Shopping centre customer service: creating customer satisfaction and loyalty

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse customer service effects in creating satisfaction and loyalty. The other antecedents of satisfaction and loyalty such as perceived value and service quality were not analysed in this research. Design/methodology/approach – Exploratory factor analysis was used to classify customer service items. Confirmatory factor analysis was not applied because of there was not any significant theory based on the classification of shopping centre customer service (SCCS). The research model was developed to show the relationships and the effects of customer service which were tested through multiple regression analyses. Findings – As a result of findings, customer service variables were classified into eight factors. Only four of them had effects on satisfaction and loyalty. The findings indicated that customer services had effects on customer satisfaction and loyalty. It was shown that “customer services about atmosphere (CSA)” affected both satisfaction and loyalty whereas “incentive customer services (ICS)”, “customer services in encounter stage (CSE)”, and “customer services about payment (CSP)” affected only loyalty. Research limitations/implications – The research model was about only shopping centres’ customer services; it could not reflect the customer services offered by the other retail formats since the survey was conducted in the limited area and with small sample. The research did not reflect the complete retailing landscape since the survey was applied to only brick and mortar shopping centre customers. The research model was developed according to the customer services offered by Turkish shopping centres and customers’ perceptions about satisfaction and loyalty were measured. The findings can be applicable each shopping centre that offers such customer services and has nearly the same concept. It is agreed that since this research has been conducted in Izmir it reflects the Turkish consumers’ cultural intentions. Practical implications – Although the impact degrees are at low level, customer service is an important tool for creating customer satisfaction and loyalty. According to the SCCS model in this research; it is strongly recommended that CSA, ICS, CSE, and CSP should be improved by shopping centres in order to gain customer satisfaction and loyalty. The last result of the research was surprising because it was expected that all customer service factors in the SCCS model would affect satisfaction and loyalty significantly. Although there were not any direct effects of basic customer services, facilitative customer services, customer services about children, informative customer services on satisfaction and loyalty, shopping centre management should not ignore these types of services since they are really important in the literature. Since the retailer type is important when developing customer service, each retailer should define its own customer service level according to its retail mix strategy. Originality/value – The research is the first paper that surveyed customer service effects in creating satisfaction and loyalty in Turkey through a conceptual model. The study has suggested a new model called SCCS model which classified customer service into eight factors and showed the relationships among customer service, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty. The paper has developed the importance of customer service in the Turkish shopping centres.