Conditional Adoption of FMCG E-Commerce in Kuwait: A Qualitative Study of Trust, Control, and Channel Switching Behavior

The growth of e-commerce has reshaped fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) retailing, yet consumer adoption in culturally embedded markets does not always follow a simple movement from physical stores to online platforms. This study explores how FMCG consumers in Kuwait decide when to shop online and when to remain with traditional retail channels. Drawing on nine semi-structured interviews with adopters, occasional users, and a non-adopter, the study re-examines e-commerce behavior through the lens of conditional adoption, trust, perceived control, and channel switching. The findings suggest that FMCG e-commerce adoption in Kuwait is not a linear transition, but a situational and category-specific behavior. Consumers turn to online platforms when convenience, urgency, delivery speed, heavy items, or time constraints make digital purchasing more useful. At the same time, they continue to rely on physical stores for fresh products, wider assortment, stronger promotional visibility, shopping enjoyment, and the ability to inspect items personally. Trust in product quality, confidence in delivery accuracy, price perception, and household routines strongly influence these decisions. The study contributes to engaged management scholarship by showing that e-commerce adoption in FMCG should not be understood only through technology acceptance or generational readiness. In the Kuwaiti context, online shopping operates as part of a hybrid retail routine shaped by cultural habits, category risk, Cooperative-Societies loyalty, family structures, and the consumer’s desire for control. For retailers and brand managers, the findings highlight the need to design digital FMCG platforms that go beyond convenience by strengthening trust, assortment depth, pricing fairness, loyalty mechanisms, and sensory assurance for categories where physical inspection remains important.