A Study on the Online Shopping Service Selection Factors for Service Quality Management : Focused on Delivery of Fresh Food

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the online fresh food market has been rapidly growing due to the establishment of a non-contact consumption culture, the development of fast delivery systems based on cold chain technology, and the advancement of internet and communication technology (ICT). Consequently, there has been increasing interest in improving delivery services for online fresh food shopping. This study aims to explore detailed service quality factors influencing consumers’ choice of online shopping malls when purchasing fresh food, with a focus on delivery service quality, and to derive directions for improvement. To this end, a survey was conducted through MicroMill Embrain, a professional marketing research agency, targeting 320 consumers residing in the Seoul metropolitan area (Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi) who had purchased fresh food within the past six months. To measure service quality, 7 dimensions and 23 detailed factors were established based on prior research and expert consultations. SERVQUAL-Gap analysis was conducted to assess the gap between expected and perceived service for each detailed factor, KANO analysis was performed to classify quality attributes, and Customer Satisfaction Coefficient (CS Coefficient) matrix analysis was used to identify key areas for improvement. These analyses were integrated to perform a SERVQUAL-KANO integrated analysis. The results identified six priority factors for improvement, including fresh food quality, ease of exchange/refunded, and thresholds for free delivery, while two factors, such as 7-day delivery, were identified as needing development as differentiated services. Unlike previous studies, this study enhanced the SERVQUAL-KANO integrated analysis by adding a process to compress the initially selected 20 improvement items into 6 through CS Coefficient analysis, exploring a practical approach applicable to service quality management. The findings of this study are expected to contribute to online shopping companies’ strategies for enhancing services and expanding their market through improved service quality management.