A survey into factors that influence customer satisfaction in supermarkets within Nakuru town, Kenya
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Date
2013-01-03
Authors
Mutua, Sarah W.
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Abstract
Customers' satisfaction has been shown to lead to increased profitability and customer retention which is a key performance indicator for any business. In a competitive market place where businesses compete for customers, customer satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator and increasingly has become a key factor of business strategy. Customer satisfaction is critical for service industries to be successful in today's competitive business environment. In the past decades, in-depth studies on customer satisfaction have been in banking, health care, mobile phones and hotel industry. However, only a few studies on customer satisfaction are related to the rapidly expanding supermarket industry locally. Supermarkets in Kenya operate in a very stiff competitive environment and must, therefore focus on customer satisfaction to maintain a competitive edge. The overall objective of this study was to survey factors that influence customer satisfaction in supermarkets in Nakuru town. The specific objectives of the study were to identify customer satisfaction(CS) practices of Gilanis supermarket; to find out the extent to which customers of Gilanis supermarket are satisfied with the services offered; to analyze how each of the five
SERVQUAL determinants influence customer satisfaction in Gilanis supermarket; and to identify strategies for customer satisfaction in Gilanis Supermarket. This study employed descriptive survey design. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select a total of 10 customers per day for seven days in one week to take part in the study. Hence a total of 70 participants were recruited into the study. The study was limited to Gilanis supermarket in Nakuru town, one of the oldest supermarkets.
A questionnaire was used to collect data for the study. Validity and reliability was enhanced through piloting of the Questionnaire. Data was analyzed quantitatively using statistical software MS Excel and SPSS package. The findings were reported using frequency distribution tables, bar graphs and narrations. The results indicated that responsiveness dimension is major factor wanting in retail store. Supermarkets managers should therefore empower employees with customer-employee relation skills through training. Reliability dimension also contributes a big percentage of customer satisfaction. Thus managers should direct both human and monetary resources in attributes such as 'to feel safe in traction', 'individual attention,' and 'willingness of staff to help customers' to increase customer satisfaction.
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Department of Business Administration