Author(s): Anand Prasad Chattopadhyay, Abhijit Pandit,
Indian households are progressively dependent on internet purchasing platforms for both intentional acquisitions and swift, convenience-oriented transactions. However, the household-level mechanism by which the intensity of online shopping—measured by the frequency of online purchases, duration of shopping-related digital engagement, and utilisation of platforms across various channels, devices, and payment methods—contributes to the prevalence of digital consumerism within households is still empirically under-researched. This publication, rooted in technology acceptance theories and habit/impulse mechanisms, introduces and defines Household Digital Consumerism Prevalence (HDCP) as a household condition characterised by digitally mediated, platform-centric, and promotion/algorithm-influenced consumption. India presents a particularly pertinent context as e-commerce is anticipated to experience significant growth until 2030, and digital payment systems, particularly UPI, have achieved substantial transaction volumes, reducing purchase friction and facilitating large-scale micro-transactions (India Brand Equity Foundation [IBEF], 2026; Press Information Bureau, 2025; Department of Financial Services, 2024; Economic Times, 2026). The proposed structural equation model connects Online Shopping Frequency (OSF) and Online Shopping Duration (OSD) to HDCP, with Shopping Mode Complexity (SMC) and Promotion & Deal Orientation (PDO) enhancing exposure and purchase activation, while Habitual Online-First Script (HOF) and Impulse Activation (IA) serve as mediators. Embeddedness of Digital Payment (DPE) and Platform Affordances (PAF) are conceptualised as upstream determinants, whereas Household Budgeting Discipline (HBD) moderates the impacts of intensity on prevalence. A multi-respondent household survey (two adults per household) will be conducted, accompanied by a two-week shopping diary, followed by PLS-SEM estimation, measurement validation, mediation/moderation analyses, and multi-group comparisons across Indian household structures and urban tiers (Hair et al., 2022; Henseler et al., 2015; Podsakoff et al., 2003). The paper provides a SEM framework specifically designed for India to measure the extent to which platform usage influences household digital consumerism, and it presents implications for consumer literacy, platform design, and household financial resilience.