Post-purchase experiences as antecedents to customer satisfaction within mobile commerce in Cape Town

Abstract

The continued growth for both smartphone usage and mobile applications (apps) innovations has resulted in businesses realising the potential of this growth in usage. Smartphones are said to be a non-drug addiction for many consumers as they continually engage with their smartphones during a 24-hour day. Consequently, developers around the world have created mobile apps, which are downloaded through smartphone application stores, and installed onto smartphones or tablet computers. The internet, mobile apps and smartphones are also extensively used and this usage is increasing exponentially in South Africa and other developing countries. The increase in usage and appetite of engaging with mobile apps has led to businesses around the world utilising mobile apps as an additional business channel. Mobile apps used specifically for business-to-consumer commerce such as banking, e-hailing, retail, and order and delivery services have provided customers with a convenient way to search, order, locate, or transact through their smartphones anywhere and anytime via their smartphones. As a growing number of businesses invest in mobile apps, it is essential for marketers to understand customer behaviour as well as the usage patterns of mobile apps, since there is a dearth of research. Generation Y consumers are said to be the most innovative cohort. These consumers also have the largest buying power, although they might not be the primary earners of the money, they do influence and conduct most transactions within households. Thus, it is crucial for mobile application vendors to prioritise gaining an understanding this market. Therefore, the primary research objective is to validate if the hypothesised constructs (trust, social influence, perceived mobility, enjoyment, perceived usefulness, ease of use, involvement, and innovativeness) influence customer satisfaction with mobile shopping apps among Generation Y consumers in Cape Town, South Africa. Additionally, this study sought to ascertain if usage (mobile app category, type of device used to access, usage duration, usage frequency, amount spent, and response to marketing communications) and demographic characteristics (employment status, population group, education level, gender, and age) influence customer satisfaction with mobile shopping apps. This study adopted a quantitative data collection approach, which was descriptive in nature. A questionnaire was used to gather the primary data through a combination of online and paper surveys. The paper questionnaires were interviewer-assisted, where the researcher and fieldworkers physically approached respondents and asked them to complete the questionnaires. The online questionnaire was deployed via a link, which was distributed using various channels such as SMS, email, Facebook, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and Peers24 Network from June 2018 to June 2019. The research sample included Generation Y consumers (students, employed and unemployed adults within the age groups 18 to 37 years old) who have engaged with mobile commerce apps and reside in Cape Town. This study achieved a total sample size of 5 497 and was analysed using SPSS and AMOS. Permission to conduct the study and fieldwork was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology Business and Management Sciences Faculty, and participating respondents gave consent prior to participation in the study. The primary research objective for this study was fulfilled in that it was proven that Generation Y mobile commerce users were satisfied with the experience they had received from engaging with mobile commerce apps. The study also found that usage characteristics, as well as certain demographic factors, influenced the level of satisfaction among research participants. Mobile commerce vendors and those yet to adopt mobile shopping apps in developing countries will therefore find the results of this study beneficial in terms of the post-purchase experience insights revealed by this research. This will enable them to offer and adapt their mobile apps to increase customer satisfaction among Generation Y target market groups. Market research insights about this cohort will also enable mobile commerce vendors to continue offering innovations that will not only improve the experience of usage, but also to ultimately retain customers through this channel due to greater customer satisfaction.