1 Journal of International Business and Management (JIBM) https://rpajournals.com/jibm JIBM Journal of International Business and Management Journal Homepage: https://rpajournals.com/jibm Does the Retail Hypermarket Satisfy Customers? Market Assessment in Malaysia Naila Anwar Chowdhury 1 Ahasanul Haque* 2 Suharni Maulan 3 Department of Business Administration 1,2&3 International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Malaysia 1,2&3 Abstract As competition within the retail industry has intensified, an investigation of the factors that drive customer satisfaction towards hypermarkets has become a burning issue. Customer satisfaction is imperative for attaining organizational sustainability through building long term relationship with customers. Therefore, the current study has been developed to examine the factors that may affect customer satisfaction towards hypermarkets in Malaysia. The study attempts to examine the effects of retailer image, retailer awareness and perceived value on customer satisfaction towards hypermarkets, specifically in the Malaysian setting. In order to obtain these objectives, a conceptual framework has been developed. Data were collected through the distribution of self-structured questionnaires from retail customers located in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Afterwards, data were analysed using SPSS and SEM. The findings unveiled that retailer image, retailer awareness and perceived value have significant effect on customer satisfaction towards hypermarkets. The outcomes of the study will facilitate marketers in devising effective strategies for satisfying customers. From an academic point of view, the study will be a meaningful addition to the literature and aid researchers in undertaking further studies in the future. Keywords: Customer Satisfaction, Retail, Hypermarkets, Malaysia. Introduction The global economy has undergone numerous transformations as a result of the drastic advancements that have taken place in the marketing landscape as well as the emergence of free market policies (Koo, 2003). One of the most important factors that initiated such advancement is perhaps the rise of competition at a global level (Gomaa, 2014). Such competition has altered the current business environment by reducing industrial as well as regulatory barricades and creating a technology dependent community (Essoussi & Merunka, 2007). One of the primary sectors that experienced significant changes due to such developments is the area retailing (Yeng & Yazdanifard, 2015; Smigielska & Oczkowska, 2017). According to Hassan et al. (2013), the progression of the retail industry has been so impressive that it is regarded to be an automatic advancement that is beyond control. Therefore, in order to survive in this competitive industry satisfying customers has become a prerequisite (Scriosteanu & Popescu, 2010). Customer satisfaction has emerged as the ultimate goal RPA Journals Journal of International Business and Management 2(3): 01-12 (2019) Print ISSN: 2616-5163 Online ISSN: 2616-4655 *Corresponding author: Ahasanul Haque Email: ahasanul@iium.edu.my Submission Date: 22 July 2019 Acceptance Date: 18 August 2019 brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by The International Islamic University Malaysia Repository