Customer Satisfaction in e-Commerce during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The declared state of emergency and the measures taken against the spread of coronavirus by governments have increased Internet shopping. All companies, regardless of size and type of business activity, had to adapt their business models to the new circumstances through transformation of their business processes and offering products or services tailored to the changing customer behavior. This study aims to analyze the peculiarities of online sales during the COVID-19 health crisis via the integration of classic and modern data analysis methods. The purpose of the paper is to identify the main factors determining user behavior and examine their impact on customer satisfaction in e-commerce. The survey method and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to recognize the dependencies between variables from the online users’ perspective. The satisfaction determinants indicated and described in the paper affect differently the perceived value for the customers. As this value is subjective and dynamic, this study developed a reliable system for e-commerce factor evaluation. Using the proposed methodology, companies can constantly monitor and assess indicators influencing customer satisfaction and gain awareness of consumer behavior’s dynamics in online shopping. e-commerce marketers can employ the obtained results to decide how to organize order execution and optimize supply chains. Identifying the most important components of the e-commerce value, managers of online retailers can better run online sales platforms, increase customer loyalty, and thus, improve company’s online performance.

Keywords

• e-commerce
• consumer purchase behavior
• customer satisfaction
• customer satisfaction measurements
• customer satisfaction index
• structural equation modeling