Influence of supermarket self - checkout service quality, customer vulnerability, and risk perception during emerging pandemics on Australian customer behaviour

Singh, Gurmeet and Slack, Neale J. and Sharma, Shavneet (2025) Influence of supermarket self - checkout service quality, customer vulnerability, and risk perception during emerging pandemics on Australian customer behaviour. The TQM Journal, NA (NA). NA. ISSN 1754-2731

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Abstract

Purpose – This study investigates how the COVID-19 pandemic, as a unique environmental factor, influences
Australian supermarket customers’ satisfaction and behavioural loyalty intentions through contactless
self-checkout systems (SCSs). It examines the role of customer perceptions of service quality and vulnerability
in shaping these outcomes and explores how customer perceptions of COVID-19 risk moderate these relationships.

Design/methodology/approach – Employing the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) theoretical framework,
thisresearch analysesresponsesfrom 428 Australian supermarket customers who use contactlessself-checkout
systems. The study integrates service quality and customer vulnerability as stimuli, examines their impact on
customer satisfaction (the organism) and assesses how these factors influence customers’ behavioural loyalty
intentions (the response). Additionally, it explores how customer risk perceptions related to COVID-19 act as a
moderator within these relationships.

Findings – The findings demonstrate that both SCS service quality and customer vulnerability significantly
enhance customer satisfaction, positively affecting behavioural loyalty toward the supermarket. Furthermore,
the study revealsthat higher levels of perceived COVID-19 risk strengthen the impact of customer vulnerability
on customer satisfaction and the effect of customer satisfaction on loyalty intentions.

Originality/value – Thisstudy contributesto the literature by highlighting the underexplored area of SCS usage
and customer perceptions of service quality during an emerging pandemic among Australian consumers.
It uniquely combines elements of consumer vulnerability and pandemic-related risk perceptions with traditional
service quality metricsto offer new insightsinto customer behaviour in the retailsector. The study’sinsights are
valuable for supermarket management and marketing practices, particularly in adapting to and capitalizing on
changes in consumer behaviour in response to global crises.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HF Commerce
Divisions:	School of Business and Management (SBM)
Depositing User:	Gurmeet Singh
Date Deposited:	14 Jan 2025 01:10
Last Modified:	14 Jan 2025 01:10
URI:	https://repository.usp.ac.fj/id/eprint/14736

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