Consumer preferences for selected online service quality factors together with price and product information - case Vietnam

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to (1) understand key online service quality factors which influence consumers purchasing decision and (2a) explore how Vietnamese consumers value the selected online service quality factors together with price and product information factors as well as (2b) classify them into different groups based on their preferences for these factors.

From an extensive study of the relevant literature about online service quality, six factors are identified: privacy & security, ease of use, web design, product variety, reliability/fulfillment, and responsiveness. The reliability/fulfillment factor has sub-factors: delivery and product warranty. The responsiveness factor has two sub-factors namely customer support and return policy. Selected online service quality factors are studied along with price and product information factors. The Best–Worst Scaling experiment, carried in the thesis, is designed based on these factors and the results are analyzed by Latent Class Analysis. Vietnamese consumers, in general, value the price, product information, product warranty and return policy at most. The customer support and web design are the least valued. The three identified consumers clusters are “online shopping experience,” “budgeters” and “product guarantee.” Consumers in the “online shopping experience” cluster are looking for the similar experience as the traditional shopping. Thus, they value web design, delivery, customer support and product variety highly. Consumers in “budgeters” cluster prioritize the price factor. Consumers in “product guarantee” cluster prefer product warranty, return policy and product information at most. They are looking for the safe and flexible options for online purchasing.

On the practical level, the findings can help online retailers to assess their online service quality better and develop service offerings to meet the expectations of their target consumers.