What are the most important factors that influence customer satisfaction when buying online?
With the widespread use of the Internet, online shopping is becoming a worldwide business. The study from UCLA Centre for Communication Policy (2001) states that shopping online is third most popular Internet action that people will do after instant message and webpages browsing. Shopping online includes browsing the product items and purchasing procedure. Only if customers are offered with a satisfying experience, they will repurchase the product (Syed & Norjaya, 2010).
Therefore, companies should not only focus on attracting new consumers, but also maintaining regular consumers by enhancing their satisfaction degree (Anderson & Srinivasan, 2003).
Undoubtedly, customer satisfaction is impacted by numerous factors. Some of the factors are crucial while others are unimportant. Different from traditional shopping, online shopping has many new elements that are closely connected with Internet technology. As a consequence, factors that impact customer satisfaction are quite distinct. It is obvious that the study of these factors is quite essential in order to help companies keep their customers. This essay will demonstrate that technology characteristics including security and website design are the most important factors when compared with shopping characteristics and product characteristics that impact customer satisfaction when they do online shopping. These three categories will be explored including security, website design, payment method, delivery service, post-purchase service, product variety and product price.
The Essay on Shopping Online
The graph which we collect data from question 5 gives information about the proportion of the extent of HSU students doing shopping online. An important point to mention is that the number of students do shopping online are not frequently. As a general trend, 55% of students buy products online on special occassions or holidays. In addition, the rate of student shop online in weekly is less than ...
First of all, security issue is the factor that could influence customer satisfaction most since customer would hesitate to buy product if there are some security flaws. Customer satisfaction is mostly impacted by security problems because customers concern that their privacy might be revealed through frequent electronic transfers (Lau, 2011).
Apparently, security issue is a major element that could help people participating in extensive electronic commerce. For example, research conducted by Szymanski and Hise (2000) revealed that 75% of the consumers are anxious about the security of credit card when them shop online. What’s more, the security issue is a challenging barrier that many retailers are faced with. Companies are often confronted with the situation that consumers’ privacy are disclosed by online transaction (Szymanski & Hise ,2000).
In addition, security problem is becoming a topic that people concern most. Many studies are conducted about this topic in order to help retailers recognize what they should do to increase the customer satisfaction. People would do less Internet shopping if there are some security flaws (Koyuncu & Bhattacharya, 2004).
Based on previous research, the level of customers’ satisfaction will increase when security risks decrease (Szymanski & Hise, 2000).
As a result, online retailers should develop technologies like Paypal to deal with this problem since security has a positive impact on customers’ choice.
Secondly, another significant factor that belongs to technology categories is website design which impress customers most by easily accessible information design. Website design is a kind of technology including function design, visual design and information design (Ranjbarian et al., 2012).
The quality of website design is in relation to customer satisfaction towards online shopping. Although some people maintain that website design slow the Internet, the importance of website design remains largely undiminished. Website design has a positive impact on consumer satisfaction and perceived quality of products and service (Lee & Lin, 2005).
The Research paper on Analysis of Consumer Behaviour Online
This report will outline the most relevant behavioural characteristics of online consumers and examine the ways they find, compare and evaluate product information. Comparison of the newly collected survey data with the existing consumer behaviour theory resulted in detection of a number of issues related to a specific consumer group. The purpose of this report is to translate these findings into ...
For instance, the Amazon product taxonomy that projects on consumers’ preference has more than 20 categories for buyers. As a result, consumer could easily get products’ information by some filters. In this way, website design plays a role in enhancing customer satisfaction. Cyr (2008) examined cases in Canada, Germany and China and drew his own conclusion that function design, visual design and information design are preconditions to the customer satisfaction and customer trust. A good website design which includes images, sounds and information can attract consumers so that they may be satisfied with the experience and repurchase the product.
What’s more, payment method is a factor in shopping categories that also includes factors like post-purchase service and delivery service and can impact customer satisfaction towards online shopping. Shopping categories are the principle elements that can distinguish online shopping from the traditional shopping. Payment method is the online settlement how customers transfer money to retailers and it has several ways like pay by cash, credit card, electronic fund transfer. For example, different from traditional commerce, a new kind of settlement named Paypal that obtains the socio trust appears. Actually, consumers hope that websites could prevent their privacy from leaking. Cyer’s study shows in China, about 15% of online commerce went through Paypal in 2008. It is designed to detect fraudulent activity online so that consumer could acquire a feeling of satisfaction With the boom in electronic businesses, handcrafted card is regarded as a useful methods of online transactions which could advance the degrees of satisfaction among online user (Teo et al.,2008).
Grace and Chia-Chi (2009) explained that payment method is a criteria that consumers could mark the website from the aspect and if consumer spend too much time on understanding or operating the payment procedure, their enjoyment degree will decrease. Accordingly, it is very important for retailers to make the payment procedure easy aiming at giving customer a pleasant feeling.
The Research paper on A Survey Towards Online Shopping Behaviour And Buying Intention Of UCTI Student
1 Introduction Malaysia Online culture The internet in Malaysia started in the year 1995 conducted by MIMOS and Beta Interactive Services and rapid growth began in 1996(20,000 Internet user out of a population of 20million has access to internet proven by Beta Interactive Services, 1996) and the number continually grew to 2.6% in year 1998. Existence of Internet has brought new job opportunity and ...
Another shopping factor that can influence consumers’ judgments is post-purchase service. It is a kind of interactivity between employees and consumers that determines customer satisfaction directly. Post-purchase service means dealing with the problem and replying to consumers rapidly. It might be a conversation by email. The success of Post-purchase service depends on how customers’ question is answered and how long it takes to solve the problem (Merwe,2010).
For example, complaint is a failure of post-purchase service that customer dissatisfied with the experience. The compliant for products or services will break down consumers’ attention to repurchase. A contrary explanation is that, compliant is a valuable resource for Post-purchase service that could help the retailers realize their inadequate and give them a second chance to reserve the consumers. Post-purchase service could help companies find the reason why consumers dissatisfy with the shopping so that they are able to decrease the perceived risks. In this way, companies could have a socio praise and keep their customer satisfaction when they shopping online.
Furthermore, delivery service, one of the shopping categories, could not only impacts customer satisfaction towards online shopping but also explain the variation of the satisfaction. Delivery issue is the time loss of the package that is delivered from distribution center to consumers’ home (Elliot & Fowell, 2000).
It is a common phenomenon in electronic shopping field. Because of the separation of production and consumption, consumers have to wait for couple of days for their product after purchase. China Online Shopping Report by CNNIC in 2004 indicates that about 25% consumers are dissatisfied with the delivery service like the delay of delivery and wrong product delivery. For example, in China, lots of logistic companies deliver packages mainly by Cargo aircrafts and trains that will be no longer than a week to go to consumers’ door. While some companies use trucks to delivery that consumers have to wait longer which will decrease customer satisfaction after purchase. According to the study conducted by Schaupp and Belanger (2005), delivery performance is one of the key factors that influence costomers’ satisfaction. It has a positive impact on customers’ satisfaction that the less time it spends, the more consumer satisfied with online shopping experience.
The Essay on Questionnaire On Consumers Attitudes Towards Online Shopping
Part A (1). (Respondents are requested to answer the following questions with answers from strongly agree to strongly disagree on a Likert five-point scale) 1. Strongly Disagree 2. Disagree 3. Neither Agree or Disagree 4. Agree 5. Strongly Agree. Questions Strongly agree Agree uncertain/ not applicable Disagree Strongly disagree 1. I get on time delivery by shopping online 2. Detail information is ...
In addition, offering customers a wide range of products can enhance customer satisfaction and remain profitable. Product variety is a key factor in product category that could conduct a positive influence on consumers’ satisfaction. The product variety means that website give consumers various choices for function, outlook and brands. But it doesn’t indicate that the search is complicate. Retailers could set brief catalogs and simple search conditions to deal with this problem. Firstly, wider assortment of products appeals to customers and makes customers satisfaction positive when buying online (Szymanski & Hise, 2000).
As a consequence, there will be higher chance for retailers to sell their product if wide range of products is provided. For example, a traditional bookstore may have 150 000 books (Bianco, 1997) while Amazon could offer millions books. Obviously, Amazon would gain more customers by making the rich storage. What’s more, Bakos (1997) also stated that the searching cost which is related to Internet shopping leads to higher customers’ satisfaction. It will be better that more useful information are accessible for consumers to have a better buying choice and high level of satisfaction when buying online.
The last factor is product price that can impact consumers’ behavior towards online shopping. Product price is an indispensable element of product categories and it is the same factor that also has a significant impact on traditional commerce. Liu et al. (2008) noted that eight components (including information service, payment security, website design, Interactivity, Ease of use, delivery, perceived risk and product price) are predictors of consumer satisfaction. Moreover, merchandise plays a role in deciding if consumers are satisfied. It is indicated that diverse kinds of merchandise and lower price has a positive effect on consumer satisfaction in Internet business environment. For instance, Winestar, a Melbourne-based Internet wine retailer, made its web revenues 19 times than store revenues by abundant merchandise. However, compared with traditional commerce, product price seems to become a less important factor in determining customers’ satisfaction since traditional merchants also could offer a competitive price by abating the cost. Online retailers should focus on their advantages to win a place for their own in the battle with traditional merchants.
The Essay on Products And Services For Consumers
Everyone is ignorant, only on different subjects. To learn is to acquire knowledge or skill. Learning also may involve a change in attitude. Learning is not just a change in attitude; it is a change in the way a man thinks, understands, or feels. Learning some things depends on other perceptions which have preceded these learning’s, and on the availability of time to sense and relate these new ...
Among all of the factors that are presented above, product characteristics regarding security and website design are the most important ones. Shopping characteristics and product characteristics also has a impact on customers’ satisfaction when they does online shopping but the influences are relatively small. Online retailers should focus on all of these factors to give a customers a unified, all-embracing service experience.
The limitation for this essay is that it just demonstrates some objective factors that influence consumer satisfaction. It is apparent that subjective factors like age, income, gender and shopping experience also have a connection with the issue. Customers’ emotional state is very crucial to the reaction of Internet shopping experience (Chiou,2004).
Besides, there might be some other objective factors that influence the consumer satisfaction. The explanation for “important” might be different. This essay is based on some research studies that have a consensus on the definition of “important”. Due to the limitations of this research, a further cross-sectional research is in need for sake of a complete study of customer satisfaction in Internet business environment.
In conclusion, seven determinants including security, website design, payment method, post-purchase service, delivery service, product variety and product price would have a important influence on customer satisfaction from the aspect of online shopping. Security and website design are the most significant ones when compared with other factors. Based on the research study, this essay illustrates how customers become satisfied when they do online shopping. Companies should pay attention on these seven factors to plan for a higher level of consumer satisfaction. They should also try to apply these factors into the procedure of estimating consumers’ satisfaction.
The Essay on Influences of Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty in Restaurant Industry in Malaysia
Malaysia is a rapidly developing country in Asia and economic growth is projected to moderate to 5. 2% in 2011 (Suzy, 2011). According to the World Bank Group, Malaysia GDP per capita is 14,215 USD, which is adjusted by purchasing power parity. This shows that the purchasing power and standard of living of the Malaysians is growing adequately. Consequently, Malaysians allocate largest amount of ...
