Multi-Criteria Decision Making for the Selection of E-Commerce Platforms using AHP-TOPSIS Model

Abstract

E-commerce links sellers and buyers in the virtual world and contributes to the economy of a country. However, there are many E-commerce platforms in the market which make it as multi-criteria decision-making problem for the buyers. This paper intends to propose an integrated AHP-TOPSIS model to study the selection of E-commerce platforms as consumers among undergraduate students. This study found that after sales service, with a weight of 0.3601, is the most crucial factor that drives consumers to engage in an E-commerce platform. Delivery speed, warranty services, and innovative products, with weights of 0.1268, 0.1256, and 0.1143 respectively, are the top three sub-criteria affecting consumers’ intention to shop on the E-commerce platform. Shopee (0.6685), Taobao (0.3391), and Lazada (0.2177) are the three most preferred E-commerce platform while Zalora (0.1550) is the least visited E-commerce platform. In conclusion, the contribution of this paper is in proposing an integrated AHP-TOPSIS model for the selection of E-commerce platform in Malaysia. This integrated AHP-TOPSIS model helps decision makers to obtain optimality for complex problems. The significance of this paper is the adoption of a novel set of criteria in terms of innovative and contemporary, brand and quality, system content, price, and after sales service for the study of the selection of E-commerce platform in Malaysia. This study can also help consumers in selecting a suitable E-commerce platform in Malaysia.