The influence of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on retail trade customer satisfaction

Abstract

Time and cost efficiency advantages of ICT for organizations have been largely reported in the literature. Notwithstanding, little attention has been given to its influence on customer satisfaction. In this sense, the current paper inquires whether businesses should invest as much as possible on IT, or if they should rather limit such investment to what is strictly necessary. The present empirical work observed a direct relation between the intensity of IT implementation (as perceived by the retailer) and customer satisfaction with such technology. However, as it is shown by the study in different retail activity areas, not all applications are valued the same or used with the same intensity by the customer.