The effect of consumer perceptions on purchase intention with the role of consumer attitude and trust

EXTENDED ABSTRACT
 
Introduction: In today's competitive era, in the new era marketing space, there is a diverse set of products, brands, and messages that make it difficult for consumers to choose the best option and narrow the field for marketers to compete. Therefore, considering the intense competition in the market, understanding the needs and desires of customers and also predicting their behavior can be one of the effective factors in the success or failure of businesses. Consumer perceptions are much more complex and influenced by a variety of factors that were not present in the past. With the advancement of technology and the Internet, consumers have access to more information and can use multiple sources to research and compare different products and services. This has led to consumer perceptions of products and services being heavily influenced by digital experiences and online information. Consumer perceptions of purchase intention refer to a set of processes, decisions, and emotions that a consumer experiences when deciding to purchase a product or service. These perceptions can be influenced by a variety of factors, including past experiences, product knowledge, personal needs and expectations, social and cultural influences, as well as advertising and other influences. Therefore, this study examined the effect of consumer perceptions on purchase intention with the mediating role of consumer attitude and trust.
Methodology: This research is considered to be a descriptive research in terms of its purpose and data collection method, and is a field study in terms of its relationship between research variables, and is of the correlation type. The statistical population of this research includes all customers of Digikala Company (B2C). Given that the statistical population of the research is unlimited and according to the Morgan table, the sample size of 384 people was selected using the available sampling method. The measurement tool of the present research is a standard questionnaire. The final questionnaire after the necessary changes includes 27 questions. A five-point Likert scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree was used to evaluate the research questionnaire. To determine the validity, the questionnaire was provided to experts and their opinions were sought, and finally, with their approval, the validity of the questionnaire was confirmed. Cronbach's alpha test was used to measure the reliability of the questionnaire. The reliability value was calculated separately for all variables, and for all variables, the reliability value was above 0.7, according to both Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability coefficient criteria, which indicates the appropriate reliability of the instrument in this study. SPSS and PLS software were used to analyze the data.
Discussion and Results: The results of this research showed that consumer perceptions have a significant effect on purchase intention with the mediating role of consumer attitude and consumer trust. The dimensions of consumer perceptions (perceived convenience, consumption risk, and consumers' mental symbol) have a significant effect on consumer trust and attitude. However, perceived value did not have a significant effect on consumer trust, and this hypothesis was rejected. Customer service quality has a significant effect on consumer trust. But the hypothesis of customer service quality did not have a significant effect on consumer attitude and was rejected. Also, consumer trust and consumer attitude have a significant effect on purchase intention. On the other hand, consumer attitude mediates the relationship between dimensions of consumer perceptions (perceived convenience, perceived value, consumption risk, consumers' mental image) and consumers' purchase intention. But consumer attitude does not mediate the relationship between customer service quality and purchase intention and was rejected. Consumer trust mediates the relationship between dimensions of consumer perceptions (perceived convenience, customer service quality, consumption risk, consumers' mental image) and purchase intention, but consumer trust does not mediate the relationship between perceived value and consumers' purchase intention and this hypothesis was rejected.
Conclusion: The findings of this study highlight the critical synergy between consumer perceptions on purchase intention with the mediating role of attitude and trust in shaping consumer behavior in the digital age. Understanding consumer perceptions plays a unique yet complementary role in creating meaningful consumer engagement. Therefore, it is suggested to sales managers that using techniques such as countdowns for discounts or time limits for special offers can create a sense of urgency and encourage customers to buy, and using targeted online and offline advertising to reach specific groups of audiences who are more likely to buy, and finally creating loyalty programs that encourage customers to make repeated purchases and provide rewards for them, these factors will increase consumer trust. It is also suggested that price guarantees be implemented on websites. If a customer sees that the product he has purchased has been offered at a lower price within a certain period, he can receive the price difference. Also, providing complete information about the features, price, terms of use and other details of the product helps customers make better decisions, and finally providing discounts or special offers for the first purchase can be an incentive for customers to reduce the risk of buying.