Consumers’ Intention to Purchase Through the O2O Catering Platform: A Study Based on a Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) Model

With the rapid development of information technology, it is now fast and convenient for consumers to get food service through the O2O catering platform. Based on stimulus-organism-response (SOR) theory, this study examines how external stimulus variables (the platform’s recommendation mechanism and preferential policies, online evaluation, platform stores’ monthly sales volumes, the platform’s supervision mechanism, and contactless delivery) all affect consumers’ intention to purchase through the O2O catering platform under the inner organism intermediary variables (perceived value and perceived risk). In this study, 424 sample questionnaires were collected and the data were analyzed by structural equation model. The results show that the platform’s recommendation mechanism and preferential policies, the platform stores’ monthly sales volumes, and the platform’s supervision mechanism all positively affect consumers’ perceived value, which in turn positively affects consumers’ purchase intentions. Conversely, online evaluation, the platform stores’ monthly sales volumes, the platform’s supervision mechanism, and contactless delivery all negatively affect consumers’ perceived risk. In addition, perceived risk negatively affects consumers’ purchase intention. The findings have implications for the O2O catering platform to develop a suitable marketing strategy.