Measuring Retail Service Quality in Nigerian Departmental Stores

Abstract

The Nigerian economy is experiencing a boom in the retail sector of Departmental Stores. The sector is becoming increasingly competitive with the entry of foreign and multinational retail stores. Extant literature indicates that loyalty of the customers can be maintained with service quality. Consequently, the current study attempts to measure service quality among Nigerian departmental stores using Dabholkar, Thorpe & Renz (1996) Retail Service Quality Scale (RSQS) instrument to gauge customers’ satisfaction with the retail service quality in the Nigerian Retail sector. Four hundred and seventy eight customers of three major departmental stores in central Lagos, Nigeria were used for the study. Data generated was analyzed using factor analysis, correlation and hierarchical regression analysis to test the relationships of the five dimensions of RSQS and customer satisfaction. The study found RSQS to be a useful tool for evaluating retail service quality in retail sector of departmental stores. Physical dimension, reliability, personal interaction and problem solving were also found to significantly affect customers’ satisfaction, while policy was found not to have similar effect within the Nigerian environment.

Keywords: Retailing, Service quality, Retail Service Quality Scale, Departmental Stores, Reliability, Customers Satisfaction, Personal Interaction, Service Performance Scale, Physical Aspect