Mobile Data Internet Costs and E-shopping Frequency: Evidence from Seven Regions
(Pages 2867-2879)Salwa Abdel Aziz1, Hoda Mansour2,* and Solaiman Hassan3
1Associate Professor of economics, Cairo University.
2Associate Professor of economics, University of Business and Technology.
3Associate Professor of economics, Assuit University.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55365/1923.x2023.21.310
Abstract:
Understanding the relationship between data costs and e-shopping adoption is crucial in today's digital age. Given the numerous benefits of e-shopping such as increased market access, convenience, and cost savings for both businesses and consumers, e-shopping has become an essential component of worldwide commerce and the expansion of the economy. However, access to affordable and reliable internet connectivity is essential for e-shopping to thrive. To conduct this investigation, panel data from a diverse set of countries spanning different regions is utilized. The objective of this study is to investigate the potential relationship between the cost of data over the internet and e-commerce by utilizing panel data from 100 nations across seven distinct regions. The data used in this study is sourced from the 3i-index database, which covers a period of 3, 4, or 5 consecutive years ranging from 2018 to 2022. The primary focus of this research is to examine how the price of a 1 GB prepaid mobile broadband data package influences countries level of e-shopping. By analyzing the correlation between these two variables, the study aims to shed light on the impact of data costs on e-shopping usage patterns. The study incorporates countries’ nominal GDP, aggregate population, and e-shopping safety as control variables to examine their relationship with the cost of mobile data internet and its impact on e-commerce in different regions. The results indicate a general positive association between mobile costs and e-shopping; however, results indicate a negative correlation between the cost of mobile data internet and e-shopping in the Middle East and North Africa region within a specific threshold. In contrast, results indicate a positive correlation between the two variables in North America, while no significant correlation is observed in all other regions. The study provides insightful explanations and policy implications to promote e-shopping.
Keywords:
E-Commerce, E-Shopping, M-Shopping, Mobile Data Cost.
JEL Classification:
L81, L86, O1.
How to Cite:
Salwa Abdel Aziz, Hoda Mansour and Solaiman Hassan. Mobile Data Internet Costs and E-shopping Frequency: Evidence from Seven Regions. [ref]: vol.21.2023. available at: https://refpress.org/ref-vol21-a310/
Licensee REF Press This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.