The Future of Organic Retailing Stores: A Customer Satisfaction Survey

Summary

This study analyses the impact of customer satisfaction on economic success considering as an example the organic food retail trade. In addition, the influence of customer satisfaction on customer loyalty is examined. The study is based on 885 customer interviews and an analysis of management ratios of 11 organic food shops. The results show that customer satisfaction is a relevant key to economic success. Regression analysis results show, that some 45 % of sales per m² can be explained by the overall satisfaction of customers. The collateral inquiry of customer and shop data allows the confirmation of an essential economic effect. A further analysis identifies the quality of goods, information and service, the atmosphere, the price-performance ratio and the trust in employees as main determinants of customer satisfaction. In a second step the influence of customer satisfaction on the willingness to change shops is analysed. The results of an online survey among 170 customers show that customer satisfaction and commitment are necessary preconditions for the economic success of small organic food shops, but they are not sufficient to explain customer loyalty.