Customer satisfaction in the online grocery shopping market

To establish an online grocery shopping service and to attract customers to it is anexpensive operation. In order to recoup those expenses, and ultimately make a profit,an online retailer needs to ensure that customers remain loyal and make repeatpurchases for as long as possible. Although customer satisfaction does notguarantee loyalty, dissatisfied customers generally take their business elsewhere atthe first opportunity.This study investigates the overall level of satisfaction amongst a small sample ofWoolworths’ online customer base. In pursuit of this, a multi-dimensional model wasdeveloped for assessing customer satisfaction in various areas, highlighting thosewhich may require improvement. The impact of certain key demographic data onthese dimensions was also investigated. Since satisfaction is not enough toguarantee loyalty, an assessment of the perceived value in making purchases onlineis also undertaken in an attempt to ascertain purchase intentions.The key findings of this study revealed a relatively high level of customer satisfactionas well as significant perceived value in shopping online when measured against thesacrifices made. However, a main area for improvement is to enhance the customer’sperception of the value they receive. The demographic variables of age, gender andlanguage had no significant impact on any dimension, while the customer’sconnection type was found to have a significant impact on their satisfaction pertainingto the performance of the Web site. Finally, it was established that there is a strongassociation with the Woolworths brand and corporate image, even though the onlineshopping initiative was launched as a separate brand.