Deciphering the impact of responsiveness on customer satisfaction, cross-buying behaviour, revisit intention and referral behaviour

Abstract

PurposeThe ease and convenience of online shopping are shifting the customers to e-tailers. This has prompted offline retailers to re-examine behavioural patterns along with a reconfiguration for a responsive retail model. The paper investigates the influence of responsiveness on customer satisfaction, cross-buying behaviour, revisit intention and referral behaviour.Design/methodology/approachData were collected via a survey answered by 793 fashion customers from India, and for data analysis, partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed. Path analysis was used to determine the interrelationships amongst the constructs used in the study.FindingsThe standardized path coefficients depict competitive responsiveness as the highest contributor of retailers' responsiveness followed by service responsiveness, employee responsiveness and customer responsiveness. The findings suggest that customer satisfaction acts as the biggest contributor to referral behaviour followed by cross-buying behaviour and revisit intentions.Originality/valueThis study has made a substantial contribution to fashion apparel retailing. The findings revealed that responsive retailing influences the customers' post-purchase behaviour as they engage in more cross-buying, revisiting and referral behaviour. The retailers are encouraged to carefully monitor their preparedness to deliver a combination of sensory, emotional, cognitive and social experience to their customers.