The Digital Retail Dilemma: Causes and Effects of Online Shopping Stress among Gen Z
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69968/ijisem.2025v4i3417-428Keywords:
Online Shopping Stress, Gen Z, Consumer Behavior, E-commerce Anxiety, Privacy and Security Concerns, Consumer Trust and Loyalty, Technology-Induced StressAbstract
E-commerce has transformed the retail landscape, and Generation Z, a cohort born to the internet, have been heavily affected by online purchases that have resulted in the rapid growth of e-commerce. Whereas online shopping brings about convenience, availability, and personalization, online shopping introduces stressors that cut across the well-being of consumers. This research paper uses the systematic literature review to investigate the causes, consequences, and implications of online shopping stress among Gen Z shoppers. The main stressors are problems with information overload, security, and decision fatigue as well as the intricacies of returns and refunds. Anxieties regarding privacy following the tracking of data and targeted advertising contribute to the increased shopping stress level. Moreover, the dependence on recommendations and social media which are based on AI also adds to the increase of expectations and impulse buying, which usually result in an unhappy ending.
The review also points more at the impact of online shopping stress, including decreased consumer trust, decreased levels of satisfaction and increased rates of cart abandonment. Aspects that are associated with stress deter brand loyalty, it is of great importance that e-commerce platforms should consider such issues. Some of the measures that can be implemented to reduce online shopping anxiety are reducing the complexity of the web site structure, ensuring that the security provisions are more transparent, improving the policies upon customer returns and installing AI-enhanced customer services. Besides, more positive consumer reaction can be encouraged through ethical consumer marketing practices and functions of stressful shopping.
This study summarises the available literature, and as a result, it offers a holistic perspective on the digital retail dilemma and provides business managers with practical recommendations on improving consumer welfare. By managing the stress of online shopping, the customer satisfaction is enhanced at par with preventing the long-term involvement and sustainability in the competitive e-commerce environment.
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