From Cart to Contentment: A Study on What Shapes Customer Satisfaction in Online Shopping

From Cart to Contentment: A Study on What Shapes Customer Satisfaction in Online Shopping

Noorayuni Rusli., Muhammad Izzuddin Abd Azis., Nor Hazira Mohamad Hasri

Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies, University Teknologi MARA, Kedah Branch, Sungai Petani Campus

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.90900099

Received: 23 August 2025; Accepted: 29 August 2025; Published: 30 September 2025

ABSTRACT

This article explores the determinants of online shopping among adolescents. With the rapid digitalization occurring not only in Malaysia but globally, internet usage has expanded beyond mere information searching to become an essential platform for shopping, entertainment, and social interaction. Therefore, service providers and online sellers must understand the factors that influence customer satisfaction. Identifying these factors is vital to improving service quality, enhancing user experience, and ensuring long-term customer loyalty in the highly competitive online marketplace. A quantitative method was employed among adolescents to identify the factors, and the results were analysed by using the SPSS software package to test the hypothesis, which will be used by related parties for further understanding.

Keywords: Customer satisfaction, online shopping, adolescence, digitalization, internet

INTRODUCTION

The success of any online business mostly hinges on the degree of customer satisfaction. In any enterprise, clients are regarded as the foremost focus, with profits ensuing as a consequence. Organizations that effectively fulfil their consumers’ needs frequently retain a dominant position in their respective markets. In the current competitive online company landscape, client happiness is acknowledged as a vital element for improving business prospects and increasing market value. A substantial rate of customer retention and repeat purchases is sometimes regarded as a sign of superior organizational performance (Khadka & Maharjan, 2017).

Customer satisfaction is typically viewed as the result of a customer’s assessment of a product or service following its purchase and utilization. It is characterized as a favourable outcome resulting from the comparison of anticipated service quality with the actual performance delivered (Rita et al., 2019). Satisfaction denotes an individual’s feeling of pleasure or disappointment resulting from the comparison of product performance against previous expectations. Dissatisfaction arises when actual performance does not meet expectations (Giao et al., 2020; To et al., 2020; Schirmer et al., 2018). This notion of customer satisfaction underscores the necessity for businesses to continually guarantee that their products and services not only meet but preferably surpass client expectations.

In addition, customer satisfaction results from the comparison of expectations and experiences, specifically, a consumer feels happy when the delivery matches or surpasses their expectations. The effectiveness of market concept execution is predominantly influenced by customer happiness and loyalty. Satisfied customers will repurchase if the service provider meets or exceeds their expectations (Vasic et al., 2019). Therefore, the researcher needs to determine the determinants of consumer happiness, since they establish the corporate benchmark and provide guidance for future enhancements.

LITERATURE REVIEW

The swift advancement of e-commerce has revolutionized customer purchasing behaviour by offering enhanced ease, diverse product options, and improved accessibility. Nonetheless, despite these benefits, consumer satisfaction continues to be a significant issue, especially in Malaysia. A recent survey by Blackbox Research and Toluna (2020) indicated that 43% of Malaysian consumers were dissatisfied with their online shopping experience, citing delivery time, delivery charges, and product prices as the main issues. Joo and Teng (2023) noted that the rise in e-commerce during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period has heightened consumer awareness of deficiencies in online retail services. Together with delivery and pricing challenges, variations in product quality, insufficient credible product information, concealed expenses, and security difficulties, including scams and data privacy hazards, have been demonstrated to diminish consumer satisfaction.

These ongoing issues adversely impact customer satisfaction and undermine consumer trust and loyalty, jeopardizing the long-term viability of online enterprises (Lim et al., 2022).

Figure 2.1: E-commerce Income and Expenditure in Malaysia (2015-2023)

Source: Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), 2023

The Malaysian e-commerce business has undergone substantial expansion in the last decade, propelled by swift digital adoption, favourable government legislation, and heightened customer dependence on online platforms. Based on the Figure 2.1 above, Malaysia’s e-commerce revenue in 2015 was RM398.2 billion, which increased to RM1,126.9 billion by 2022, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of almost 16% (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2023). E-commerce expenditure rose from RM195.1 billion in 2015 to RM531.6 billion in 2022, indicating an escalation in corporate investment in digital commerce. Recent estimates indicate that total e-commerce revenue for 2023 exceeded RM1.2 trillion, bolstered by persistent consumer demand and the pre-eminence of platforms like Shopee and Lazada (The Star, 2024; Statista, 2024). In 2023, mobile commerce constituted over 76% of online transactions, underscoring the nation’s mobile-first digital environment (Verified Market Research, 2024). These advancements highlight Malaysia’s status as one of Southeast Asia’s most rapidly expanding e-commerce sectors.

With the rapid growth of online shopping, there is an increasing need for context-specific studies that focus on the Malaysian environment. This study aims to investigate the determinants of customer satisfaction with online shopping among adolescents in Malaysia, with particular emphasis on four key dimensions: digital platform functionality, product quality, delivery services, and product price. By examining these factors, the study seeks to provide deeper insights into the online shopping behaviours of Malaysian adolescents and to highlight the critical elements that influence their overall satisfaction.

Digital Platform Functionality

Tandon, Kiran, and Sah (2017) defined website functionality as the degree to which a website runs according to its intended design and meets user expectations.  Given the substantial expansion of online commerce in India during the early 2000s, the researchers aimed to identify the principal determinants driving this trend, particularly in light of the scant research on this subject in India relative to Western countries like the United States.  The research concentrated on three primary variables: online functionality, perceived usability, and perceived usefulness.  The poll done among Indian consumers indicated a favourable correlation between website functionality and customer happiness, with navigation and website design identified as the most significant aspects.  The results demonstrated that participants prioritize readily available and pertinent information, with limited graphical elements, hyperlinks, and disorganized layouts.  The study revealed that perceived usefulness positively influences customer satisfaction, but perceived usability has a negative correlation, diverging from prior research findings.

The digital platform interactivity substantially affects user engagement with products on online platforms. Study reveals that respondents preferred perception-based interaction, characterized by the customer’s perception and attitude shaped by the extent of user control and real-time response from the seller, both of which influence purchase decisions. The poll conducted both online and offline in India indicated that 16% of respondents recognized that website interactivity influenced their purchasing intentions from a particular website. The researchers suggested that the relatively low percentage may stem from users’ inadequate time and patience. The study highlighted that feature-oriented web interactivity, such as the availability of product images, room views, and relevant product information, can significantly enhance customer happiness. These interactive components aid consumers in making more educated purchasing decisions and bolster their faith in the product. Therefore, attentive action should be taken when the number of online customers increases, the functionality and interactivity of websites must be enhanced to sustain high levels of customer satisfaction (Sharma et al., 2019).

Product Quality

Product quality is recognized as a fundamental characteristic for attaining consumer happiness. Hoe et al. (2018), referencing Waters and Waters (2008), define product quality as the capacity of a product to fulfil or beyond consumer expectations. Their research underscores that quality is a vital determinant for attaining substantial organizational profitability and enduring viability. Product quality is comprehensively categorized into four dimensions: excellence, value for money, compliance with specifications, and the capacity to meet or beyond consumer expectations. These dimensions underscore the need to provide products that meet both functional and perceived quality criteria, hence enhancing consumer happiness and loyalty.

Rachman et al. (2018) define product quality as the capacity of a product to fulfil its intended function, encompassing characteristics such as durability, reliability, precision, user-friendliness, and reparability. Product quality is the characteristics of a product or service that ascertain its ability to fulfil the stated or inferred expectations of consumers. Kotler and Armstrong (2003) asserted that product quality is a vital consideration for marketers in product promotion. Product quality is predominantly influenced by consumer expectations, necessitating that companies emphasize quality control to improve profitability. Rachman et al. (2018) found that product quality positively influences consumer satisfaction. This indicates that exceptional, resilient, and aesthetically pleasing product quality results in elevated consumer satisfaction. Thus, product quality is a paramount factor in customers’ assessment of their happiness with products or services.

Delivery Services

Fadilah Siali et al. (2018) emphasized that delivery services play a significant role in shaping customer satisfaction, as the delivery stage often constitutes the longest interaction between the retailer and the consumer. Their study investigated the determinants of client satisfaction within the e-commerce delivery sector and found that assurance was the most influential factor. Assurance refers to the customer’s trust and confidence in the delivery provider’s ability to effectively transport products to their homes. This encompasses the competencies and professionalism of delivery personnel, their responsiveness in addressing issues, and their overall reliability in managing the delivery process. Establishing such trust is critical, as it directly affects customers’ willingness to use the service again in the future. Similarly, Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and Berry’s (1988) SERVQUAL model also highlighted assurance as a key service quality dimension influencing customer perceptions. Reliability emerged as the second most important factor in Fadilah Siali et al.’s (2018) study, relating to the provider’s capacity to deliver services accurately and consistently without errors. This finding is consistent with prior research, such as that of Cui, Zhang, and Qin (2020), who found that reliability is a central determinant of online shoppers’ loyalty in logistics services. In addition, studies in other contexts (e.g., Rao et al., 2011; Jin et al., 2018) reaffirm that both assurance and reliability remain fundamental drivers of satisfaction in service delivery, indicating that these factors are universally critical across different e-commerce markets.

Product Price

Price is universally acknowledged as a vital aspect affecting customer happiness in online retail. Kotler and Armstrong (2017) assert that pricing signifies not only the monetary worth of a thing but also acts as a gauge of product quality, particularly in online buying where consumers are unable to physically evaluate the item prior to purchase. Competitive and transparent pricing procedures substantially enhance consumer views and satisfaction, while concealed expenses or exorbitant pricing frequently result in discontent and diminished customer trust (Lim et al., 2022).

Moreover, pricing appropriateness and equity are crucial in influencing customer satisfaction and purchasing inclinations. According to Pribanus Wantara and Muhammad Tambrin (2019), when customers believe that the price they pay corresponds to the value and advantages received, it results in greater satisfaction and enhances the probability of repeat purchases. Positive emotions stemming from a fair price experience increase consumer loyalty, whereas disappointment from perceived unfair pricing may deter future purchases. Their findings indicated that pricing greatly affects customer happiness, especially when price changes align with product quality and advantages.

Zehir et al. (2020) underscored the significance of pricing fairness in the competitive e-commerce landscape, where consumers may readily compare costs across many platforms. Providing competitive, clear, and equitable pricing is a strategic method for online retailers to cultivate customer trust and happiness, hence promoting repeat purchases and enduring loyalty. In conclusion, pricing, encompassing price justice, discounts, and price appropriateness, significantly impacts customer happiness in online buying. Aligning pricing strategies with consumer expectations and perceived product value is crucial for improving satisfaction and fostering customer loyalty.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This study focused on adolescents, specifically students aged 19-24 years old who studied at University Technology MARA, Kedah Branch. Cluster sampling was chosen among selected respondents from Diploma and Degree programs. A total of 130 Google Form questionnaires were distributed. From the target group, 10 students were randomly chosen from each program. SPSS Software package was used to present research data graphically and to test the hypothesis.

Analysis and Findings

The findings of this research are accessible in three primary phases, the screening questions, the discovery of factors influencing customer satisfaction with online purchasing, and the assessment of the most significant contributing factor.  The analysis indicated that over 90% of respondents concurred that price competition, particularly when online product prices are much lower than those in brick-and-mortar establishments, is the primary determinant of customer happiness in online purchasing.  This corresponds with significant previous research emphasizing the pivotal role of pricing in influencing consumer happiness.  Sheehan et al. (2019) investigated the correlation between price reductions and consumer happiness, observing that discounts may increase the appeal of a purchase but can also create uncertainty about product quality.  Their findings indicate that consumers might correlate significant price reductions with diminished product quality due to prior experiences, which might eventually affect their happiness and future purchasing intentions.  Consequently, although competitive pricing is a significant incentive for customers to participate in online shopping, it is crucial to recognize that excessively low costs may raise concerns over product reliability, potentially jeopardizing long-term customer happiness.

CONCLUSION

A variety of motivational variables compel consumers to participate in online buying, many of which are intricately connected to the drivers of customer satisfaction previously addressed.  This research identified that customers’ purchasing decisions are influenced by a combination of functional, psychological, and experiential variables.  Time efficiency emerged as the primary incentive, as online shopping provides consumers the convenience of acquiring things without temporal or locational constraints (Smith & Johnson, 2020).  Besides time efficiency, several other notable motivators were emphasized.  This encompasses the accessibility of extensive product information, the convenience of 24/7 shopping, exposure to a diverse array of products and brands, competitive pricing, appealing online promotions and discounts, a straightforward and user-friendly ordering process, and the enjoyment derived from the online shopping experience (Chen & Dubinsky, 2003; Lim et al., 2021).

Nonetheless, despite these benefits, specific deterrent factors persist in dissuading certain consumers from wholly adopting online buying.  Significant issues encompass the security and dependability of online payment systems, privacy concerns regarding personal data, delays in product delivery, delivery inaccuracies or product discrepancies, convoluted or inadequate return and refund policies, and the lack of personalized customer service, which persists as a limitation for numerous online shopping platforms (Katawetawaraks & Wang, 2011; Hassan et al., 2019).  These findings underscore that although online shopping offers unquestionable convenience and a wider array of product options, consumer satisfaction and engagement are profoundly affected by the efficacy with which e-commerce firms manage these issues.

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