149 © 2022 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. CONSUMER PERCEPTION, ONLINE RETAILING AND THE NIGERIAN EXPERIENCE: AN INTERCHANGE OF DEMOGRAPHIC PATTERNS AND SERVICE QUALITY Anthony Okoeguale 1+ Pius Onobhayedo 2 1,2 School of Media and Communication, Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria. 1 Email: aokoeguale@pau.edu.ng Tel: +2348038638757 2 Email: ponobhayedo@pau.edu.ng Tel: +2348102915377 (+ Corresponding author) ABSTRACT Article History Received: 2 July 2021 Revised: 18 March 2022 Accepted: 7 April 2022 Published: 29 April 2022 Keywords Service quality Online retail E-commerce Nigeria Customer Perception. Customer perception has earned a lot of interest in recent times as a tool for assessing service quality in service-oriented organizations. Although numerous studies have addressed customers’ perceptions of service quality in traditional service settings, a relatively small volume of literature has empirically examined service quality issues in the online retailing environment. In the case of Nigeria, there is no known research relating to perceived service quality of online retailers. To address this knowledge gap, the consumer perception of the online retail sector in Nigeria was studied. The expectation theory, the electronic service quality model, and the electronic recovery service quality model served as the theoretical foundations on which this study is based. The methodology involved the use of a descriptive survey method to assess the perceived service quality of the online retail sector and the effect of selected demographic factors on customer perception. The study was conducted with a sample size of 300 respondents. The results revealed that the perceived service quality of the online retail sector in Nigeria is above average but has room for improvement. The study also showed that customer perception was not affected by the demographic factors that this research focused on. Contribution/Originality: This study is one of very few studies that have investigated the service quality of the online retail sector in Nigeria. The results will inspire online retailers to maintain a consistent assessment of their service offerings. 1. INTRODUCTION Online retailing has revolutionized the retailing milieu since the first purchase was made on the US site, NetMarket, about two decades ago. Now, online purchases can be made in the comfort of the office or home at the click of a button. Technology has played a huge role in the extensive development of e-retailing over the years as brands comprehend that the information that they hold on their consumers is crucial for producing improved and customized experiences. Online retailers are leveraging technology to translate “touch and feel” attributes into “look and see” attributes (Weitz, Kraft, & Murali, 2010). According to Yoo & Donthu (2001), internet-based transactions are increasing in their significance as internet shopping sites may be progressively replacing conventional retailing channels. Matic & Vojvodic (2013) agree with this, stating that online retailing is the fastest growing sector in e-commerce worldwide. Online retailing is relatively new in Nigeria. The pioneer brands, Konga and Jumia, were launched in 2012 Euromonitor International (2014). Since then, the online retail sector has stabilized in Nigeria probably due to the Humanities and Social Sciences Letters 2022 Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 149-160. ISSN(e): 2312-4318 ISSN(p): 2312-5659 DOI: 10.18488/73.v10i2.2980 © 2022 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved.