purchase intention than price, while purchase intention had a strong positive effect on buying behaviour. The results indicate that the discount appeal and payment flexibility is highly sensitive to consumers in Coimbatore and highly influences the purchase willingness and the ultimate buying behavior of home appliances on electronic marketplaces. However, the findings are limited to self-reported responses from purposively selected consumers in Coimbatore and therefore should be interpreted with caution beyond similar contexts. The paper offers useful insights on how e-marketplace operators and sellers can enhance the transparency of prices and develop proper discount policies and effectively convey the terms of EMI to improve customer conversion and facilitate sustainable online appliance retailing.