Correlation between Social Media Utilization and the Young Generation’s Online Shopping Behavior in Eastern Indonesia

Abstract

Online shopping is popular among generations Y and Z in Indonesia. This research study evaluated consumer online shopping behavior in Eastern Indonesia, a lower income and lower internet penetration region than western Indonesia. Online study questionnaires were distributed to the region's main cities or provincial capitals to collect profile data on the internet and social media use in the Indonesian society. A total of 613 respondents completed the questionnaires. Correspondence analysis was used to assess the relationship between two categorical variables. Instagram was the most popular social media followed by Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and TikTok. Most of the respondents used more than one platform. Almost all respondents had shopped online (95.76%) after a product review from mainly consumer reviews and rarely from promotions by influencers. However, online shoppers were still wary of products that did not match their online description.