Gaining loyalty towards mobile food purchasing service: a lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

While many consumers shifted to mobile food purchasing (MFP) during the COVID-19 pandemic, their loyalty toward MFP still has not been well-explicated. This study examined factors influencing consumer loyalty toward MFP during the pandemic data via an online survey from 440 consumers in Bandung, Indonesia. Partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to investigate the hypothesised associations which highlight two key points. Firstly, that food quality and mobile service quality were influential in shaping consumers' satisfaction and trust in MFP services during a pandemic and secondly, that MFP service providers should focus on the quality of both food and mobile service to gain loyalty. A significant and surprising finding in this research is that customers have an extremely high level of trust in businesses to produce safe food during a pandemic. This study contributes to adding the application of the quality-satisfaction-loyalty model in the context of MFP services