Evaluation of Retail Service Quality by Using RSQS Model: A Case Study on Big Bazaar Hypermarkets in NCT of Delhi (India).

Abstract

Service quality is a major area of attention for researchers. It has a strong impact on cost, customer satisfaction, loyalty and profitability. In retailing, the perception of service quality is different from other service environments. In retail stores there is a mix of product and service; retailers are likely to have more impact on service quality than that of product quality. Thus service quality plays a significant role in creating quality perception. Retail service quality is also associated with future consumption behavior in terms of the customer’s intention to visit, purchase and recommendations to others. Hence, it is important for the retail managers to evaluate retail service quality in the stores.The purpose of this research paper is to find out how customers perceive the overall retail service quality in Big Bazaar hypermarkets in National Capital Territory of Delhi (India). Big Bazaar is the largest hypermarket chain in India. Big Bazaar is an agglomeration of bazaars offering a wide range of merchandise including fashion and apparel, food product, general merchandise, furniture, electronic, book, fast food and leisure and entertainment. Hence it is ideal for our study.The main theoretical model adopted for measuring the retail service quality was the Retail Service Quality Scale (RSQS) which is a 28 item scale with five dimensions: Physical Aspect, Reliability, Personal Interaction, Problem Solving and Policy developed by Dabholkar, Thorpe and Rentz (1996) in the U.S. and considered valid across a variety of formats and cultural contexts. Methodologically, the study was a cross-sectional case survey conducted with the help of structured questionnaire. A survey of 125 shoppers in hypermarkets of Big Bazaar in five different zones of NCT of Delhi was conducted. Responses were measured on a five-point Likert scale. Demographic information like gender, age, marital status, employment status, education level and income was also collected. Additional three questions pertaining to the customer’s future intentions to shop, purchase and recommend the stores were also included. The analysis part included descriptive and statistical analysis. The gap analysis model was used to examine how consumers perceive service quality in Big Bazaar hypermarkets. Through the correlation analysis, it was verified that retail service quality is associated with future consumption behaviour.