Purchasing behaviour in an online supermarket: the applicability of E-S-QUAL and the impact of service quality

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to assess the applicability of the four dimensions of online service quality, as proposed in the E-S-QUAL scale, to the setting of an online supermarket; and, second, to propose and test a model that links these e-quality dimensions with loyalty and purchasing behaviour in the setting of an online supermarket. An online questionnaire was used to survey 131 customers of an online Spanish supermarket using the E-S-QUAL scale. The data were analysed by exploratory factor analysis to test the applicability of the E-S-QUAL scale to the setting of an online supermarket and generate an extended model (including constructs for ‘perceived value’, ‘loyalty’ and ‘actual purchases’). The model was then checked by structural equation modelling (SEM). The four dimensions proposed by the E-S-QUAL scale were confirmed in the setting of an online Spanish supermarket. The influence of these various quality dimensions on perceived value, loyalty and actual purchases are delineated here. The study reassures online vendors that E-S-QUAL is an appropriate instrument by which to measure online service quality. The study also provides empirical evidence that high levels of e-service quality have a positive influence on purchasing behaviour. The study is the first to provide definitive empirical evidence of the commonly presumed linkage between the quality dimensions proposed in the E-S-QUAL scale and the constructs of loyalty and actual – not self-reported – purchase behaviour