Variable Relationships in Online Retailing: Cultivating Consumer Satisfaction and Loyalty

In today’s competitive retailing landscape consumer satisfaction and loyalty have been key issues on the mind of many a marketer. With the growth of e-retailing, buyers and sellers have evolved; the traditional goals of satisfaction and loyalty remain but the means to achieving those have evolved with the changing online environment. As the competition continues to intensify, the costs of switching retailers remain low, and consumers adjust their spending patterns, it becomes increasingly important to provide shopping experiences of value to the consumer and to cultivate repeat purchase behavior.This paper provides a preliminary study into the interaction of various aspects of online shopping including value, trust, customer relationship management, satisfaction and how they contribute to loyalty among 18-24 year-old e-shoppers.A survey instrument was developed based on previously published work on online shopping. Respondents within the demographic were recruited and asked to respond to the questionnaire items based on a Likert scale that was provided with the survey. All responses were entered into SPPS and analyzed through correlation and regression techniques.Within the sample all hypothesized relationships were found to exist, and all aspects were found to influence loyalty, though to varying degrees. The limits of the study and the interactions with the respondents provide insight useful to subsequent and more thorough studies into this topic.