حمل پس از خرید و تجربه خدمات مشتری در خرید آنلاین و تاثیر آنها بر رضایت مشتری Post-purchase shipping and customer service experiences in online shopping and their impact on customer satisfaction: an empirical study with comparison

Introduction The ubiquitous internet and its development through mobile and social media have boosted the growth of global e-commerce to an unprecedented level. Consumers shop enormously online. Global e-commerce sales has demonstrated consistent growth for many years and is said to top $27 trillion in 2020 (eMarketer, 2016). This is partially true in emerging market such as Asia-Pacific, which increased 31.5% in 2016 and will remain the largest retail e-commerce market around the world in the near future, while its sales is expected to top $1 trillion in 2016 and reach $2.725 trillion by 2020 (eMarketer, 2016). Within Asia-Pacific region, China is said to represent almost half (47.0%) of the world’s retail e-commerce and to reach $899.09 billion in 2016, compared to $423.34 billion in North America and the second largest regional ecommerce market (eMarketer, 2016). The rapid expansion of e-commerce in the past and its expected growth in the future are attributed to advancing shipping and payment options as well as other reasons (eMarketer, 2016). Jain, Gajjar, Shah, & Sadh (2017) conducted an extensive literature review and suggested that availability, timeliness, condition and ease of return, along with e-business quality, product quality, and pricing, are linked to shopping satisfaction and repurchase intention of customers in e-tailing. However, Jain, et al (2017)’s review revealed that very few studies have focused on the relationships between the post-purchase activities such as shipping and return services and customers’ behavioral and attitudinal aspects. It is unclear how important post-purchase activities such as shipping and return are in comparison with customer service to e-commerce and its growth. Nevertheless, it is also reported that many online shoppers drop their orders if free shipping is not provided and 78% of consumers regarded free shipping as either “very important” or “somewhat important” in their decision to make an online purchase (Tuttle, 2011). The study of UPS and ComScore found that free shipping and delivery are reported to be key to customer satisfaction (Moth, 2012). In addition, same-day delivery is usually very expensive, most customers are not willing to pay the extra price, though it provides instant gratification; companies may consolidate their supply chain and deliver the products to local stores for free (Stevens, 2014). Therefore, it is understandable that supply chain guru Hau Lee considers leveraging post-purchase activities such as shipment as one of the five most important strategies (Lee and Whang, 2001). To maximize profits and gain a competitive advantage internet retailers also strategically manipulate their shipping and delivery options available to customers (Yao and Zhang, 2012). The research by UPS and comScore found that the top recommendations from online shoppers in the US are related to shipping: free or discounted shipping, delivery within expected time, flexibility of shipping, and return service (comScore, 2014). Other research also supported the findings about shipping for online shopping (Spagnoletti, 2014).