First of all, we would like to express our appreciation to Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) for giving us the opportunity to participate in the research project. Next, we would like to express our gratitude to the people who contributed their time and effort by encouraging, assisting and making recommendations to us to complete the research project.
RESEARCH OVERVIEW
Research Background
- Retail business
- Previous trend of retail business
- Current trend of retail business
- Future trend of retail business
- Online Customer satisfaction
- General overview
Also, due to the current and future trend, more and more retail businesses are moving online. This shows that the current trend is digitization in retail business (Hagberg, Jonsson and Egels-Zandén, 2017).
Problem Statement
However, the research conducted on the effect of digitization in relation to retail in terms of perceived personalization, perceived interactivity, customer experience and customer satisfaction seems to be lacking, leading to the need for the current study. Furthermore, there is a correlation between customer experience and customer satisfaction (Rose, Clark, Samouel & Hair, 2012).
Research Questions
Perceived personalization and perceived interactivity are components that enhance interactions between technologies and customers (Zhang, Lu, Gupta & Zhao, 2014). Buyer experience, which includes cognitive and affective experiential states, does not directly influence consumer repurchase intention, but it can influence repurchase intention through consumer satisfaction (Rose, Clark, Samouel & Hair, 2012).
Research Objectives
The research hypotheses will be developed between perceived personalization, perceived interactivity, customer experience and customer satisfaction. The corrected R-squared increases when the new variables are positively biased more than expected by chance. The adjusted R-squared is always less than the R-squared.
Hypotheses of the study
Significance of Study
The intention was to map out whether the customer's digital incentives have an effect on customer satisfaction. It is important to understand customer thinking and perception in retail.
Chapter Layout
It describes the techniques used to collect data and the data collection methods used in the study. Subsequently, the study will elaborate further research on the literature review, which is the relationship between perceived personalization and interactivity to customer satisfaction with the effect of customer experience.
Introduction
Review of the Literature
- Perceived Personalization
- Perceived Interactivity
- Customer Experience
- Customer Satisfaction
Perceived personalization is defined as customers' perception of the suitability of the website to meet their preferences. Most research also states that the effect of customer satisfaction involves employee behavior.
Formation Framework
The result shows perceived interactivity positively influences social support and flow in the e-commerce platform. This shows that the stimuli play a major role affecting either positively or negatively on the other variables. The study used extensive literature review to provide definitions of the constructs and key related literature as it is required to translate from Mandarin back to the English language.
In addition, an online survey was also conducted to collect data from respondents with experience in online business.
Conceptual Framework
The result demonstrates the validity of the model in defining the internal responses of individuals with behavioral responses to environmental stimuli. In addition, the important roles of virtual experiences and technological environments influence customer behavior in social commerce. The independent variables of the study's conceptual framework are based on stimuli that are perceived interactivity and perceived personalization.
Thus, the S-O-R model is adopted to form the conceptual framework for studying the effectiveness of digitization towards the retail business.
Hypotheses Development
- The Relationship between Perceived
- The Relationship between Perceived Interactivity
- The Relationship between Customer Experience
- The Relationship between Perceived
- The Relationship between Perceived
- The Relationship between Perceived
- The Relationship between Perceived Interactivity,
The retail customer's affective experience state may be a non-quality-related dimension of service and have a direct or indirect impact on customer satisfaction levels. When the above is met, customer satisfaction can be achieved as it is catered specifically to different individuals with different needs (Kassim & Abdullah, 2010). Customer satisfaction is also influenced by the employee's ability to provide employee knowledge and credibility.
In a research, it said that customer experience will increase interactivity and lead to a positive outcome of customer satisfaction.
Conclusion
For example, if a customer enjoys using technology to have a group discussion, this will positively affect the customer's satisfaction with the online group chat.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design
Data Collection Method
- Primary Data
Sample Design
- Target Population
- Sampling Frame and Sampling Location…
- Sampling Elements
- Sampling Technique
- Sampling Size
Non-probability sampling is defined as the method used in sample selection being based on convenience or personal judgment (Zikmund et al., 2009). The probability that any elements are selected from target population is unknown (Zikmund et al., 2009). According to Zikmund et al. 2009), convenience sampling gets those people who are conveniently available.
In this survey, we collected data from respondents around the Klang Valley who have time to participate in our survey.
Research Instrument
- Design of Questionnaire
- Pilot Test
For this research, 30 sets of questionnaires were distributed to conduct a pilot test before the actual survey. A figure of 300 sets of questionnaires were given to targeted respondents after conducting the pilot test with reliable cronbach alpha level. In the research, 30 sets of questionnaires were distributed through online to Klang Valley area for pilot test and took 3 days to conduct the test.
However, Cronbach reliability analysis was used to conduct the pilot test to obtain accurate data.
Construct Measurement…
- Scale of Measurement
- Nominal Scale
- Ordinal Scale
- Interval Scale
- Origin of Construct
Based on (Sekaran et al., 2013), an interval scale has not only ordinal and nominal properties, but can also measure the magnitude of differences between two ranked values. This journal is about perceived personalization, perceived interactivity, user experience, and customer satisfaction (Parise, Guinan, & Kafka, 2016).
Data Processing
- Data Checking
- Data Editing
- Data Coding
- Data Transcribing
- Data Cleaning
This process allows researchers to edit and adjust the data to make it more complete, readable, and consistent before entering it into statistical software (Zikmund et al., 2009). Section A of the questionnaire deals with independent and dependent variables and the mediator of the study, namely perceived personalization, perceived interactivity, customer experience and customer satisfaction. For example, the gender question consists of male and female; the age question consists of under 25, range between 25-33, range between 34-44, range between 45-55, 55 and above; work experience demand consists of less than 1 year, range between 1-5 years, 6-10 years, more than 10 years, education level demand consists of primary/.
Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) is used to check the accuracy of input data and identify the coded data that are outside the range of the acceptable answers (Zikmund et al., 2009).
Data Analysis
- Descriptive Analysis
- Scale Measurement
- Reliability Test
- Inferential Analysis
- Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)…
- Multiple and Simple Linear
- Baron & Kenny Test for
In addition, a measure of central tendency (mean) was calculated to show the ranking in questions that have a degree of agreement. It ensures that measurements are consistent across all the different elements in the instrument (internal consistency) and over time (stability) without measurement bias (Sekaran et al., 2013). In this research, ANOVA is used to examine the relationship between perceived personalization, perceived interactivity, user experience, and customer satisfaction.
A simple linear regression is performed to estimate the relationship between a dependent variable, Y, and a single explanatory variable, x.
Conclusion
Introduction
Descriptive Analysis
- Gender
- Age
- Working Experience …
- Highest Education Level
- Monthly Income
- Frequency on Visit and Purchase from
- Items Purchase from Online Websites
As Figure 4-6 shows, almost half of them visit and buy online websites at least once a month. Subsequently, 13% of them visit and buy online websites once every six months and finally only 6% of them make online purchases once a year. Apparel and clothing is the most purchased items on online websites with a total of 199 respondents.
Among all respondents, 122 decided to buy cosmetics and accessories on websites.
Central Tendency Measurement of Constructs
Reliability Test
Inferential Analysis
- Multiple and Simple Linear Regression Test…
- Mediation Test using Sobel’s Test
According to the adjusted R Square, it is shown that 39.3% of customer satisfaction is explained by perceived personalization and perceived interactivity.
Conclusion
Therefore, perceived personalization mediates the relationship between customer experience and customer satisfaction (Coelho & . Henseler, 2012). Personal interaction is essential to shape customer satisfaction during the process of creating a customer experience. First, it focuses on the relationship of perceived personalization, perceived interactivity with customer satisfaction and also explores the role of customer experience in this relationship.
In this competitive environment, it is very common for companies to pay attention to customer satisfaction.
DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION
Summary of the Statistical Analysis…
- Descriptive Analysis
The background information of respondents is explained on the basis of demographic variables such as gender, age, work experience, highest level of education, monthly income, frequency of visits and purchases of online websites and purchases of online websites. In terms of the highest level of education, 60% of them are undergraduates and only 6.7% of them are postgraduate and masters students. In terms of monthly income, almost half of the respondents earn less than RM1500 per month.
As for the frequency of visiting and buying from online websites, almost half of them visit and buy from online websites at least once a month, and only 6% of them shop online once a year.
Discussion of Major Findings
Social interaction is one of the most important points to ensure the quality of retail services and subsequently influence customer satisfaction. Smart retail technologies ensure customer satisfaction through customer evaluation and impression on the smart retail technology. A sum of customer experiences with smart retail technologies leads to the formation of customer satisfaction (Roy, Balaji, Sadeque, Nguyen & Melewar, 2017).
Communication can have a positive impact on customer satisfaction, even if the services or products are not delivered to the customer.
Implication of study
- Managerial Implications
In terms of interactivity, the website should create a platform and allow the consumer to share their online shopping experience. Consumers can freely share their thoughts on related products, discuss and ask questions on the platform. This would increase the interactivity among consumers on the offered platform, which also leads to an increase in website traffic.
It gives consumers the feeling that they are valued and it shows that the website responds quickly to questions from the public.
Limitations of the study
As far as personalization is concerned, the administrator must allow customers to customize their websites to their liking. It allows different consumers to share their shopping experiences and even make suggestions as to which product is better in terms of quality and even price. As the target population is Malaysians of all ages who are experienced in online shopping, the number of respondents who participated in this survey is only a small fraction of the total population of Malaysia.
As such, the result that was collected in this study gives imprecise results due to the sample size used, which arises from time, resource and limitations.
Recommendation for future research
This will enable the research to be more comprehensive and informative as researchers are able to gain first-hand understanding of the decision and thoughts by the retail owners. Furthermore, a generation gap comparison for the research would also be highly recommended, because it is clear to see that differences in the generation have different opinions and thoughts about digitization. The older generation tends to be more conservative due to the lack of IT knowledge in general, while today's younger generation is exposed to gadgets and smartphones and access to the internet.
It would benefit the research if this method were carried out to gain more insight into the effectiveness of digitization for the retail sector.
Conclusion
There is a clear difference in the generation where the older generation like X and Y prefer to buy in the physical store, while the millennial are used to online shopping and courier services. The Effect of Demographic Factors on Consumer Intention to Purchase Organic Products in the Klang Valley: An Empirical Study. If you can be involved in the study, please respond to the attached questionnaire.
I am satisfied with the post-purchase experience of the online sites (eg customer service, delivery, after-sales services).
