How logistics service quality and product quality matter in the retailer–customer relationship of food drive-throughs: The role of perceived convenience

Uncover the trends, gaps, and main topics on online grocery shopping: Bibliometric analysis

This study uses the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) approach to curate many papers and select documents according to specific qualifications to include in a systematic literature review. At the identification stage, there are 1221 abstract documents showing their relation to online grocery shopping. Furthermore, the researcher selected 571 Scopus abstracts at the screening stage, and then through the VOS Viewers software, the researchers conducted a bibliometric analysis. The bibliometric analysis in this study aims to find trending topics and research gaps in online grocery shopping. At the eligibility stage, there are 170 full-text articles related to the issue of online grocery shopping; until the last stage, through manual selection, the researcher determined 43 full-text articles that met the qualifications for in-depth analysis using a systematic literature review approach. The research findings state that there are several main topics on online grocery shopping, such as customer segmentation and shopping preferences, grocery online shopping behavior, and intentions on online grocery shopping. The findings of this study explain the factors that influence the decision to use online grocery shopping that become a reference for further research to design a model of online grocery shopping intentions.

Consumers' Channel Preference for Fresh Foods and Its Determinants during COVID-19-Evidence from China

The public has been experiencing unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic for the past two years. Government measures, such as improvements in offline markets and the encouragement of contactless e-commerce use, have been taken to abate the spread of infection. This study explored whether public channel preferences for fresh foods have changed and aimed to identify potential determinants. Data from 10,708 consumers were obtained by issuing questionnaires, and the binary logic measurement model was used for the empirical analysis to study the core factors that determine consumers' choice of online and offline purchase channels for fresh food. The results show that, from the perspective of consumers' personal behavior, consumers who do not pay attention to online evaluations and consumers who do not buy products based on their purchase experience have increased the frequency of online fresh food purchases during the epidemic. Food safety also significantly affects consumers' choices of purchase channels. Consumers who believe that online fresh foods are safer prefer to purchase fresh food online. Among the factors affecting the performance of online fresh food, consumers concerned about food safety increased the frequency of online purchases, while consumers concerned about the reputation of the platform decreased the frequency of online purchases. These findings can help online and offline retailers better understand consumer needs and then determine their marketing strategies.

Satisfaction of Logistics Dispatchers Who Use Electric Tricycles\linebreak for the Last Mile of Delivery: Perspective from Policy Intervention

This paper investigates the satisfaction factors of logistics dispatchers who used electric tricycles for the last mile of delivery under policy intervention, and a questionnaire survey is conducted on the last-mile dispatchers in Nanjing. Based on four principal components extracted by exploratory factor analysis, the structural equation model (SEM) for the relationship between exogenous variables (sound policy, legality, and standardizing system) and endogenous variables (perceived convenience and satisfaction) is established to obtain the factors influencing the satisfaction of dispatchers. The results indicate that the correlation coefficients between the perceived convenience, sound policy, legality, standardizing system and the dispatchers’ satisfaction are 0.606, 0.448, 0.242 and −0.366, respectively. The correlations between perceived convenience, sound policy, legality and dispatchers’ satisfaction are significantly positive. The correlations between standardizing system and dispatchers’ satisfaction are negative. Finally, corresponding improvement policies are proposed based on the analysis of the model. The research results help improve the dispatcher’s satisfaction during the last-mile distribution process and provide support for standards by using electric tricycles and the formulation of new policies.

The effect of type of company doing home delivery during a pandemic on consumers' quality perceptions and behavior

Purpose

In the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers increasingly opt for, or are forced to, use home delivery services. The authors study retailers' decisions regarding “delivery mode”, which is about outsourcing (vs. insourcing) the delivery service to a traditional delivery company or an unbranded carrier and its effects on consumers' perceived overall quality, perceived hygienic quality, and subsequently, willingness to stay with the firm beyond the pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

A pre-test, an experiment and a post-test were conducted with participants from the UK (Total N = 380).

Findings

The results of this study show that (1) in a pandemic, perceived hygienic quality overshadows perceived service quality as a key determinant of consumers' choices, and (2) while consumers have a relatively negative view of the hygienic level of unbranded carriers, they do not differentiate between traditional delivery carriers and retailer-branded carriers. Thus, they are equally interested in using the services of the latter ones.

Originality/value

This study shows that during a health crisis, consumers change their hierarchy of motivations to reflect the new protection motivations. The authors usher perceived hygienic quality as a variable that should be seriously considered as both a tactical and a strategic variable affecting the attractiveness of alternative home delivery methods and consumers' intentions to continue using them after the pandemic.