A Measure of Service Quality in the
Grocery Stores
Abhishek Kumar
1
, Sumana Chaudhuri
1
, B. C. M Patnaik
1
and Ipseeta Satpathy
1
Abstract
The main purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of the perceived service quality of the
customer within grocery retailing from an Indian perspective. In this dissertation, data were collected
from 403 customers who buy grocery from Big Bazaar and Reliance Fresh during February–July 2017
from Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. A quantitative approach using Statistical Package for the Social Science
(SPSS) version 20 is used, which caters to the exploratory nature of the work. Statistical techniques
such as exploratory factor analysis, multiple regression, t-test and ANOVA have been used to test the
hypotheses and answer the research questions. It can be inferred from this study that consumer behav-
iour is dependent on the demographic factors. Differences were also found with regard to the impact of
service quality on the satisfaction and the loyalty of the customers. This research adds to the study on
service quality in the grocery business of the global market by enriching the content of service quality
dimensions applicable to the Indian grocery sector. Six key dimensions in the grocery sector have been
identified. This will deepen the understanding of the explored factors of service quality, which can then
be applied to the grocery stores.
JEL Classification: C38, L66, L81, O14, M31
Keywords
Service quality, grocery, retail sector
Introduction
Retailing is a type of service activity. The retailer provides the customer with a few essential services.
Those services are: accessible site, convenient working hours, variety of goods, information about the
goods available and quantities that are appropriate (Newman & Cullen, 2002). The retailer is also a part
of the supply chain management that acts as a tie between the producer and the customer in the supply
Original Article
1
School of Management, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.
Corresponding author:
Abhishek Kumar, School of Management, KIIT University, Campus-7, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 751024, India.
E-mails: abhishekkr5@ksom.ac.in
The Indian Economic Journal
1–21
© 2020 Indian Economic Association
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DOI: 10.1177/0019466220937398
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