Malaysia’s real estate industry is undergoing its digital transformation as COVID-19 takes effect. Both forms of physical property transactions have been digitalised, which prompted many opportunities for the sector. In response, the real estate industry acts as an enterprise that provides more streamlined offerings to buyers than ever before. Much of the digital technology has offered new opportunities to realty business to target specific market segments such as millennials who have a unique characteristic compared to other generations. However, few studies have investigated this area concerning the millennials. Thus, this study examines the intention to use the digital real estate platform among millennials in Malaysia by utilising the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model as the guiding principle. Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) approach was employed to test the hypotheses. The effectiveness factor strongly influenced millennials’ intention to use the digital real estate platform because they believed that by using the technology, the real estate platform would be free of effort and enabled them to save time when making important decisions whether to purchase or rent any of the real estate product or services. Digital technology also allows millennials to search at their pace and convenience, learning a great deal about the property and related issues before they begin any actual negotiations. The findings highlight several factors that substantially affect millennial consumers’ intention to use the real estate platform. Suggestions for further study are also discussed. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
Millennials’ Intention to Use Digital Real Estate Platform During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Stimulus-Organism-Response Approach