Perception of Indian customers towards e-service quality and its effect on consumer happiness, retention, and loyalty

Abstract

This study aims to understand the attributes of electronic service quality and tries to build the connection between the quality of electronic service, the happiness of consumers, their retention, and loyalty in the context of the consumer e-commerce industry in India. The attributes chosen to understand the impact on service quality were reliability, website design, trust, and responsiveness. They were then used to assess the association of quality with consumer happiness, retention, and loyalty in the e-commerce industry. A survey of 202 e-commerce users was conducted. Most participants were working millennials and students in India as they are frequent consumers of online services. Data analysis was done using factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The results showed that responsiveness is the only attribute that significantly impacts the overall quality of service. A significant association was found between the quality of service and consumer happiness, and a significant relationship between retention and loyalty. This study will help managers of online stores and e-commerce businesses focus on important factors and provide services that meet customer expectations. This study suggests that to meet the desired satisfaction levels of consumers in India, e-commerce businesses should implement actions that improve responsiveness.

Keywords

• Consumer happiness
• E-commerce sites/apps
• E-service quality
• factor analysis
• loyalty
• retention