Purchase Intention and Satisfaction of Online Shop Users in Developing Countries during the COVID-19 Pandemic

: The aim of the research is to gain an understanding of consumer behavior in developing countries in the electronic environment. For this purpose, the four constructs of the PREVEINCOSA scale were analyzed: purchase intention as the dependent variable and trust, perceived value, and satisfaction as the determining variables of the former. For this purpose, by means of convenience sampling, an online questionnaire was shared with citizens in Mexico, Peru, and Colombia. A total of 330 questionnaires were collected from people who knew or had bought clothes in an online shop of the small company. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to validate the model and test the hypotheses. The results indicate that trust and satisfaction directly and positively inﬂuence value perception and online purchase intention and that value perception directly and positively inﬂuences online purchase intention of the small business consumer in Mexico, Peru, and Colombia. These results may be useful for the small fashion business sector in developing countries since it is observed that the online sales channel is not yet developed, which makes it necessary to develop strategies to reach customers in a more effective way. On the other hand, given the importance of this sector for the economy of developing countries, this study can be useful to governments who can establish public policies to provide training and technical assistance to beneﬁt the development and competitiveness of this sector.


Introduction
By 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals are expected to enhance and promote the social, economic, ecological, and political inclusion of all people, regardless of age, gender, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion, or economic or other status [1]. This tends to promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, such as the creation of decent jobs, entrepreneurship, creativity, innovation, and the promotion of the formalization and growth of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises [2], and access to financial services, the latter being the responsibility of each nation. Latin America has been characterized as a region with political, economic, and social problems that have affected entrepreneurship [2]. However, according to the data provided by the study of [3], this situation has worsened with the periods of compulsory social seclusion, showing a 42.3% increase in the number of MSMEs (micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises) in insolvency and economic bankruptcy in 2019 and part of 2022 during the pandemic. On the other hand, a high level of unemployment has stimulated entrepreneurship in some economic sectors such as grocery or clothing shops with or without an address which has provided a way out of the economic crisis [4].

Customer Purchase Intention in Online Clothing MSMEs
The purchase intention is nothing more than the consumer's willingness to make a purchase through the electronic channel and represents a key factor in measuring the adoption of e-commerce in MSMEs, especially those engaged in the marketing of clothing [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. Reference [30] defined this intention as the subjective willingness of consumers to buy in an online shop, a process in which factors such as resources, attitudes, and lifestyle of the consumer are involved [31,32]. Thus, in relation to personality, online purchase intention can be seen as a consumer's enduring willingness to display a certain purchase behavior in a certain context mediated by an electronic device [33]. This behavior is the likelihood that a consumer will buy the products or contract the services, in a given period of time, being a basic metric for our conversion funnel [12,34].
In the electronic context, consumers' purchase intentions are affected by several factors related to the information system, such as the quality of the website, the design of web pages, and the display of product details [35,36]. Therefore, online shops must differentiate themselves to attract customers with their unique features and capture their best first impressions [37]. In addition, in the clothing buying process, visual attention is a key element, the emotional experience of clothing objects is gradually formed, and, ultimately, a purchase decision is made [38].
The theory of reasoned action [39] suggests that a person's intention to perform or not to perform a specific behavior is the immediate determinant of behavior. In this sense, other authors state that intention is the amount of effort one is willing to make to achieve a goal [40,41]. Along these lines, according to [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43], online purchase intention can be seen as a consumer's enduring willingness to display a certain behavior (i.e., purchase) in a certain context. The consumer before buying will be guided by their previous experience, preferences, and external environment to gather information, evaluate alternatives, and finally make a purchase decision [44,45].

The Trust of the Customer Shopping in Online Clothing MSEs
Trust is emerging as a key element of success in the online environment [46] and is defined as the degree of faith, credibility, and even complicity that can exist between two or more individuals [47,48]. Consumer trust in the field of e-clothing shopping is even more relevant than in traditional shopping, since the intangibility and impersonality of e-commerce increase consumer uncertainty .
It should be mentioned with great certainty that the new information and communication technologies (ICTs) have favored the emergence of new sales channels [50][51][52]. E-commerce has been a revolution for both MSMEs and consumers and has become one of the main activities of the world economy due to the globalization of the Web, which has made it possible to open businesses all over the world 24 hours a day, increasing the chances of success of any business [53].
Trust occurs after a consumer buys a product on the basis of clear expectations [54], [55]. Thus, trust is fundamental in the acceptance of information technologies and is especially necessary for online sellers [56]. In online shopping, trust influences consumers' willingness to buy online, the increase in online sales, and the consumer's perception of value of this type of business [57,58]. Thus, e-trust can be described as the degree of conviction that customers have in online exchanges or online exchange channels [59]. In recent times, an important attribute for building consumer trust is the integrity of how the organization's brand can be perceived [60].
Consequently, Ang et al. [61] determined that the low level of trust in online consumers is due to factors such as security, privacy, and perceived risk, in addition to other variables involved in the online purchasing process [62]. For this reason, Poan et al. [63] considered three strategies to reduce consumer uncertainty about the online seller's trustworthiness and increase the likelihood of transaction: the online seller's ability to deliver a product or service that performs as promised, the availability to rectify in the event that the purchase is inadequate, and the presence of a privacy policy or statement on the website.

Hypothesis 1 (H1).
Trust in online stores of small apparel companies directly influences consumers' value perception.
Hypothesis 2 (H2). Trust in online stores of small apparel companies directly influences online purchase intention.

The Customer Value Perception of Online Clothing MSMEs
In recent decades, society has been undergoing a series of socio-cultural, economic, and political transformations that have led to important consequences for the market and the consumer [63]. Of all these changes, socio-cultural changes have become one of the main aspects of understanding the new consumerist structure, characterized by the existence of certain global trends that explain the changes in family structures and new lifestyles [64]. This has led to an increase in the number of small clothing companies in developing countries, and the trend and culture of the country are ones of consumerism and vanity.
Unlike satisfaction, value perception occurs at various stages of the purchase process, even before the purchase [65]. Consumers define value in relation to the low price, what they expect from a product, the quality they get for the price they pay, and what they get for what they give [44]. Perceived value can better reflect consumers' purchase intention, helping to predict future consumer behavior [30,66] and driving an intentional or impulsive purchase [67].
Value perception is a subjective judgment or overall evaluation that consumers obtain by perceiving the value of the product or service they purchase and balancing benefit and loss [30,68]. Value is considered a multidimensional construct comprising mainly two dimensions: functional or utilitarian value and emotional value [69]. The functional value provided by the convenience of technology and improved shopping efficiency can enhance consumer satisfaction, increase consumption desire, and promote re-consumption [67].
In online shops, functional value is the value that consumers receive from the ecommerce website visited, based on the collection of product-related information that helps them make more informed purchasing decisions [70]. This increases perceived quality and decreases price sensitivity, but long waiting times can have the opposite effect on consumers' perceived value [71]. Likewise, consumer symbolic value is based on the subjective and intangible evaluation of products and services, which can be explained by the emotional or hedonistic dimension, which occurs before cognition, and is the main factor in the enjoyment of the pleasure of an emotional stimulus in the consumption experience [69].

Hypothesis 3 (H3).
Value perception positively influences consumer purchase intention of the online clothing store.

Hypothesis 4 (H4).
Value perception positively influences consumer satisfaction of the online clothing store.

Customer Satisfaction in the MSEs of Online Clothing Shops
From a marketing point of view, the satisfaction of customer needs is the key to business-market exchanges [72,73]. Satisfaction is the result of the perception of the value received by the customer of the clothing MSMEs over the expected value; thus the intention to repurchase is linked to customer satisfaction [74]. According to [75], satisfaction is an individual's feeling of pleasure or disappointment as a result of comparing the perceived performance of online shopping in relation to their expectations [76][77][78].
E-satisfaction can be defined as customer satisfaction with respect to their previous shopping experience with a given e-commerce company and resulting in favorable re-sponses, such as purchase and repurchase [79]. It is considered an indicator that increases customer loyalty [80], as it determines whether or not the customer intends to patronize the shop in the future [77]. Nowadays, repeat purchases are a necessary phenomenon in order to ensure the survival of organizations [81,82].
Purchase satisfaction in this type of company is a fundamental element that every organization must be able to understand, since it is through this that it is possible to know how to meet the needs and requirements of the consumer and make the company more efficient and profitable [83]. What consumers are looking for is a product or service that they expect to satisfy their needs [84], which means that it is necessary to understand how consumers make decisions regarding consumer goods. Moreover, the digital environment allows consumers to have more power over what they see or hear in the marketplace, and thus they can compare prices and choose the best ones, avoid distribution channels and intermediaries, and buy goods around the world anytime, anywhere [85].
Satisfaction is similar to attitude in the sense that it can be assessed as the sum of satisfactions with different product or service attributes [86]. A high level of consumer satisfaction leads to customer retention, which in turn benefits positive word-of-mouth marketing and reduced marketing expenses [71]. Some authors point out that e-satisfaction is positively related to the relationship between customer value co-creation and online selling [57].

Hypothesis 5 (H5).
Consumer satisfaction influences the online purchase intention of online apparel stores.

Model Construction
With the evidence found in the literature, the hypotheses were set out in the theoretical framework to be tested in this study.
These relationships are shown in Figure 1 in order to present the theoretical graphic model on which the research is based (see Figure 1).
ness-market exchanges [72,73]. Satisfaction is the result of the perception of the value received by the customer of the clothing MSMEs over the expected value; thus the intention to repurchase is linked to customer satisfaction [74]. According to [75], satisfaction is an individual's feeling of pleasure or disappointment as a result of comparing the perceived performance of online shopping in relation to their expectations [76][77][78].
E-satisfaction can be defined as customer satisfaction with respect to their previous shopping experience with a given e-commerce company and resulting in favorable responses, such as purchase and repurchase [79]. It is considered an indicator that increases customer loyalty [80], as it determines whether or not the customer intends to patronize the shop in the future [77]. Nowadays, repeat purchases are a necessary phenomenon in order to ensure the survival of organizations [81,82].
Purchase satisfaction in this type of company is a fundamental element that every organization must be able to understand, since it is through this that it is possible to know how to meet the needs and requirements of the consumer and make the company more efficient and profitable [83]. What consumers are looking for is a product or service that they expect to satisfy their needs [84], which means that it is necessary to understand how consumers make decisions regarding consumer goods. Moreover, the digital environment allows consumers to have more power over what they see or hear in the marketplace, and thus they can compare prices and choose the best ones, avoid distribution channels and intermediaries, and buy goods around the world anytime, anywhere [85].
Satisfaction is similar to attitude in the sense that it can be assessed as the sum of satisfactions with different product or service attributes [86]. A high level of consumer satisfaction leads to customer retention, which in turn benefits positive word-of-mouth marketing and reduced marketing expenses [71]. Some authors point out that e-satisfaction is positively related to the relationship between customer value co-creation and online selling [57].

Hypothesis 5 (H5).
Consumer satisfaction influences the online purchase intention of online apparel stores.

Model Construction
With the evidence found in the literature, the hypotheses were set out in the theoretical framework to be tested in this study.
These relationships are shown in Figure 1 in order to present the theoretical graphic model on which the research is based (see Figure 1).

Materials and Methods
The aim of the research was to find out the influence of trust and satisfaction on the perception of value and purchase intention of users of online shops in developing countries. For this purpose, using a model of structural equations, we proceeded to analyze The instrument used for data collection was the PERVAINCONSA scale, which has adequate metric properties that ensure validity for the collection of information [86,87]. The variables of the PERVAINCONSA scale (trust, satisfaction, value perception, and purchase intention) were evaluated for reliability using Cronbach's alpha (α) > 0.7, composite reliability (CFR) > 0.70, and average variance extracted (AVE) > 0.50 to ensure the validity and reliability of the model. These assessments were complemented by construct validity through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).
In addition, the heterotrait-monotrait ratio (HTMT) criterion was used to validate the constructs of each of the factors [88], since these scales are evaluated as models of hierarchical components, that is, by levels. According to this indicator, the coefficients must be below the strict point (0.850). The results of these analyses can be seen in Tables 1-5.
The questionnaire was distributed virtually to citizens of Mexico, Peru, and Colombia who knew or had made a purchase of clothing in an online shop of a small business in their country. The questionnaire was hosted on a Google form which was shared via email and social networks to a convenience sample. At the beginning of the questionnaire, an informed consent form was presented, where each participant could read and press the "yes I agree" option to enter the questionnaire. In this way, participants were informed about the objective of the study, that their data would be treated anonymously, and that their participation was voluntary. Finally, the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM), using the AMOS-24 program, and the maximum likelihood technique.

Results
A total of 330 valid questionnaires were collected from young consumers in Mexico, Colombia, and Peru. Socio-demographic characteristics included gender, age, and country, as shown in Table 1. The sample was identified as being predominantly female (61.5%), aged between 18 and 20 years (30.9%) and 21 to 25 years (37.9%), and it had a similar number of participants in the three Latin American countries: Mexico (35.2%), Colombia (30.6%), and Peru (34.2%). It can be seen that most of the participants in this study were young participants from generation Z, the most significant age range in this group of participants was between 18 and 25 years old, a young population belonging to generation Z that adapts to new technologies with great ease [89], which can be interpreted as an opportunity for this market segment in the MSME business sector, where they should develop their digital marketing strategies, given that this generation is more familiar with technology. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has led MSMEs to pursue an abrupt digital transformation [9], with many of them jumping into e-commerce without having the technical skills and infrastructure in place to make optimal use of digital media for business purposes [90]. Although the adoption of e-commerce has a positive and significant influence on MSME sales, with the use of ICTs [10], it is necessary to enhance digital marketing plans, strategies, and media, as well as to strengthen technological and operational capacity, in addition to having trained personnel to facilitate the process [91], given that technology, fashion, innovations, and cultural patterns respond to globalization and pose a challenge for the survival of MSMEs and their competitive positioning in a new and increasingly demanding digital market [7,16,74,92,93]. Table 2 shows the validation of the final measurement model with convergent reliability and validity.  Table 3 presents the discriminant validity, which validates the measurement model since the confidence intervals do not reach unity and the quantile covariances do not exceed the AVE value. In this case, the diagonal represents the square root of the AVE [92,94]. In addition, it is verified that the heterotrait-monotrait ratio (HTMT) criterion is met to validate the constructs of each of the factors since all the coefficients are below the threshold for strict discriminant validity (0.850) [88]. All of these requirements fit into the proposed model; therefore, we proceed with the testing of the hypotheses through the analysis of the SEM structural equation model.

Testing the Hypotheses
Once the measuring instrument was validated, the estimation of the structural model was carried out with the help of a structural equation model in the AMOS-V24 program, the results of which are shown in Table 4. In the same way as in the confirmatory factor analysis, the goodness of fit of the model was evaluated in order to accept the results obtained in the equations and finally to test the hypotheses.  The "p-value" indicates the significance of the hypotheses proposed; thus, with a significance of p-value < 0.001, hypotheses H1, H3, and H4 are supported; with a significance of p-value < 0.050, hypothesis H5 is supported. This confirms that trust directly and positively influences the perception of value and that the perception of value directly and positively influences the purchase intention and consumer satisfaction, and, in turn, satisfaction directly and positively influences the purchase intention of consumers of online stores of small businesses in Colombia, Mexico, and Peru; however, hypothesis H2 was not positively supported (p-value = 0.095). This would explain that, in this study population, trust does not positively influence online purchase intention. However, since it was found that purchase intention is influenced by customer satisfaction and the latter in turn by perceived value, it can be affirmed that there is an indirect but positive relationship between trust and online purchase intention, an assertion that is similar to the previously reviewed literature [69].
For this reason, specialists have proposed to perform a direct estimation of the latent variables to improve the explanatory power of the model [95].
Following this idea, a SEM analysis was performed on the basis of the variables of confidence and purchase intention to study the relationship between them when satisfaction and perceived value are not included in the equation. This new model is called the COINT model. The result of the analysis is presented in Table 5. When studying the relationship between trust and purchase intention without the mediating effect of perceived value and satisfaction, significant results are obtained, supporting hypothesis 5, trust positively influences purchase intention, in accordance with those found in the literature and presented in the theoretical framework of this work.

Discussion
Companies with MSME characteristics can achieve market positioning through viable strategies and technological innovation, as they are more in the consumer's mind and customer perception is good [96]. The results of this study can contribute to the literature with a new understanding of online consumer behavior in a different context. The practices of the study are topped by the strategic use of social networks that have become a mass medium of communication as technology every day makes it easier for us to access them [97]. Other practices are related to the constant mentions of authors such as [96] who stated that customers of companies engaged in online marketing appreciate a page that they remember every time they enter their account and also feel satisfied to have the facility to look at the clothes and interact with the company through this medium without having to travel to the site; it is almost like having everything at hand, and this also creates an added value for the customer. This creates an increasingly strong mental perception of the brand in the customer [97].
The aim of this research was to find out the influence of trust and satisfaction on the value perception and purchase intention of users of online shops in developing countries Mexico, Peru, and Colombia. The results show that satisfaction and trust directly and positively influence value perception and that satisfaction and value perception directly and positively influence consumers' purchase intention. In this regard, Moslehpour et al. [16] stated that perceived value influences online purchase intention, due to the perceived usefulness of technological innovation, and that online shoppers from different countries have the same expectation about the advantages of shopping online by themselves. Moreover, according to [98], symbolic or emotional value has a positive relationship with online purchase intention, especially among women.
Regarding trust, the study shows a positive relationship with perceived value, and although initially no association was found with online purchase intention, when measuring trust alone with online purchase intention, a strong influential relationship was evident. Ali et al. [99] pointed out that trust influences consumers' willingness to buy online, the increase in online sales, and consumers' perception of value. However, because other factors such as advertising and prior experience mediate this interaction [21,22] and because of the poor conditions of websites developed by small businesses [10], consumers may not be motivated to buy online. The intangibility and impersonality of e-commerce increase consumer uncertainty [19], especially as small businesses in the fashion and clothing sector have been slow to adapt to new technologies [24] and, with the pandemic, have been forced to move abruptly into e-commerce and respond quickly to new needs in order to continue growing [7,9,11].
Several factors are involved in online purchase intention, such as consumer resources, attitudes, and lifestyle [32]; therefore, the authors agree that satisfaction influences the consumer's perception of value and, in turn, influences a higher level of online purchase intention, which is reflected in the reduction of devolutions and the increase in sales and profitability [9]. In the sale of clothing, emotional experience is a key element in the consumer's decision to make a purchase [38]; therefore [37] considered that online shops must differentiate themselves in order to attract customers with their unique characteristics and capture their best first impressions. This is the only way to generate a favorable loyalty and repurchase response in the future [74,80].
Unlike satisfaction, perceived value occurs throughout the purchase process, even before the purchase, and as demonstrated in the results, perceived value in any form directly influences online purchase intention [30]. The convenience of technology and improved shopping efficiency can improve consumer satisfaction, increasing consumer desire and promoting re-consumption [100], and the perceived consumer experience can increase perceived quality and decrease price sensitivity [71].
On the other hand, in relation to the limitations of the study, it is important to analyze the reasons why many young people claim not to have interacted with an online shop of a small business, considering that the new generations are considered digital natives; perhaps it is because companies are not applying correct digital strategies or simply do not know how to use digital marketing tools [42]. Likewise, the research provides a guideline to continue contributing to the development of small businesses in the different economic sectors of developing countries, in terms of digital marketing, even more so with the strong impact generated by the COVID-19 pandemic at a global level. It is essential to know the reasons why digital marketing practices are not sufficient for small businesses to have great recognition in the market and to identify the strategies and tactics that small businesses have used to make their products known through digital marketing.

Conclusions
The results of the study have some theoretical implications in the field of technologyrelated business and enterprise adoption. First, it helps to develop a theoretical and conceptual framework to examine its effect on individuals' intention to adopt the use of digital technology in their daily activities by testing a predictive model based on the existing literature on behavioral intention theory.
Secondly, the study encourages the creation of new lines of research showing actions to address research gaps in developing countries with emerging economies, where the use of digital technology was not the main option for use in daily activities, and therefore gives an overview of the changes that occurred in that market, considering it as a new opportunity to predict their purchase intentions through digital media.
Finally, the results of the present study will allow the generation of a research prospect for future projects that will allow it to be used as a measure of the purchasing decision behavior of the consumer of an MSME online shop in the Latin American context. This represents an important step forward in the development of scientific evidence on the marketing and administrative conditions surrounding the competitiveness of MSMEs in the context of e-commerce and digital marketing.

Limitations and Future Directions
Among the limitations of the study, we can point out that the sample consisted of only 330 people since, for the development of the theoretical model, only people who were aware of an online shop were considered. This is of prospective interest for our future research, addressing new targets and other countries as study universes; therefore future research should confirm its validity in larger sample sizes. In addition, the occurrence of gender and age-related biases and other variables that feed into the model should be explored for a more complete interpretation of the PERVAINCONSA scale's ability to measure consumer behavior in different contexts.
Despite the limitations, the results allow us to demonstrate that the PERVAINCONSA scale has adequate psychometric evidence of validity and reliability to measure value perception, online purchase intention, trust, and satisfaction of young consumers in the developing countries of Peru, Mexico, and Colombia for this second part of the research. This has great prospects for research in other Latin American and Caribbean nations.
Furthermore, its ease of application and interpretation allows it to be used as a measure of the purchase decision behavior of the young consumer of an MSME online shop in the Latin American context. This represents an important advance in the development of scientific evidence on the administrative and marketing conditions surrounding the competitiveness of MSMEs in the context of e-commerce and digital marketing. Funding: The article will be funded by the Universidad Autónoma de Perú.