The effects of the online customer experience on customer loyalty in e-retailers

Abstract

The modern world has seen significant growth in the e-commerce industry in terms of volume and acceptance among customers. E-commerce has changed the behavior of shoppers depending on various factors such as easy accessibility and availability of a wider range of products and services. Now, customer retention has become a challenge for any company because there is so much competition. This article seeks to further understand the online customer experience and examine the customer experience in online sales and its impact on customer loyalty. However, empirical research on online customer experience and loyalty is scarce. The aims of this study are unique to two cases. The first is to examine the effect of online customer experience on customer responses to e-commerce retailer Digikala in Iran, given that two dimensions of online customer experience including empirical and emotional states are considered as customer experience evaluation tools. Each of these two dimensions is about explaining customer loyalty. Customer Experience is a new field of competition for brands to create an effective customer experience. This is the key to distinguishing brand names from one another, and lacking appropriate solutions for managing the customer experience will affect all aspects of the business, given the importance of the online customer experience in loyalty and maintaining a competitive advantage. Research is important and can have beneficial implications for entrepreneurship and formulating organizational strategies.