Identification and Analysis of Quality Gaps for Online Service Retailers

There has been a steady growth in e-commerce, especially during the past seven years. Online service retailers (OSRs), as e-commerce retailers, continue to invest heavily in the enhancement of the services provided to their customers. This study aims to identify the quality gaps of OSRs and the influential factors that can mitigate each gap. A conceptual model of the quality gaps of OSRs was developed based on an exploratory review of several service quality studies of online retailers. A survey instrument was developed to measure the significance of the quality gaps on customers' willingness to shop online. Data from a total of 253 survey respondents were analyzed using a linear regression model. Four out of nine of the quality gaps (Tactile feedback, On-time Delivery, Sales Information, and Confounding Knowledge Technology) showed statistical significant with regards to customers' willingness to shop online, and the overall model was significant (p < 0.001).