From Risk Reduction to Trust: The Differentiating Role of Trait Worry in Online Shopping
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63556/tisej.2026.1870Keywords:
Online shopping, risk reduction, positive past experience, trust, trait worry, consumer behaviourAbstract
This study examines the relationships among individuals' general risk reduction perceptions of online shopping, positive past online shopping experiences, and their general trust in online shopping. Furthermore, the study evaluates whether the trait-worry variable, considered a personality-based tendency independent of the shopping process, plays a differentiating role in these relationships. The research model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and a multi-group analysis approach, based on survey data collected online from 411 participants living in the United Kingdom. The findings show that perceptions of risk reduction in online shopping are closely related to how individuals evaluate their past online shopping experiences. However, the process of transforming risk reduction perceptions into positive experiences varies depending on individuals' general worry levels. A comparison of the groups shows that the level of worry plays a differentiating role in the process by which perceptions of risk reduction are transformed into positive experiences; however, the relationship between positive past experiences and trust does not vary according to the level of worry. It is understood that individuals with low worry levels more readily transform risk reduction perceptions into positive experiences, whereas this process is more limited in individuals with high worry levels. In contrast, the effect of positive past online shopping experiences on general trust in online shopping exhibits a consistent structure independent of worry levels.
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