Intl Conference on Economics, Finance & Business, Prague

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ONLINE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE WITHIN A RETAIL CONTEXT

MARLÉ VAN EYK, DANIE FERREIRA

Abstract:

Customer experience is influenced by many determining factors. The key characteristics of a customer experience imply personal interaction between the customer and organisation. In order to differentiate themselves and so remain relevant and competitive, retailers need to constantly improve customer experiences in both the traditional marketplace and online market space. The aim of the study is to theoretically identify and evaluate the characteristics of an online shopping experience in the retail environment. Based on previous research, five characteristics relevant to an online shopping experience were identified, namely product, shopping procedure, shopping environment, staff service and personalization. A quantitative research method was used by means of a web-based survey using both convenience and snowball sampling to obtain the responses from a sample of 400 respondents. The responses were statistically analysed using SPSS Version 27. Face validity of the measuring instrument was ensured by four experts in the marketing field and reliability of the measuring instrument was confirmed by calculating the Cronbach-alpha coefficient, which was above the recommended 0.7. Based on the results the CFA, the applicability of the five characteristics identified can be confirmed. The empirical results provided evidence that supports the existence of positive correlations between five independent experience factors (customer experience characteristics), with customer experience (dependent variable). Recommendations made from this study will be helpful to online retailers in delivering customer experience in order to gain a competitive advantage.

Keywords: Customer Experience, Online Shopping, Retail Context

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