12 September 2009 500 words, 2 min. read Latest update : 19 March 2020

Loyalty and customer satisfaction in online commerce

By Pierre-Nicolas Schwab PhD in marketing, director of IntoTheMinds
A study by Taiwanese researchers recently caught my attention. It is studying the link between the online interface (that is, the website) and customer loyalty. Researchers have pointed out that while the satisfaction factor is considered one of the most […]

A study by Taiwanese researchers recently caught my attention. It is studying the link between the online interface (that is, the website) and customer loyalty.

Researchers have pointed out that while the satisfaction factor is considered one of the most critical factors in customer loyalty, it is, unfortunately, not the only one. Remember that satisfied customers can quickly desert when transition costs are low, and dissatisfied customers can remain loyal when transition costs are high. A classic illustration of the second case is the banks.

Loyalty in e-commerce is challenging to achieve: transition costs are non-existent most of the time, and the neutrality of the medium does not allow the creation of an emotional relationship with the brand. However, as I have often repeated here, the emotional link is essential to the spread of the Gospel.

The methodology used for this study was based on questionnaires that allowed us to evaluate the experience lived by the Internet user. The series of questions in itself is already extremely interesting for any company using e-commerce, and I suggest that any entrepreneur take note of these questions before starting the construction of a new on-line shop window.

Without generalising the results of this study, it is interesting to read the conclusions:

  • the quality of the interface has a significant influence on online customer loyalty
  • 3 variables do not influence loyalty:
    • customisation ( that is to say, the adaptability of the site to the profile and needs of the customers.
    • interaction (availability of online support tools for the Internet user
    • the character of the website (the attributes of the site -such as the design- that make the first impression on the Internet user)
  • the quality of the interface does not have a significant influence on switching costs, but there is a definite link when the Internet user is experienced (which would tend to explain why experienced Internet users tend to always buy on the same sites)

 

The next step would, therefore, be to focus on an essential variable (the quality of the interface) and to define objective attributes to assess the quality of the site.

Source

Hsin Hsin Chang, Su Wen Chen (2008), The impact of customer interface quality, satisfaction and switching costs on e-loyalty: Internet experience as a moderator. Computers in Human Behaviour 24 (2008) 2927–2944

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In the above excerpt, he details for us the correlations between customer satisfaction on the one hand and customer experience, customer loyalty, emotions, … on the other. The world has changed profoundly, and so has consumer behaviour. What was true 30 years ago is not necessarily true today. That’s what he explains in the introduction to the podcast (excerpt below) by taking stock of current research and the evolution of scientific knowledge since the 1970s.



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