Is My Grocery Safe? Effect of Perceived Service Safety on Safety Satisfaction and Overall Customer Satisfaction
(A2021-94189)

AUTHORS

Magnus Söderlund, Stockholm School of Economics; Reema Singh, Stockholm School of Economics

ABSTRACT

In the wake of the current pandemic, safety has become a key concern for customers, and they are evaluating the safety measures taken by the retailer. There is an urgent need for the safety measures taken by the retailers in terms of product safety, safety from infection, customers' safety while maintaining customers' financial, privacy, and environmental safety. In our study, we view safety along the lines of Maslow's need for safety and define it as a subjective psychological state characterized by the feeling of being protected from what causes hurt, injury, or loss. Moreover, we assume that perceived safety can be conceptualized in terms of a set of subdomains and establish that customers' satisfaction with the safety measures taken by the retailer influence customers' satisfaction with the retailer. Safety as a construct in customer satisfaction assessments is missing from the existing services and retailing literature. Hence our study is among the first in services and retailing literature to introduce perceived service safety and safety satisfaction and its effect on overall customer satisfaction.