Digital Convenience as a Determinant of Customer Affinity among Women Users of Urban Quick Commerce Platforms
Soundharya P1
1Research Scholar, Department of Management Studies, Chennai, India
1Vels Institute of Science Technology and Advanced Studies (VISTAS)
1soundharyasp33@gmail.com
Dr G Madhumita2
2Professor, Department of Management Studies, Chennai, India
2Vels Institute of Science Technology and Advanced Studies (VISTAS)
Abstract
The growth of quick-commerce service provider has significantly transformed urban customer behaviour by providing hyper-fast delivery service and streamlined online experiences. Though much of the literature available has largely concerned itself with functional measures, including consumer satisfaction, purchase intention, and repurchase propensity, the affective and relational aspects especially among the female users have been comparatively under-researched. To impose upon this gap, the current research will propose a concept, which attributes the critical role of digital convenience in the determination of customer affinity by female shoppers, using urban Q-commerce websites. This framework is based on Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) extensions, and the relationship marketing theory. Digital convenience has also been operationalised as a higher-order variable including platform-access convenience, search and information convenience, transaction and payment convenience, delivery-time certainty and post-purchase support convenience. Moreover, this paper hypothesizes, the concept of digital convenience produces cognitive and affective processes such as cognitive load reduction, emotional reassurance, and habit formation, which in their turn lead to the presence of emotional attachment, psychological proximity, and platform preference. This conceptual paper provides gender-sensitive insight on the future of Q-commerce research by going beyond transactional measurements and indicates the emergence of the intuitively relevant role of convenience in digitally mediated consumption. The suggested structure provides both content theoretical and practical information to those involved in platforms design and marketing professionals eager to develop long-lasting customer-platform interactions in the competitive urban Q-commerce environments.
Keywords: Digital convenience, Customer affinity, Quick commerce, Women consumers, Urban digital platforms, Consumer behaviour
