Title: Building loyalty in e-commerce: does consumer income matter?

Authors: Viviane Moura Rocha Ferreira; Juracy Parente; Mateus Canniatti Ponchio; Felipe Zambaldi

Addresses: Fundação Getulio Vargas, Marketing Department, Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo, Rua Itapeva, n. 474, 9th floor, 01332-000 – São Paulo, Brazil ' Fundação Getulio Vargas, Marketing Department, Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo, Rua Itapeva, n. 474, 9th floor, 01332-000 – São Paulo, Brazil ' Fundação Getulio Vargas, Marketing Department, Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo, Rua Itapeva, n. 474, 9th floor, 01332-000 – São Paulo, Brazil ' Fundação Getulio Vargas, Marketing Department, Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo, Rua Itapeva, n. 474, 9th floor, 01332-000 – São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract: In emerging markets, the rapid expansion of online retailing is mainly driven by new adopters from lower-income consumer segments. However, little is known about the behaviour of this group in online retail. This study evaluates the relationships between e-loyalty, e-satisfaction, e-trust and e-quality, paying particular attention to the moderating role of consumer income. Data were collected from a sample of 1,020 Brazilian consumers via a web survey and were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). Among the main results, this study finds that consumers from the higher-income group pay more attention to the quality of website information, while consumers from the lower-income group emphasise the importance of fulfilment. E-satisfaction is more important than e-trust in determining e-loyalty and these relationships are moderated by income. Online retailers should pay special attention to tailoring their promotional efforts to foster consumer loyalty according to different consumer income groups.

Keywords: loyalty; e-commerce; emerging markets; quality; satisfaction; trust; structural equation modelling; SEM; income moderation effect; Brazilian consumers; technology.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBSR.2020.104150

International Journal of Business and Systems Research, 2020 Vol.14 No.1, pp.74 - 94

Received: 12 Jan 2018
Accepted: 05 Sep 2018
Published online: 20 Dec 2019 *

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