Keywords
Generation Z
Consumer Behaviour
Privacy Concern in e-Commerce
PLS-SEM
How to Cite
Abstract
India's sexual wellness market is growing rapidly within a socio-cultural environment characterised by persistent stigma, privacy anxiety, and heterogeneous digital influence. Generation Z (Gen Z) consumers occupy a contradictory position, digitally uninhibited yet socially constrained, rendering their purchase behaviour understudied and theoretically unresolved.
This study develops and empirically tests an integrated framework grounded in the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) model, and the Embarrassing Product Decision (EPD) framework to explain gendered sexual wellness purchase behaviour among Indian Gen Z.
An anonymous online survey was administered to 658 Gen Z respondents (aged 18–27; 52.6% female) across Tier 1 and Tier 2 Indian cities. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) with 5,000-iteration bootstrapping was used to test fifteen hypotheses. Gender moderation was examined through multi-group PLS-SEM.
Perceived stigma (β = .464, p < .001) is the strongest inhibitor of attitude; eWOM (β = .401), social media influence (β = .258), and discreet packaging (β = .168) are facilitative antecedents. Privacy concern operates indirectly via perceived behavioural control (β = .374, p < .001). Subjective norms are the strongest predictor of purchase intention (β = .352). Influencer exposure exerts a counterintuitive negative effect on attitude (β = −.156, p = .011). The downstream loyalty chain is fully confirmed. Stigma effects are stronger for female consumers; social media influence is significant only for males.
Stigma, privacy, and digital influence jointly, and differentially by gender, shape sexual wellness purchase trajectories among Indian Gen Z. Findings advance the dual-pathway stigma model and yield actionable guidance for marketers, platforms, and public health communicators.
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