Failure to deliver? Linking online order fulfillment glitches with future purchase behavior

Abstract

This study investigates operations failures in online retailing. Specifically, it examines the relationship between an operations glitch (order fulfillment delay) and subsequent shopping behavior for previously loyal customers in an online retailing environment. Using archival data from a moderate‐sized online retailer of printed material, this study employs expectancy disconfirmation and distributive justice theories to empirically show that adverse post‐glitch reactions are seen in several dimensions of customer shopping behavior – order frequency and order size decrease, while customer anxiety level increases. The study thus demonstrates that online retailers need to deliver on order fulfillment promises, since a failure to live up to these promises can be detrimental. This study is unique in that, unlike previous studies on order fulfillment in online retailing investigating the tie between fulfillment success and future behavior, we examine the repercussions of order fulfillment failures upon future purchase behavior.

A Review of Consumer-Facing Digital Technologies Across Different Types of Fashion Store Formats

“…These range from complex electronic data interchanges (EDI) between the actors involved in the supply chain, inventory management, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, continuous replenishment and on-time delivery of items from the warehouse to the physical store or to the consumer's home (Cho, 2015;Marti, 2015;Bronnenberg & Ellickson, 2015;Milnes, 2015;Fernie & Grant, 2015). Overall, digital capabilities can help design and deliver the best possible customer experience, where online fashion retailers' on-time delivery strongly contributes to consumer satisfaction and repeated purchase intention, also generating positive word of mouth (Rao et al, 2011;Fernie & Grant, 2015;Collier & Bienstock, 2006;Cho, 2015;Dörner & Edelman, 2015).…”

Service Failures and Recovery Strategies in E-tailing: Examining the effects of Product Type and Transaction Frequency

“…If these customers continue purchasing from the same firm, they will be more anxious than other customers who also await their future order delivery. Therefore if the customer decides to forgive the firm, they do not easily forget the failures that happened in the past [4].…”

Assortment Optimization under Consumer Choice Behavior in Online Retailing

“…In addition, other factors such as product misrepresentations and misleading advertisement may intensify the degree of uncertainty. Secondly, shopping-related disutility exists under online shopping environment including waiting time for delivery, order fulfillment glitches (e.g., wrong delivery), and security concerns (e.g., encryption, authentication, and information leaks), which may make customers uncomfortable (Rao et al, 2011;Monsuwé et al, 2004). Compared to offline shopping process, customers have to provide their personal information and have to wait for delivery when they purchase online, which creates a variety of disutility.…”