Overall satisfaction formation across channels: an empirical study

What is it about?

No other research analyzes the formation of satisfaction across channels, including the reciprocal interactions between store and website satisfaction and the factors that moderate them. Therefore this study examines how overall customer satisfaction is formed from the image and perceived congruence of the two main channels and the satisfaction induced by each. The conceptual model incorporates reciprocal interdependence between store satisfaction and website satisfaction. It is tested on 909 customers of a French mortar-to-click retailer, using the procedure specific to non-recursive structural equation model. Overall satisfaction is not only generated by satisfaction with the channels, but also directly and indirectly by the image of each channel. The contribution of these variables depends on the personal and situational characteristics of the customer. Not only is the relationship confirmed from store satisfaction to website satisfaction, but for the first time, in rarer cases the reverse is also observed. On the other hand, while the congruence of channels can improve satisfaction with the channel for certain types of customers, in other cases it can also worsen customers’ overall satisfaction. A retailer may encourage virtuous interaction between its channels by making the transfer of information and products more fluid; but in the end, it is the customer alone who decides whether or not to bring the channels closer together. In some cases, the retailer’s attempt to integrate its channels may even reduce overall satisfaction if customers do not want this integration, just as a high level of satisfaction on the website can reduce in-store satisfaction.

Featured Image

Photo by Sean Sinclair on Unsplash

Photo by Sean Sinclair on Unsplash