dc.description.abstract | Supermarkets are essential entities in economies globally due to their crucial function of
providing and distributing basic human needs such as food items, consumer goods and
lifestyle products. Intense competition among retailers in Kenya enables customers to
easily switch between supermarkets in their quest to satisfy their dynamic preferences
and needs. A review of various empirical studies shows that extensive research on
customer satisfaction and perceived service quality using SERVQUAL model have been
done in service industries like telecommunication, banking, health care and restaurants,
however, a few studies have focused on supermarkets in Kenya. The study sought to fill
this gap and complement current research on retailing services using SERVQUAL model.
Determining perceived service quality and customer satisfaction of supermarkets in
Nairobi County was the main aim of this study. A descriptive methodology was adopted
as the appropriate research design in order to achieve the aim of the study. The study also
applied stratified random sampling technique to divide the target population of 125
supermarkets into One-branch and Multi-branch strata. Yamane’s formula was used to
obtain a sample size of 52 and 15 numbers of branches from each stratum respectively.
Kothari’s formula was used to obtain a sample size of 384 respondents of which 300 and
84 were apportioned to the above strata respectively. Every 3rd respondent was selected at
the exits of selected supermarkets in each stratum. To collect primary data a
questionnaire that was self-administered was issued to the selected respondents. Analysis
of the primary data collected was done using percentiles, frequency distribution, means,
standard deviation, regression analysis, correlation analysis and ANOVA. The results of
the analysis were presented on pie charts, tables, and as percentages. The findings
revealed that customers’ perceptions of supermarkets in Nairobi County are very high.
Tangibles and reliability dimensions have the lowest and highest perceptions of quality of
service respectively. Customers are also very satisfied with the overall services and prices
offered. It was found that perceived service quality and customer satisfaction exhibit a
strong positive correlation. | en_US |