Factors influencing users’ adoption of online to offline application platforms: evidence from China

Online to offline (O2O) is an emerging e-commerce model which combines online and offline transactions, it promotes the integration of traditional offline physical store business and modern Internet. O2O model has become a new trend in the development of e-commerce in China. At present, most operators still only attract
users to join the O2O application platform in the form of coupons, but they have not found other long-term sustainable methods to attract users. Therefore, in order to solve these issues and enrich the research results in the field of O2O, this paper aimed to study the influencing factors of users adopting the O2O application platform in the Chinese context. This study referenced the Unified Theory of
Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model and creates a research framework, and then proposed four research hypotheses for factors influencing users' adoption of the O2O application platform. Moreover, this study used quantitative research methods to investigated and analyzed the adoption of O2O. Then smartPLS
3.0 was used as a data analysis technique to test reliability, validity, research hypothesis and model explanatory power by assessing the measurement and structural models. The results of the study indicated that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions are all associated with users' adoption of the O2O application platforms. This result further illustrated performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions are factors that influence users' adoption of the O2O application platform. Therefore, these research results provide practical and theoretical guidance for O2O application operators and subsequent related research.