Title: Gaining loyalty towards mobile food purchasing service: a lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic

Authors: Dwi Suhartanto; David Dean; Norazah Mohd Suki; Anthony Brien; Fatya Alty Amalia

Addresses: Department of Business Administration, Politeknik Negeri Bandung, Jl. Gegerkalong Hilir, Ciwaruga, Kec. Parongpong, Kabupaten Bandung Barat, Jawa Barat 40559, Indonesia ' Department of Agribusiness and Markets, Lincoln University, 85084 Ellesmere Junction Road, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand ' Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate School of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok, 06010 Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kedah, Malaysia ' Department of Agribusiness and Markets, Lincoln University, 85084 Ellesmere Junction Road, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand ' Department of Business Administration, Politeknik Negeri Bandung, Jl. Gegerkalong Hilir, Ciwaruga, Kec. Parongpong, Kabupaten Bandung Barat, Jawa Barat 40559, Indonesia

Abstract: While many consumers shifted to mobile food purchasing (MFP) during the COVID-19 pandemic, their loyalty toward MFP still has not been well-explicated. This study examined factors influencing consumer loyalty toward MFP during the pandemic data via an online survey from 440 consumers in Bandung, Indonesia. Partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to investigate the hypothesised associations which highlight two key points. Firstly, that food quality and mobile service quality were influential in shaping consumers' satisfaction and trust in MFP services during a pandemic and secondly, that MFP service providers should focus on the quality of both food and mobile service to gain loyalty. A significant and surprising finding in this research is that customers have an extremely high level of trust in businesses to produce safe food during a pandemic. This study contributes to adding the application of the quality-satisfaction-loyalty model in the context of MFP services.

Keywords: mobile loyalty; satisfaction; perceived health risk; trust; COVID-19.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTMKT.2023.133975

International Journal of Technology Marketing, 2023 Vol.17 No.4, pp.363 - 377

Received: 02 Jun 2022
Accepted: 30 Dec 2022
Published online: 06 Oct 2023 *

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