The Effects of Social Media, E-WOM, and Online Interactions on Customer Loyalty Toward Justincase’s Parcel Delivery Service Through Consumer Trust

Abstract

Reconfigured by the swift advancement of digital technology has been consumer conduct in the quest for information and engagement with service providers, personal shopper services included. Cardinal determinants in the cultivation of customer trust and loyalty have been constituted by social media, electronic word of mouth (e-WOM), and online interaction. Scrutinized by this study are the effects exerted by social media, electronic word of mouth, and online interaction upon customer loyalty, both directly and indirectly via customer trust, within the ambit of the Justincase personal shopping service. A quantitative approach, operationalized through survey methodology, was enlisted. Questionnaires disseminated to 140 Justincase patrons, culled via purposive sampling, constituted the means whereby data were gathered. Data analysis was undertaken by means of Structural Equation Modeling-Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS), a methodology enabled through the application of SmartPLS 4.0. Subsumed within this analytical process were validity and reliability testing, appraisal of both the outer and inner models, and hypothesis testing, the latter effected via bootstrapping procedures. Propitious and consequential effects upon customer trust are exerted by social media, electronic word of mouth, and online interaction. Customer loyalty is appreciably shaped by social media, electronic word of mouth, online interaction, and customer trust. Mediating the influence of social media, electronic word of mouth, and online interaction upon customer loyalty is customer trust. Intimated by these findings is the notion that, through efficacious digital communication, favorable online recommendations, and responsive interactions, customer trust may be fortified, engendering heightened loyalty toward the Justincase personal shopping service.