Online grocery shopping: the impact of shopping frequency on perceived risk

Online grocery shopping has enjoyed strong growth and it is predicted this channel will continue to grow exponentially in the coming years. While online shopping has attracted an abundance of research interest, examinations of online grocery shopping behaviour are only now emerging. Shopping online for groceries differs considerably from general online shopping due to the perishability and variability of the product, and frequency of the shopping activity. Two salient gaps underpin this research into online grocery shopping. This study responds to calls to investigate the online shoppers’ experience in the context of online purchasing frequency. Second, this study examines the mediating effect of perceived risk between trust and online repurchase intention of groceries. An online survey was employed to collect data from shoppers who were recruited from a multi-channel grocery e-retailer’s database. The online survey, comprising 16 reflective validated scale items, was sent to 555 frequent and infrequent online grocery shoppers. Results find that while customer satisfaction predicts trust for both infrequent and frequent online grocery shoppers, perceived risk fully mediates the effect of trust on repurchase intentions for infrequent online grocery shoppers. Furthermore, path analysis reveals that the developed behavioural model is variant across both groups of shoppers. Theoretically, we provide a deeper understanding of the online customer experience, while gaining insight into two shopper segments identified as being important to grocery e-retailers. For managers, this study tests an online customer behavioural model with actual purchasing behaviour and identifies the continued presence of perceived risk in grocery e-retailing, regardless of purchase frequency or experience.     

Negative and positive customer shopping experience in an online context

Underpinned by the Bagozzi and Dholakia (1999) goal setting and striving framework this research firstly develops a negative online customer experience model after which regulatory focus theory is used to compare this model with a positive online customer experience model. Analysis of responses from 201 respondents in the first study shows service failure causes negative affective and cognitive experience and has an impact on dissatisfaction and negative word of mouth in the online retailing context. Moreover, results of a second study among 200 respondents indicates that while customer priority in a successful shopping context is affective experience, in a service failure the customer priority moves from an affective to a cognitive experience. Similarly, compared to cognitive experience, affective experience has a higher impact on customer satisfaction and positive word of mouth in a successful shopping context, while in an unsuccessful shopping context cognitive experience has higher impact on dissatisfaction and negative word of mouth. The findings of this study contribute to customer experience management in both successful and unsuccessful shopping situations.     

Positive emotion bias: Role of emotional content from online customer reviews in purchase decisions

Abundant research has investigated the impact of review valence on purchase decisions, but has reported mixed findings. To reconcile these mixed findings, this study unearths the understanding of review valence from the perspective of the emotional content in online customer reviews. To explore the effect of emotional content on purchase decisions and the moderating role of emotional content on non-emotional content and purchase decisions based on a heuristic-systematic model, a laboratory experiment with 106 subjects was used to empirically test the research hypotheses. The results show that pleasant online customer reviews lead to a higher purchase likelihood compared to unpleasant ones. Perceived credibility and perceived diagnosticity have significant influence on purchase decisions, but only in the context of unpleasant online customer reviews. The findings demonstrate positive emotion bias for online customer reviews, and carry important practical implications for both sellers and customers.     

Do extrinsic cues affect purchase risk at international e-tailers: The mediating effect of perceived e-tailer service quality

The inherent nature of the international e-tailing environment leads to the consideration of purchase risk. In this study, an attempt is made to investigate the effect of three extrinsic cues, e-tailer brand equity, Country-Of-e-tailers (COE) and guarantee quality, within such an environment in Taiwan. The research findings support the proposed hypotheses that these exogenous factors affect a mediator, i.e., perceived e-tailer service quality, which in turn affects purchase risk perceived by online shoppers in a borderless marketplace. In conclusion, managerial implications of the research results as well as future research directions are presented and discussed.     

Enhancing playful customer experience with personalization

Retailers develop personalized websites with the aim of improving customer experience. However, we still have limited knowledge about the effect of personalization on customer experience and the underlying processes. With a lab experiment, this research specifically examines the effect of actual personalization and perceived personalization on playful customer experience using both subjective and objective measures, with the support of eye-tracking techniques. We show that personalization, regardless of whether it is perceived or not, enhance the playful customer experience of a retailing website. In addition, we highlight the presence of two concomitant processes. Content needs to be perceived as personalized to influence the subjective playful customer experience, but actual personalization does influence objective playful customer experience. Although customers spend the same time on the website, they focus more of their attention on their favorite products when content is personalized. Such focused attention leads them to select their favorite products for purchase.     

The roles of perceived risk,attractiveness of the online store and familiarity with AR in the influence of AR on patronage intention

Augmented reality has raised considerable interest over the last few years. But the questions of its benefits for online retailer is still pending. Research has shown that AR has a positive influence on patronage and purchase behavior intention via hedonic and utilitarian evaluation. The goal of this research is to extend previous works by integrating the mediating roles of perceived risk of buying a product on the online store and of attractiveness of the online store. It is also to study the moderating role of familiarity with AR. Two experiments confirm the crucial role of perceived risk in the influence of AR on patronage intention. Moreover, the more people are familiar with AR, the more AR decreases perceived risk and increases patronage intention.     

A perceived reliability-based customer satisfaction model in self-service technology

Technical reliability of self-service technologies (SSTs) has been found to be a strong determinant of satisfaction with tech-enabled services. Yet, the interpretation of the factors affecting reliability and its subsequent influences on customer satisfaction (CS) with SSTs is inadequate. The purpose of this investigation has, therefore, been to demarcate a model to fulfill the gap with an empirical examination, and accordingly a model was developed and tested by applying a global structural equation model. The model results of banking SST users specify how the reliability of SSTs is perceived by the users. The findings have reported that the best predictor of perceived reliability (PRe) is perceived security followed by perceived control. Surprisingly, no significant impact of perceived ease of use was found on PRe. The research also attempted to shed light on the influence of PRe on perceived risk, technology trust, and CS in the light of technology-enabled self-service.     

Impact of customer experience on attitude and repurchase intention in online grocery retailing: A moderation mechanism of value Co-creation

The study proposes a comprehensive model framework, Online Customer Experience-Attitude Behaviour Context model for online grocery retailing in a digital scenario. The research also studies the concept of value co-creation in a moderated mechanism. Data was collected from 526 respondents buying groceries online. Analytical Hierarchy Process, SPSS 23, AMOS 22 and PROCESS Macro were applied for further analysis, testing the hypothesis and model formulation. The results reveal that the antecedent's convenience, recovery, and delivery experience impacted the attitude significantly. The emerging concept of value co-creation influenced the overall relationship between the antecedent of Online Customer Experience and attitude but at lower level of value co-creation. Thus, suggesting that involving customers time to time in co-creating a delighting Online Customer Experience may be a good strategy for the online grocery retailers to elevate online customers' attitude and repurchase intention.     

Exploring online customer experience: A systematic literature review and research agenda

This review aims to examine the latest research on online customer experience (OCE), which can be defined as consumer's cognitive, emotional, and behavioral response to interactions between customer and company occurring through digital channels (e.g., websites, social media, mobile apps). To achieve this, we utilized a hybrid review approach that incorporates quantitative bibliometric analysis and qualitative systematic literature review techniques. We identified publication trends, prominent authors and outlets, and the evolution of research themes based on 141 articles published since the last systematic review 11 years ago. Our framework-based review identified frequently studied antecedents, dimensions, and outcomes of OCE, and identified new themes related to m-commerce and augmented/virtual reality. We also identified gaps in the current literature and proposed 14 areas of future research using the TCM framework.     

Consumer perceived value,involvement, trust,susceptibility to interpersonal influence,and intention to participate in online group buying

Postulating consumer involvement as crucial to online group buying, this study deploys consumer perceived value, perceived trust, and susceptibility to interpersonal influence to provide a closer look at consumer intention to participate in online group buying. The results of the proposed model, tested using structural equation modeling on a sample of 553 respondents, show that consumer involvement plays a central role in explaining intention to participate in online group buying. Consumer perceived value, perceived trust, and susceptibility to interpersonal influence all show a significant relationship with consumer involvement. Consumer perceived value also exhibits a strong relationship with perceived trust, which, in turn, exhibits a significant relationship with intention to participate in online group buying. The results furnish significant contributions to the theory and practice of online group buying and retailing. The limitations of the study and implications for future research in online group buying are discussed.     

Explaining the impact of consumer religiosity,perceived risk and moral potency on purchase intentions

The role of religion has been overlooked as an antecedent to risk perception, as has moral potency, when purchasing religiously sensitive products. The aim of this study is to demonstrate how perceived risk and moral potency explain the impact of shopper religiosity on purchasing religiously-questionable products from retailers. A conceptual model was tested on a sample of 271 respondents, elucidating the complex relationships between religiosity, social and psychological risk, moral potency and purchase intention. The model offers a strong psychological explanation of how a shopper's religion may increase their perceptions of risk and personal responsibility, confidence and courage, which subsequently impact purchase intentions. Retail managers may choose to implement this model to better predict shopper adoption behaviour of new religiously-questionable products. The model allows for future empirical examinations across multiple shopping contexts and may be employed to estimate levels of demand for new products based on the extent of religiosity, moral potency and risk.     

Development of methodology for classification of user experience (UX) in online customer review

In e-commerce, customer feedback has become an essential source of insight into a product or service's user experience (UX). The study of UX helps to integrate customers' potential needs into the product's design. Because customer reviews in e-commerce are not structured and categorized, it is necessary to analyze UX based on customer opinions systematically. This study tries to structure UX in a product's positive/negative context through a neural network-based self-organizing map (SOM). As a result of analyzing 10,482 reviews on wireless earbuds in BestBuy, an electronic product e-commerce platform, it was confirmed that it is a suitable method for categorizing user experiences between reviews and deriving important factors. In particular, the difference in core UX elements by positive/negative context of the product was verified based on the star rating. The results of this study are expected to contribute to product improvement and business improvement that reflect customer needs by companies or designers who design products for end-users.     

The role of customer online brand experience in customers' intention to forward online company-generated content: The case of the Islamic online banking sector in Palestine

The purpose of this study is twofold: Firstly, to assess the impact of customer online brand experience (COBE) with online banking on customer's intention to forward online company-generated content (CGC). Secondly, to explore the role of online brand community engagement (OBCE) and the perceived trust of brand community page (BCP) as mediating variables between COBE and the intention to forward online CGC. This research conducted an online survey among various Islamic bank customers in Palestine who were members of online brand communities (fan pages) on Facebook. 375 valid responses were collected and results revealed that COBE exerts a dual influence on intention to forward CGC. This study is a pioneering empirical research on the role of OBCE in customers' intention to forward online CGC within the fast-growing Islamic banking industry. This study contributes to fill this research gap by assessing the effect of COBE on OBCE and intention to forward online CGC within the context of the Islamic online banking sector in Palestine. In this sense, this study is a first-of-its-kind research on the role of experience on customer engagement with regard to online brand communities of Islamic banks.     

Conceptualising town centre image and the customer experience

Abstract

Compared with store image literature, the town centre is underexplored as a retail image context. This paper examines what is meant by town centre image by conducting an empirical study of 536 consumers to elicit top-of-mind images of five town centres. Following extensive content analysis and rigorous replication, the findings reveal a broader, holistic image construct than previously assumed in the literature. New psychological, intangible elements of town centre image are identified, confirming the need to measure image specific to the retail context. Further, drawing on the customer experience framework, a conceptual model of town centre image is developed. The model provides the basis for future conceptualisation and operationalisation of town centre image, combined with an approach for managing the customer experience in town centres.     

Unveiling ways to reach organic purchase: Green perceived value,perceived knowledge,attitude, subjective norm,and trust

This paper aims to investigate organic food consumption based on the perspectives of an extended research model by integrating the theory of consumption value (TCV) and the theory of reasoned action (TRA). First, we tried to find out how five consumption values of functional, social, emotional, conditional, and epistemic in classic TCV influence consumption choice especially in the sustainable consumption domain of organic food, interpreted as green perceived value (GPV) in the reflective-reflective second-order latent. Second, as an attempt to extend the classic TRA, this study included trust and perceived knowledge in the research model in addition to the subjective norm, attitude, and behavioral intention. A partial least square structural equation method (PLS-SEM) was adopted to examine our research model with 251 samples. Our results revealed that GPV significantly affects consumer attitudes. Consumer attitudes and subjective norms also have a significantly positive effect on purchase intention. As an extended TRA, GPV has a significantly positive effect on trust while trust significantly impacts purchase intention. Further, perceived knowledge positively influences attitude and trust. By jointly considering TCV and TRA, this study proposes several implications emphasizing how GPV and perceived knowledge affects consumers’ organic food consumption choice based on the role of increased trust.     

The effect of employees' politeness strategy and customer membership on customers' perception of co-recovery and online post-recovery satisfaction

Customer participation is crucial for online service providers to gain and maintain competitive advantages through service recovery. Focusing on the interactive nature of customer participation, this study explored the relationships among employees' politeness strategies, customer membership, perceived co-recovery, and online post-recovery satisfaction. We found that perceived co-recovery was significant for online post-recovery satisfaction. Compared to non-members costumers, members' perceived co-recovery was more positive. Finally, member customers preferred employees to adopt positive politeness strategies, whereas non-member customers preferred negative ones. This study provides valuable suggestions for online service providers to improve online recovery performance.     

Memorable customer experiences and autobiographical memories: From service experience to word of mouth

The aim of this paper is to study the relationship between customer experience and word of mouth (WOM) through two mediating variables: customer satisfaction and memorable characteristics of service experience (MCSE). Memory theory is adopted as a theoretical background, with emphasis on the key role of episodic or autobiographical memory. Memorable customer experience (MCE) is defined from this perspective, thereby enabling the connection between human memory theory and service-dominant (S-D) logic. As for the impact of the internet on WOM, two types of WOM behaviours are examined: positive WOM (pWOM) and eWOM. A methodology was designed from a survey that used a questionnaire based on measurement scales validated by the literature. The sample is of 1476 tourists who visited seven Spanish tourism destinations. The results show service experience precedes customer satisfaction and MCSE. Both pWOM and eWOM are significantly influenced by customer satisfaction and MCSE. Various scenarios are put forward in which several combinations of customer satisfaction and MCSE give rise to different intensities and valence of pWOM and eWOM.     

Optimizing customer engagement content strategy in retail and E-tail: Available on online product review videos

The present study attempts to examine how the various emotions expressed in customer engagement content available on online product review videos reflect purchase intentions. The study identified 97 popular review videos of different technical products on YouTube, with a total of 93,181 comments posted between January 2018 and June 2021. After filtering, the final set of data consisted of 18,452 comments. The paper employed both Poisson and negative binomial regression to test the hypotheses and strengthen the findings. The study explores new insights for predicting purchase intentions of potential customers with the help of a four-factor model based on customer engagement content available on online product review videos. Thus, this research supports the applicability of MRT, CET and SOR theories in the existing literature on retailing and e-tailing by developing a four-factor model. A wide range of consumer responses, both quantitative and qualitative, have been taken into account to predict purchase intentions using sentiment analysis, which makes this study unique and robust. Additionally, the paper entails several significant managerial implications for retailing and e-tailing firms to reformulate their marketing strategies.     

Text mining approach to explore determinants of grocery mobile app satisfaction using online customer reviews

In recent years, there has been proliferation of grocery mobile apps as grocery shopping on mobile has found increasing acceptance among customers accelerated by multiple factors. Maintaining high level of customer satisfaction is important for grocery mobile apps in the highly competitive app market. Online reviews have been a rich source of information to analyze customer satisfaction with a product or service. This paper explores the determinants of customer satisfaction for grocery mobile apps using online reviews. Latent Dirichlet Analysis (LDA), which is a text mining technique, is used to analyze online customer reviews of 27,337 customers to identify determinants of customer satisfaction. The determinants identified were further analyzed using a series of analysis to understand the importance of each determinant. Dominance analysis examined the relative importance of the determinants of customer satisfaction based on the overall rating. Correspondence analysis identified determinants which cause satisfaction separately from the determinants which cause dissatisfaction. The results from this study will provide insights to business managers of grocery mobile apps for decision-making on customer satisfaction management.     

Actual consumers' response to purchase refurbished smartphones: Exploring perceived value from product reviews in online retailing

Refurbishing is an industrial process whereby used products are returned to good working condition to extend lifespan. As smartphones are short life cycle products replaced at an increasing rate, refurbishing is one of the end-of-life strategies to recover value from used smartphones. Chief among the factors given for refurbishing success is consumers' perception of the aspects of the purchase toward these products. This research investigates the significant factors in consumer perceived value about purchasing refurbished smartphones. Online product reviews are recognized as a promising data source to evaluate consumers' post-purchase behaviour in the actual market. Accordingly, a customer satisfaction model of online refurbished smartphone reviews from e-commerce websites is presented to explore customer satisfaction dimensions (CSDs) toward refurbished smartphones. The results indicate that product characteristics, including function, which is related to satisfactory working, appearance, which is the same as no scratches on body and screen, and battery health, are the most worrying feature of refurbished smartphones that consumers have mentioned. Besides, we find that the similarity of these products to brand new ones and their lower prices are the main reason and motivation for purchasing. The results also show that the perceived value of refurbished smartphones is found as a two-dimensional structure based on perceived incentive and quality and perceived benefit and risk. Eventually, some solutions propose to improve customer perceptions and reduce the misconception of refurbishment concept, which can be used by refurbishers and marketing managers for proper product development and marketing strategies.