Exploring e-Loyalty Antecedents in B2C e-Commerce: Empirical results from Italian grocery retailers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the micro-linkages fostering consumers’ e-loyalty in grocery retailers B2C e-commerce context. Specifically, the authors focused on the neglected role of security, privacy and website design. Grocery retailing has been selected as the context of research because grocery retailers too have been required to develop B2C e-commerce platforms to meet their consumers’ evolving preferences. Design/methodology/approach A survey was distributed to several students from University of Florence (Italy). Structural equation modeling was used to compile the research, and its results reflect the impact on e-loyalty development on specific features of the e-commerce environment. Findings The main findings of this research are related with the importance of website characteristics as antecedents of e-loyalty in online grocery retailing. Originality/value Albeit the explored phenomenon has been subject to extensive study, some of its facets are yet to be fully explored. In particular, though the influence of e-trust, e-satisfaction and e-commitment on e-loyalty has been shown, little attention has been paid to the factors affecting these three antecedents of e-loyalty. In this regard, this research focuses on the importance of B2C e-commerce platform characteristics such as security, perceived relationship investment and website design. In addition, the phenomenon was scarcely explored in grocery retailers B2C e-commerce context.