Developing E-Commerce Customer Satisfaction, Trust, and Loyalty in the UK Market - Essay Example

Developing E-Commerce Satisfaction, Trust, and Loyalty in the UK Market Introduction The terms ‘internet marketing’, ‘electronic commerce’ and ‘e-shopping’ are presently used in alternative manner by various consumers and business executives across the globe as business ventures are recognising the prospects and opportunities associated with business in online environment (Valvi and West, 2013). E-commerce has opened avenues to access the global market and viral growth of internet as a source of business and its potential have proved to be an attractive choice to various e-retailers. Studies suggest that, the number of internet users is growing at a rapid rate across the world. The population of internet users worldwide was about 934 million is 2004 and it experienced a steady growth of about 14% by the end of 2005 (Karim, 2013; Lodorfos, Trosterud and Whitworth, 2006). Internet access is no more limited to surfing, gaming, media downloading and uploading and social networking but with widespread internet usage, the volume of online shopping and amount of money spent on e-shopping continues to increases in a steady manner as confidence of consumers in online shopping has stabilised. Consequently, the global e-commerce revenue from internet shopping was observed to be around £91 billion in the United Kingdom in 2013 (Capgemini, 2014; Digital Strategy consulting, 2014). According to reports, the growth rate in mature markets is gradually declining and retailers are seeking unconventional opportunities so as to meet their growth targets. Retailers presently considering e-commerce an unconventional growth engine through which they can access the global market while a few continue to focus on establishment of greater number of physical stores (Lodorfos, Trosterud and Whitworth, 2006). The paper aims at establishing consumer relationship in terms of trust, loyalty and satisfaction with respect to ecommerce. Therefore, it is important to understand importance of consumer satisfaction, trust and loyalty from marketing perspective. In the following section of the paper, current developments in ecommerce have been discussed. Alongside, consumer satisfaction and loyalty have been assessed in an elaborate manner. The literature review covers various theoretical approaches to consumer satisfaction, trust and loyalty as well as impact of the same on ecommerce industry of the UK has been discussed based on recent surveys and reports conducted by organisations such as Mintel and Deloitte. For ensuring high quality in the literature review, various peer reviewed journals and reports from authentic sources have been taken in consideration. The ultimate purpose and objective of this paper is to developing understanding on level of satisfaction that consumers are deriving from ecommerce and their loyalty towards the same. The ecommerce industry is growing at a rapid rate and it has been observed that consumers exhibit preference towards online purchases instead of visiting physical stores. Consumer preference is generally driven by trust towards a product or service and satisfaction therein. Success of ecommerce in developed and matured market such as the UK is driven by certain underlying factors which have been elaborated in this paper. For understanding consumer satisfaction and loyalty factors in the UK market, relevant facts and figures have also been referred in the paper so that true purpose of the paper is served. Insights of ecommerce The global marketplace has become highly competitive where e-commerce presents a relatively fast avenue with low risk level for entering and penetrating the international market. This consumer focused approach has very high potential of differentiating brands and building consumer loyalty if executed appropriately. As consumers are increasingly becoming technological savvy, the demand of seamless interaction with retailers and shopping through multiple channels is increasing rapidly (Raconteur Media, 2014). Therefore, it can be suggested that digital channels can complement the presence of an existing product as well as allow merchandisers to explore and establish its footprint in relatively new markets resulting to better control over inventory and other resources, wider consumer base and greater sales revenue. Additionally, online shopping experiences present an opportunity to retailers to gather valuable data regarding consumers’ purchasing behaviour conveniently compared to offline interaction. This data can be further assessed in future for developing consumer insights which will help retailers to develop more effective marketing campaigns, adjust their offerings accordingly and understand preferences of the target consumers (Raconteur Media, 2014). Besides innovative marketing techniques and mobile approaches, the gradual adoption of integrated approach by various logistic providers is strengthening global competition through creation of competitive environment in transaction processing and international shipping. The role of comprehensive and well-structured digital commerce is vast as its implementation ranges from development of a multi-channel approach to a new market testing. The paper explores role of e-commerce in international expansion in terms of global growth and building consumer loyalty (Fenech and O’Cass, 2001). The international market presents dynamic growth opportunities for retailers through ecommerce either in new market or in existing market. Ecommerce presents opportunities such as multiple expansions in key markets. In this context, it is noteworthy that there are multiple methods of ecommerce entry which depends on investment, level of risk and purpose of the retailer. There are certain operational considerations which retailers should consider while adopting ecommerce strategy such as logistics, customer service, payment processing, and legal considerations (Deloitte, 2014). Key trends in international ecommerce According to various market surveys, the global ecommerce is expected to grow by approximately 14 percent between 2012 and 2016 and the ecommerce revenue is expected to touch around $1.4 trillion by 2016. It has been observed that ecommerce industry in emerging economies along with the European economy is growing at a rapid rate while the growth rate in the US is comparatively low (Deloitte, 2014). Key trends that are responsible for the growth and changes in the international retail environment are explained as follows: Shift in purchasing trend from physical stores to virtual stores: A paradigm shift in purchasing trend has evolved because of improved facilities regarding online payment. These facilities help payment processors to deliver and normalise various kind of payments and cross border regulatory issues. A number of online payment modes have been developed beside online usage of debit and credit cards which further contribute towards increased purchase volume. Report suggests that, payment modes other than debit and credit cards may contribute about 30 percent of total online trading in 2014. Retailers further added that, greater inclination towards internet and mobile based purchasing worldwide reflects that consumers are developing trust and positive perception about reputation of international brands which is further reflected in their purchasing behaviour (Deloitte, 2014). Greater demand of global products in emerging markets: Brazil is being considered as the leading global e-shopping trendsetter as approximately 81 percent of Brazilian consumers are willing to purchase from international websites, followed by Indonesia comprising about 77 percent, Thailand at 74 percent, China’s purchase comprises 69 percent and that of Spain is about 66 percent. The primary reasons for increased interest in established brands were found to be quality of products, enhanced retail experience and secure online transaction (Deloitte, 2014). Growth in international shipping: Spurring growth in international business is also being driven by growing number of shipping options and flexibility in fulfilment services which provide retailers low cost or low risk choices for having exposure in new market. Increasing outsourcing options related to fulfilment have resulted in convenience for retailers as they do not need to develop global infrastructure for reaching consumers beyond their domestic market. Rapid increase in mobile based purchasing: studies suggest that highest level of retail sale through mobile devices has been observed in Brazil, where 40 percent of site traffic comes from mobile devices. From laptop and desktops, the trend is gradually shifting towards smartphones and tablets (Deloitte, 2014). Literature review on customer satisfaction, trust and loyalty Customer satisfaction In marketing practice, customer satisfaction occupies a centrally important position as it is considered as the most important outcome of various marketing activities. Alongside, consumer satisfaction is ascertained as an important link between consumption and purchase related factors such as brand loyalty, repeat purchase and attitude towards the product. Researches on consumer satisfaction have witnessed significant development since the early 70s as a number of theoretical perspectives have been presented in this regard (Churchill Jr and Surprenant, 1982). Certain authors have also proposed examination various antecedents of consumer satisfaction so as to develop meaningful measurement base regarding the construct. Studies suggest that degree of satisfaction is significantly associated with disconfirmation of initial expectation of consumers. It was ascertained that the complete disconfirmation paradigm comprises four constructs, namely, expectation, performance, disconfirmation and satisfaction. Miller recognised four kinds of expectations: ideal, desirable, expected and minimum tolerable. Day, on the other hand, differentiated various kinds of expectations based on nature of product and services, social cost and benefit and cost and efforts involved in obtaining the benefits (cited in Churchill Jr and Surprenant, 1982). In the literature of consumer satisfaction, performance is considered as a standard measure of comparison. Although it is a general notion that increase in performance will increase level of satisfaction, it was gathered by various researchers that impact of performance is heavily dependent on consumer expectation. It was observed that performance has relatively less effect on satisfaction when expectation remains constant. In addition, disconfirmation plays an important role in this regard as it has been observe that disconfirmation occurs when discrepancies develops between actual expectation and actual performance. Unlike performance and expectation, disconfirmation is an independent variable that has additive impact on satisfaction (cited in Churchill Jr and Surprenant, 1982). Consumer trust and loyalty Fishbein and Ajzen (Cited in Eid, 2011) have proposed the theory of reasoned action (TRA) in context of consumer trust and loyalty. In TRA, the authors have explained that consumer attitude, behaviour and intentions are strongly interlinked. It has been posited in the TRA model that consumers (human beings) take rational decisions based on available information and their behaviour is determined by their intent of being prepared to pursue a particular behaviour. Eid (2011) suggests that based on the TRA model, consumer intention of purchasing is significantly affected by the quality of information provided by website contents of B2C e-retailers. Authors such as Mayer, Davis and Schoorman further elaborated the TRA model in order to support theories related to customer trust. Additionally, authors such as McKnight, Chowdhury and Kacmar proposed an ecommerce consumer trust model developed from the combination of TRA theory and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The Technological acceptance model (developed by Davis) suggests that intention of using or accepting a particular technology depends on its perceived ease of usage and usefulness. In this context, McKnight, Chowdhury and Kacmar added that trustable perception regarding a vendor or website leads to trustworthy intentions which in turn affect purchasing and repeat purchasing behaviour (Cited in Eid, 2011). Gummerus, et al. Defined user interface as a medium through which consumers directly interact with e-service providers. Park and Kim noted in this regard that quality of user interface has a significant and direct impact on consumer satisfaction as it delivers physical evidence of competency and quality of services of the e-retailer. Consequently, user interface have strong effect on trust and loyalty as well. Furthermore, authors such as Roy, Dewit and Aubert ascertained that factors such as ease of navigation, user guidance and design of interface play an important role in establishing trust (Cited in Eid, 2011). Srinivansan, Anderson and Pannavolu (2002) demonstrated that consumer loyalty is strongly affected interactivity aspects of various ecommerce applications. Cyr, in this context, investigated and established that various design variables of user interface act as antecedents to website loyalty and website trust across various cultures. It has already been discussed that information quality has significant influence on consumers’ buying behaviour. Park and Kim established that quality of product and service information on a particular e-store website has direct influence on consumer trust and loyalty towards e-stores. Kolsaker and Payne further added that level of security with respect to online transactions strongly affect consumer trust and loyalty and contribute towards development of ecommerce (Cited in Eid, 2011). Consumer trust, in context of ecommerce, can be explained in terms certain characteristics and future behaviour of the e-retailer. Lee and Lin added that online purchasing habits of consumer are solely driven by trust, which also affect consumer’s attitude towards e-shopping. Chaudhari and Holbrook further elaborated that loyalty has significant contribution in maintaining and continuing valued relationship between consumer and seller that has been developed by trust. Consumer loyalty is reflected by frequency and volume of repeat purchasing which is created with greater level of consumer satisfaction (Cited in Eid, 2011). Developing and understanding bases for e-store loyalty Customer behaviour has received large scale attention from various researchers in context of traditional shopping. However, despite significant growth trend in online shopping, e-store loyalty is yet to gain the same level of attention. According to certain researchers, there are two antecedents of e-store loyalty, namely, satisfaction and perceived switching barriers, which need to be focussed upon for relating consumer satisfaction and loyalty with ecommerce (Balabanis, Reynolds and Simintiras, 2006). Johnson, et al. (2004) found in their research that, extensive search is not generally persuaded by online shoppers and probability of repeat purchase in case of e-store is relatively higher than that from traditional stores (Reichheld and Schefter, 2000). Reichheld and Schefter (2000) further added that, e-retailers enjoy more consumer loyalty than the brick and mortar competitors; even so, the cost associated with development of new customer base is an economic necessity for the retailers. Relationship between loyalty and customer satisfaction Loyalty is considered as a multi faceted concept from behavioural as well as attitude perspective. Authors such as Uncles and Laurent (1997) and Dick and Basu (1994) defined loyalty as a certain feeling that consumers exhibit towards products, activities, services, brands and stores. They further added that loyalty strengthens a consumer’s resistance towards competitors’ message, decreases price sensitivity and increases favourable word of mouth (Eggert and Ulaga, 2002). B sharp and A Sharp (1997) further indicated that long term loyalty result in significant increase in future earnings of a firm. Olsen (2002) highlighted that, loyalty is generally assessed in terms of behavioural measures instead of attitudinal measures. Accordingly, common measures of store loyalty include proportion of purchase and/or level of purchasing intentions (Macintosh and Lockshin, 1997). Additionally, store loyalty can be related to the extent to which store image coincides with that of consumers (Sirgy and Samli, 1985). Overall, loyalty is developed when an organisation meet consumer needs in ways better than that of the competitors (Reynolds and Beatty, 1999). In this context, Blackwell, Miniard and Engel (2001) indicated that the gainers in click-and-order retailing will be those who can provide better solutions to their consumers than that were available in past with respect to their competitors. Authors such as Gommans, Krishnan and Scheffold (2001) specified five factors such as website and technology, value proposition, brand building, trust and security and customer service, which have a significant impact on e-loyalty. In the similar context, Srinivasan, Anderson and Ponnavolu (2002) focused on seven factors, namely, customization, cultivation, contact interactivity, care, character, choice and community as influencers of e-loyalty. Relationship between loyalty and Switching barriers Jones, Mothersbaugh and Beatty (2002) defined switching cost as perceived psychological and economic cost associated with shifting from one alternative to another. Switching costs may include financial cost, time and effort associated with gaining knowledge regarding new equipment. The authors further added that, perceived switching barriers comprise consumer perception about time, effort and money associated with change of service provider. Chen and Hitt (2002) proposed that a firm’s switching barriers should be effective enough to lock-in consumers so that consumer acquisition costs are repaid by means of repeat purchases. Some of the prominent examples of online switching barriers can be variation in the quality of search engine, smoothness of credit application and samples provided by e-retailers. Switching barriers can also comprise various loyalty programs that are designed by retailers to persuade consumer and prevent them from switching. Customer switching barriers should be developed by combining various hard and soft benefits. However, most e-stores focus on hard benefits at the cost of soft benefits. In other words, they focus more on consumer acquisition instead of retention. Jones, Mothersbaugh and Beatty (2002) and Burnham, Frels and Mahajan (2003) recognised three switching costs in this context, namely, financial cost (consumption of monetary resources), procedural cost (loss in terms of time and effort) and relational cost (psychological and emotional discomfort). Procedural cost associated with online shopping involves time and effort of a consumer as the consumer tries to find products and conduct transaction in an unfamiliar website. Online shoppers tend to stick to a particular e-retailer because they prefer avoiding hassles associated with familiarising with layout and structure of a new website (Johnson, Bellman and Lohse, 2003). Relational switching cost associated with online shopping mainly focuses on trust of consumers. Consumers avoid shopping from multiple websites because of their inability to trust the intensions of a new e-retailer. Trust issues can be related to internet based fraudulent activities where consumer may not get a product delivered even after making payment. However, financial switching costs are similar to the cost that consumers bear in traditional shopping (Balabanis, Reynolds and Simintiras, 2006). Ecommerce in the UK market As the UK economy is improving, consumer confidence is returning which is further reflected in terms of their spending habits. The consumer delivery specialist, Hermes, suggested from its survey that among various European countries such as The UK, France and Germany, only UK witnessed online shopping to grow as high as 27% which France and Germany were observed to be 14% and 10% respectively (BizReport, 2014). BizReport (2014) surveyed about 4000 consumers across these countries, where around 2000 consumers were UK-based and it was observed the 42% UK based consumers are planning to purchase more in next 12 months while only 30 percent consumers in France and 28 percent consumers in Germany agreed to do so. Additionally, about 73% of survey participants (British) expressed their interest in widening their shopping horizon with greater number of retailers. About 84% British and French shoppers did online shopping from overseas retailers whereas; the figure was as low as 67% for the Germans. In the same survey, consumers added that the most appealing factor regarding online shopping was ‘free and reliable return services’. However, consumers also complained that online retailers should include more and clearer information regarding products which would minimise the number of returns. International Business Times (2013a; 2013b) suggest that the UK is increasingly becoming ‘armchair’ economy in context of growth of ecommerce businesses in the country. It was observed that the UK is home to 300,000 online retailers in the Europe and thereby, forms the largest online retail sector in Europe. It was observed that the net worth of the industry was £111 billion while that of the Europe as a whole was £269 billion. As against prediction by IMRG Capgemini (2014) that UK online retail business would be worth £87 billion in 2013, the online retail industry of the UK earned revenue as high as £91 billion by the end of 2013 experiencing about 16% growth from the previous year. Keeping in account the growth of the UK ecommerce, many eminent industrialists agreed that even though UK economy is facing stagnation, the consumer base of the country have realised opportunities associated with ecommerce (International Business Times, 2013a). According to the Ecommerce News (2014), the UK has a total population of 63.7 million and about 82% of individuals are internet users. Ecommerce users belong to all age group (excluding children and infants) and among 28 EU member states, the UK scores highest in terms of online shopping. It was observed that, online shopping mostly comprises fashion and sporting goods followed by items belonging to household and travel categories. Other purchases include books, magazines, music, and movies. It was observed that in the UK, consumers mostly used credit cards for making payment for online transactions. The Ecommerce News (2014) and Mintel (2014) suggest the credit card based transactions were found to be as high as 40 percent of total online shopping while about 30 percent consumers used their debit cards for making payment. There is another popular method of online payment in the UK, namely, PayPal which is used by consumers for paying for their online shopping transactions. The greatest players in the online retail market of the UK include Amazon, Tesco, eBay, Asos, Argos, Play.com, Next and John Lewis. These facts suggest those consumers are exhibiting greater reliance on ecommerce instead of physical stores. Alongside, it can also be noted that consumers trust the ecommerce websites and are confident about using their credit and debit cards for online purchases. Consumer satisfaction in UK’s online market The consumers are increasingly becoming technology dependent which along with ecommerce have presented consumer with multiple choice regarding purchase of commodities. Consumers no more prefer to be treated as mere transaction and presently they have greater number of communication channel for expressing their discontent and preference regarding products (The Guardian, 2010). In this regard, the Institute of Customer Service helps in determining the consumer satisfaction level towards services by various companies through the UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) (Institute of Customer Service, 2014). It was noticed in various reports that Amazon is not only an industry leader in terms of sales but also the most preferred e-retailing company in terms of consumer satisfaction. Among top retailers, Amazon ranked highest score of 88.6 in UKCSI 2014 followed by John Lewis having a score of 88.1. It was observed that score of both the company have dropped while satisfaction level of John Lewis dropped significantly (by approximately 4.2 points). Overall, consumer satisfaction level of the UK online retail industry has dropped by 1.1 points, that is, from 78.2 points to 77.1 points. This drop can be justified in terms of prolonged economic downturn and declining investment. Additionally, from consumers’ perspective, a reason can be declining level of tolerance due to financial pressure and increased choices (Institute of Customer Service, 2014). Sector wise, it was observed that almost all sectors faced declining trend in consumer satisfaction except for Banks and Building Societies. The UK retail sector is presently facing the challenge of enhancing consumer satisfaction level as the decline may not affect performance of individual company but will have significant negative impact on competitiveness and growth of the UK economy. The UKCSI index establishes a strong linkage between customer satisfaction and trust. It has been observed that, organisations that have UKCSI score at least one point more than the national average enjoys moderate level of consumer trust. In this context, companies such as John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, Boot and Amazon enjoy significant level of consumers’ trust in the UK. In a survey, it was further determined by the Institute of Customer Service that consumer satisfaction result in recommendations and brand loyalty (Institute of Customer Service, 2014). Customer service, in context of ecommerce, is placing significant importance on social media. Along with phone calls and emails, interaction on social media and web based chat are assuming role of necessary communication channels with respect to consumer interaction and satisfaction. About 42 percent of surveyed retailers stated that slow response and inability to communicate with customer service are primary reasons of consumer dissatisfaction. On the other hand, 40 percent of participant consumers explained that web chat and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter often prove sufficiently helpful. Another survey revealed that slow delivery system and inappropriate customer system make consumers switch to alternative retailers (Post & Parcel, 2014; eMarketer, 2014; Digital Strategy consulting, 2014). Conclusion As the ecommerce sector is growing at a rapid pace, the difference between consumers’ actual needs and the perception of organisations about these needs is blurring gradually. Consumers are relying more on online platforms of retailing as these offer greater product variety at a relatively low cost. It has been observed that consumer loyalty in traditional ‘brick and mortar’ stores have gained significant attention from various researchers but, e-loyalty has been heavily underestimated. In this paper, e-loyalty, its aspects and its implications in the UK e-retail industry has been examined in an elaborate manner. It was gathered that e-loyalty is highly related to consumer satisfaction and consumer’s ability to trust a particular brand. The paper assessed real time data which has been gathered from various updated sources and reports and observed that consumer satisfaction is primarily driven by quality of consumer service and speed of delivery. In this context, it was also noticed that switching barriers play an important role in determining e-loyalty as high switching cost prevent consumers from choosing alternative retailers. Overall, the paper initially discussed loyalty, customer satisfaction and trust issues in context of ecommerce which has been supported by evidences with respect to the UK retail industry in the later part of the paper. Reference list Balabanis, G., Reynolds, N. and Simintiras, A., 2006. Bases of e-store loyalty: Perceived switching barriers and satisfaction. Journal of Business Research, 59(2), pp. 214-224. BizReport, 2014. Britain leads Europes online shopping boom. [online] Available at: [Accessed 20 October 2014]. Blackwell, R. D., Miniard, P. W. and Engel, J. F., 2001. 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