Effects of online store attributes on customer satisfaction and repurchase intentions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify website characteristics that affect customer evaluations and satisfaction with online stores at two interaction points – when the order is placed and after the order has been fulfilled. Design/methodology/approach – Using data collected by bizrate.com, data collected from customers of thousands of online stores, the analysis focuses on the changes in the relationships between website characteristics and customer ratings. Data for two‐time periods, 15 months apart, are used to determine the stability in the observed relationships. Findings – Order fulfillment variables, particularly on‐time delivery, dominate the effects on overall customer evaluations and satisfaction. The statistical significance of other online store attributes, however, changes as differences are observed between 2003 and 2004. Research limitations/implications – The online environment is dynamic and the paper captures some of the changes in the relationships between website attributes and customer satisfaction. This requires continuous monitoring of the online environment. Since the paper relies on secondary data collected by bizrate.com, the research is limited by specific website attributes and measures of customer satisfaction adopted by a commercial enterprise. Practical implications – Online retailers must be strategic about fulfillment variables. When online stores compete with each other, it is easier to copy certain attributes like “shipping options” than other attributes such as “on‐time delivery.” This suggests that the most creative, interactive, and vivid online site will not compensate for weak fulfillment and customer support capabilities. Originality/value – No other paper has looked at these data, collected from real customers making purchases at actual merchant sites, over two time periods. The results provide insights regarding stability of findings.