An exploratory study on users' intention to purchase items from mobile applications in Thailand

Abstract

In this paper, we study the relationship between continuation of use (COU) factor and the users' intention to purchase items in smartphone applications. We also proposed the four factors: trust, diversity of in- app items, social norm and resource usage, specifically affect the COU of the smartphone applications. Structural equation model (SEM) analysis of a questionnaire based survey collected from 226 respondents in Thailand revealed that the continual use of an application is the key factor affecting the intention of users to make in-app purchases. This factor is affected by the diversity of in-app items, trust and social norms. However, the cost of using the application does not significantly affect the continuation of use. This study contributes to m-commerce as we proposed the analysis model, which specifically adapted to smartphone applications targeting consumers in Thailand. The result helps developers to focus on crucial factors which will enhance the possibility of users' continuous use and decision to purchase in-app items.