Factors Associated with Customers' Satisfaction in Online Purchasing: A Study in a Malaysian Public University

Abstract

E-commerce has transcended the traditional way of shopping into a new and more efficient way of purchasing. Through this approach, businesses are conducted through the internet in which activities such as information searching, information sharing, products and services purchasing are performed. There are many reasons why online purchasing has become one of the most preferred channels for customers to purchase goods or services. This study is conducted to examine crucial factors related to customers' satisfaction in online shopping and specifically looking at four factors: information quality, service quality, security/privacy and website design and their relationship with customers' satisfaction in online purchasing. 320 questionnaires were distributed through purposive sampling techniques to students from a public university in Malaysia. The findings revealed that website design and information quality were the most impactful factors that influence customer’s online purchasing. These findings are useful for online retailers and marketers to understand consumers' behaviour when purchasing online, thus enabling them to develop more effective marketing strategies. For future research, this study suggests that the population of the study should be expanded and other types of variables should be included such as mediating and moderating variables to obtain more accurate and precise findings. It is also suggested that the research could be conducted using random samplings so that the findings can be generalised.