Cross‐industry analysis of consumer assessments of internet retailers' service performances

Purpose – To examine the service performance of a number of internet retailers and to identify differences (if any) in internet retailers' service performance across a series of attributes based on consumers' assessments. Design/methodology/approach – To compare the perceived service performance across internet retailers with respect to several areas: core service performance, web site features, recovery service, consumer satisfaction and intentions. A structured questionnaire was used to gather the data. The internet retailers are two budget airline retailers, a book retailer, and a multi‐channel bank. Findings – Internet retailers' service performance was generally at an acceptable level. The variation of their online service performance was dependent on industry factors and the effectiveness of online service management. Consumers' perceptions of the internet retailers' performance were significantly different on several service attributes. However, consumer online service satisfaction levels across internet retailers were similar. Research limitations/implications – Convenience sampling and the limited number of internet retailers do not permit results to be generalised to the larger population. Future investigation with a larger sample could provide a more comprehensive coverage. Practical implications – Provide useful information for internet retailers who plan to improve their service performance. This study indicated that retailers' experience from managing the physical store‐based retail service might not contribute towards their online service performance. Originality/value – This paper analyses service performance of different retailers in the same industry or across industries to provide valuable indication of online service performance and attributes that contribute to differential performance levels.