OPPORTUNITIES IN THE VIRTUAL SUPERMARKET SECTOR - AN ANALYSIS FROM THE CONSUMER'S PERSPECTIVE

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

A lot has happened since the first stores ventured to carry out sales through the Internet. Countless exclusively virtual stores appeared, which proposed to sell only through electronic commerce. Stores that sold in the traditional way also started using this new channel. Electronic auctions and virtual portals appeared.

It is known that several of the stores that were launched on the Internet market no longer exist, others were absorbed by larger stores, others grew and still exist today.

In the initial development phase, it was very difficult to predict what the demand for this new form of purchase would be. E-commerce stores faced problems for not being able to properly estimate sales and plan their operations for large variations in demand, which happened mainly during the Christmas period. The main difficulties faced in e-commerce were related to logistical issues.

Nowadays, with virtual stores a little more consolidated, but still far from operating in a mature market, the main challenges of those who work in e-commerce are still related to efficiency in stock planning, picking, physical distribution, collection of returns , among other items related to virtual retail logistics.

Virtual consumers, in turn, have come to represent the main evaluators and critics of this entire service provision process via the Internet, as they are the end users of B2C e-commerce companies. For them, the bad planning of the companies can be reflected in products that arrive late, or with some kind of damage, or that are simply not delivered.

At each step of the purchase process, voluntarily or involuntarily, consumers evaluate the performance of the stores they use, and this perceived performance can be a decisive factor for the survival of a virtual store, as it may influence the consumer's decision to make new purchases or no more going back to the store.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

The most important theories about customer service state that the consumer will be satisfied if he perceives in the service provided a better performance or equal to the service he expected to receive. The comparison between this perception of performance and the consumer's expectation in relation to each service item will provide the satisfaction gap. The larger this gap, the more dissatisfied the consumer will be with the service provided.

Therefore, it is easy to see that companies that intend to guarantee a service policy that satisfies their consumers need to monitor the service performance perceived by their clients, in addition to seeking to identify the expectations of users for each of the items that make up the order cycle. . This concept is applicable to any type of service provision and, therefore, can be used both for service evaluation in traditional commerce and for the Internet sales channel.

Taking advantage of this theory of service evaluation and seeking to understand the current situation of electronic commerce with regard to the quality of the service provided, a survey was carried out in the first half of 2002 with e-commerce users. The supermarket sector (non-specialized retail that sells products such as food and cleaning products) was chosen as the focus of the analysis.

THE SUPERMARKET SECTOR ON THE INTERNET

The main motivator that led to the choice of the virtual supermarket sector was the peculiar characteristic of these stores, which have a very large portfolio of products, sell quite varied items in the same purchase, offer fragile and refrigerated products such as eggs and ice cream, in addition to products that must be be carefully chosen like fruits and vegetables.

Internet sales require the virtual supermarket to carry out a range of services that, in traditional commerce, are carried out by the consumer himself. Choosing, going to the cashier, packing, putting on a means of transport, taking them home are examples of activities that become the responsibility of the virtual supermarket.

In addition to the large number of services to be performed, the characteristics of the products sold require that, during delivery, the customer, or someone indicated by him, must be present to receive the purchases. This makes it even more important to schedule a time slot for delivery and to meet the promised deadline, as you have to wait for the purchases to arrive at the agreed address. Furthermore, bearing in mind that the products sold are generally of immediate need, the demand for shorter delivery times becomes more evident.

Currently, in Brazil, the main supermarkets selling over the Internet represent chains that already exist in the traditional market, which offer the possibility of shopping over the Web as an optional service. In 2000, the Abras/ACNielsen Ranking recorded that, among the companies that made sales available via the Internet, these sales represented 1,2% of their revenues. If all types of delivery are considered (home delivery, which includes sales both via the Internet and via fax, telephone and catalogue), this percentage rises to 3,4%.

Although it is still a very incipient service, surveys such as that by BCG (Boston Consulting Group) indicate that from 1999 to 2001 there was an increase of more than 150% in revenues from Internet sales in supermarkets in Latin America.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The analysis of the quality of the service provided by virtual supermarkets was carried out by identifying the perceptions and expectations of customers for this type of service. The research sought answers to the following questions:

– What do consumers expect from your virtual supermarkets in different service items (expected service)?

– How do current e-commerce users in the supermarket sector evaluate the performance of the stores they use (perceived service)?

– What is the satisfaction gap (difference between the expected service and the perceived service) in each of the evaluated service items?

Data collection sought to obtain information from people who had already shopped at supermarkets over the Internet at least once. In this way, respondents would be able to assess all stages of the order cycle. In total, 128 people were part of the sample, where 77 answered about their expectations regarding supermarkets (expected service) and 51 evaluated the performance of the virtual supermarket they used most frequently.

The questionnaire was developed with 26 different items that sought to represent all possible service attributes evaluated by the consumer throughout the order cycle. For each item, the respondent was asked to assign a score from 1 to 5 (Likert scale). The higher the score, the higher the expected or perceived quality of service. Thus, those who evaluated the performance of the supermarkets used assigned higher scores to the items in which they perceived good performance. Those who answered about expected service indicated a high score for items that they wanted their virtual supermarkets to perform well.

The comparison between the average perceived performance and the average expected performance, in each evaluated service item, would indicate the satisfaction gap.

RESULTS OBTAINED

– Expected service and Perceived service

Figure 1 shows the service attributes evaluated in the survey. The lighter line in the graph indicates the average performance of virtual supermarkets, as perceived by respondents. The darker line indicates the desirable grade (expected service) by those who shop at Internet supermarkets. Items are ordered according to these expectations.

In general, the results represented in the figure indicate that virtual consumers are quite demanding and expect to receive a high level of service from their electronic supermarkets. This conclusion can be confirmed by calculating the average expectation of buyers, which was around 4,2, on a scale of 1 to 5. For some specific items, however, users of virtual supermarkets are more tolerant, but for others, the requirement is even greater than the calculated average, and any oversight in the quality of service of these items could severely frustrate the buyer.

It appears that the most important service attributes for the interviewed consumers are related to the accuracy and physical condition of the delivered products. It is extremely understandable that these have been the items most expected by users of virtual supermarkets, as they are basic items in any commercial relationship. Those who buy essentially want to buy the chosen products in good condition. And because this is the essence of a buying and selling relationship, the customer is demanding about the conditions of the product before being demanding about any additional service that the company can provide.

Still commenting in a general way on the results presented in Figure 1, it is clearly verified that, in most of the evaluated attributes, there are gaps (differences) between the expected service and the perceived service. The greater the gap, the greater the distance between the service that the buyer would like to receive and the performance that he is actually perceiving from his virtual supermarket, that is, the further away the supermarket is from the expectations of its consumers.

– Identification of opportunities

Methodologies for analysis of service attributes state that the joint observation of the items considered most important and the items that present the greatest satisfaction gap can indicate to the service provider the main opportunities for improvement. Figure 2 presents a matrix that indicates, on the X axis, the service expected by virtual consumers and, on the Y axis, the gap between the expected service and the perceived service. It is noteworthy that the expected service can also be called consumer expectation, which is equivalent to the importance that the consumer attributes to each service item.

It is easy to see that the items that must be prioritized to outline a strategy for improving customer services are located in the quadrants where the satisfaction gap is greatest and where the expected service is highest. In Figure 2, this quadrant is highlighted and is located in the upper right corner of the matrix.

An analysis of this quadrant, where the service items that can generate greater improvement opportunities for companies are located, shows that it is possible to group these priority items into 5 large blocks.

The first one is related to products. It appears that the websites of virtual supermarkets are allowing buyers to choose products that are not available for delivery. These missing products are replaced by similar ones and these changes are not always communicated satisfactorily. When they receive products at the agreed location, consumers would like to return items upon delivery, but this is not always possible. There are some ways to improve this issue, which is mainly related to the availability of the products presented on the site. The best example of how to do this is through the use of information technology, which can help to constantly update the site, in order to allow only the products that are actually available for delivery to be displayed on the Web.

The second block of priorities is related to agility in purchasing. This agility is represented by fast navigation and the ease of finding products on the site. These are items considered very important by users, but the performance of supermarkets has not yet reached the expectations of internet shoppers. In order to increase the speed in making purchases, it is observed that websites have improved their search systems, enabling the search for different products simultaneously through data entry similar to a shopping list. Even so, virtual buyers indicate that it is necessary to facilitate the location of products and the speed of navigation.

The third group of improvement priorities deals with delivery convenience. The item identified as a priority is related to scheduling a time to receive purchases. Improving this item means allowing the buyer to spend less time waiting for the products to arrive. It is known, however, that reducing this scheduled delivery range is not a simple task, as in addition to promising, it is necessary to meet the estimated time. Promising more than can be done will leave the consumer much more dissatisfied with the service provided.

Currently, the main virtual supermarkets usually schedule a time slot that can vary from 4 to 12 hours. One way to be able to establish and comply with shorter delivery times is to seek to increase the accuracy of the demand forecast. Even so, in order to guarantee tighter delivery periods, it may be necessary to increase the collection and distribution team, also increasing the costs of the virtual supermarket. One of the solutions found by supermarkets to offset these additional costs and at the same time offer shorter delivery times is to charge the customer an additional price for this optional service, known as appointment.

The solution of increasing prices and fees, however, must be analyzed carefully, considering that the price directly influences the demand. It is also verified that, in the perception of users of virtual supermarkets, the total price of services and products has been higher than what is considered reasonable, causing a high gap between what the consumer expects to pay and the price that the supermarkets are practicing. See that in Figure 2, questions related to price and fees are located in the quadrant of greater opportunities for action, which indicates that this is an important item for the client at the same time that the gap is high.

Finally, still in the quadrant that points out the items to be improved as a matter of priority, there is the supermarket owner's ability to solve problems that arise throughout the order cycle. It is often difficult to prevent errors from occurring in the process and for this reason it is necessary to be prompt and agile in solving problems that may occur. Predicting possible errors and anticipating solutions is a very effective way to make a customer satisfied, even if there was a problem in the purchase process.

– Loyal customers and defecting customers

Understanding the reasons that led consumers to stop shopping at a particular store can help a company a lot to prevent this from happening again and again.

The research carried out clearly shows that those consumers who are unlikely to return to the virtual supermarket they used were dissatisfied with the service they received.

The average gap of those who will buy again and the average gap of those who will no longer buy online at the store they used is quite discrepant (see Figure 3). Considering all the items evaluated, the gap of defecting customers, which represents an indicator of dissatisfaction, is twice that of customers who will repeat purchases. This means that the shopping experience of some was considered much worse than others.

Among the reasons for not returning to the virtual supermarket, the main one is related to the prices and fees charged, which were considered too high (32% of respondents who probably will not buy again spontaneously cited this reason). This means, in a cost-benefit analysis, that the value added by the additional delivery service was not enough to offset the prices charged. Several of the defecting customers mentioned that the service still needs to improve, mainly in specific points such as lack of products, flexibility of delivery times and problems on the site.

For those who will continue to shop, the main advantage is time savings. It seems, however, that the time spent on the Internet is an advantage for some and a disadvantage for others, as several of those who will not return to the virtual supermarket mentioned that they spend more time shopping on the Web than in traditional shopping. Loyal customers, on the other hand, find it quick, easy and convenient to buy over the Internet, in addition to being satisfied with the service provided.

CONCLUSION

Providing a sales service over the Internet means that the supermarket owner assumes a series of activities that do not exist in a traditional store. Leaving the consumer satisfied with this new provision of service is not an easy task, however, it is extremely necessary in order to win and keep customers.

And for it to be possible to guarantee a good quality of service on the Web, it is necessary to monitor the perception of the virtual consumer, in order to identify the most important items and constantly check the customer satisfaction rates.

The research presented throughout this article identified that in several items the consumer is quite demanding and expects to receive an even better service than their virtual supermarkets practice. The existence of these satisfaction gaps, however, indicates opportunities for improvement for those supermarkets that seek to improve their sales service via the Web and differentiate themselves based on a service policy that adapts to customer expectations.

Saving time is the main advantage of the virtual supermarket, in the perception of loyal customers. In this way, making the purchase process more agile and reducing the time slot scheduled for delivery can further help to attract and retain customers. However, it is also necessary to prioritize important items, identified as problems in the purchase process, such as the occurrence of lack of products, considered high by consumers.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that the service quality analysis methodology presented here can be applied in different sectors, traditional or virtual, and it is only necessary to adapt the evaluated service items to better adapt to the reality of each type of activity.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Online Retailing in Latin America 3.0: Breaking Constraints. BCG – The Boston Consulting Group. November, 2001.

HIJJAR, MF. External Diagnosis of the Logistics System: using customer service surveys to identify opportunities for improvement. Tecnologística Magazine, ANO VI, No. 70, September, 2001.

FLEURY, PF; FIGUEIREDO, KF; WANKE, P.. Business Logistics – The Brazilian Perspective. COPPEAD Administration Collection. Atlas, Sao Paulo, 2000.

PARASURAMAN, A.; ZEITHAML, VA; BERRY, L.. “SERVQUAL: a multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of quality”. Journal of Retailing, Spring, 1988.