Does Personality Influence the Frequency of Online Purchase Behavior?

Scholars have acknowledged the influence of personality traits on individuals’ behavior. However, the effect of personality on (repetitive) online purchase behavior remains under-explored. This is a considerable deficit in knowledge because a marketing paradigm has shifted its interest to examine strategies for attracting new buyers as well as retaining existing customers. To further the understanding of this issue, this paper attempts to examine the relationship between the Big Five personality traits — openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism — and the frequency of online purchases among 386 university students in Malaysia. Through a Structural Equation Modelling analysis, we found that extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism were positively related with the frequency of online purchases. In contrast, openness and conscientiousness showed no significant effect. Overall, this research suggests that marketers should target buyers with certain personality traits because they are likely to use online platforms more often for purchasing items.