Investigating the Impact of Online Shopping on Consumers’ Financial Behavior
Keywords:
Online Shopping, Financial Behavior, Consumer, Financial ManagementAbstract
The expansion of e-commerce and digital payment tools has significantly transformed financial decision-making patterns and consumer behavior. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of online shopping, particularly digital payment tools and Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services, on various dimensions of consumers’ financial behavior. The study was applied in purpose and descriptive-survey in method. The statistical population consisted of online consumers in Tehran during the second half of 2025 who had made at least three online purchases. Based on Cochran’s formula, 384 participants were selected. Data collection was conducted using a researcher-made questionnaire including demographic characteristics, online shopping patterns, and financial behavior dimensions.
The findings showed that the use of online installment payment systems had the strongest relationship with risky financial behavior. Online installment payments were positively associated with impulsive buying and bank overdraft behavior and negatively associated with budgeting and saving. In addition, frequent online shopping and nighttime shopping significantly increased risky financial behaviors. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the frequency of installment payment use, frequency of online shopping, and average number of installments were the strongest predictors of highly risky financial behavior. Conversely, higher age and education acted as protective factors.
Overall, the results indicate that the expansion of online shopping and repeated use of installment payment services may increase risky financial behaviors among consumers, especially in the absence of sufficient financial literacy and behavioral control.
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