The purpose of this study is to examine how customers’ perceptions of the shopping process across a multi-stage electronic retail delivery system (e-RDS) affect overall satisfaction. This study explores the perceptions of process across four stages of e-RDS: search, agreement, fulfilment and after-sales service. This study also investigates how customers’ perception of one stage influences the subsequent stages.
The data are collected from 341 online shoppers and analysed using structural equation modelling.
This study suggests that customers’ perception of a particular stage in multi-stage e-RDS impacts the subsequent stages of service delivery. This study confirms that a smooth process experience at each stage has a positive impact on satisfaction and other factors, including perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived control and perceived flexibility. Interestingly, perceptions of process at the fulfilment and after-sales service stages are particularly crucial for customer satisfaction.
This paper finds that it is equally important for e-retailers to enhance customer experience by focusing on process features in all four stages of e-RDS, in addition to product quality and price.
This research distinguishes itself by examining how customers’ perceptions of the e-RDS process affect overall experience. This study is one of the few studies that address the significance of process dimensions in evaluating customer experience within the e-retail customer journey. By holistically studying multi-stage e-RDS from a process perspective, this paper offers detailed insights for e-retailers. Understanding process perceptions throughout the customer journey is crucial for shaping customer experience, ultimately leading to positive evaluation of customer satisfaction.
