Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction in China’s Retail Chains: A Case Study of Mixue’s Offline Store

By 2023, China’s tea beverage market exceeded RMB 140 billion, with future growth driven by domestic brands and ‎shifting consumer preferences. In a competitive landscape with limited price and product differentiation, service quality ‎becomes a key driver of business success. This study examines the role of offline service quality in driving customer ‎satisfaction at Mixue, a leading domestic chain with over 30,000 stores nationwide. Using the American Customer ‎Satisfaction Index and expectancy confirmation theory, the research examines four dimensions: environment, personnel, ‎process, and product quality. Data were gathered through a survey of 87 customers at a Mixue store in Henan Province and ‎analyzed using SPSS for reliability and structural equation modeling. Results show that perceived quality and ‎confirmation significantly affect customer satisfaction, while initial expectations had a limited direct effect. Notably, ‎younger customers placed greater emphasis on staff friendliness and interaction, whereas frequent visitors prioritised speed ‎and convenience over interpersonal service. These results underscore the importance of segment-specific service ‎strategies in the retail beverage sector. By linking Western service quality models to Chinese retail practices, this study ‎offers practical recommendations for improving operational consistency, enhancing employee training, and maintaining ‎product reliability to sustain customer satisfaction and loyalty‎.