Unlocking repurchase intentions in e-commerce platforms: the impact of e-service quality and gender

E-commerce platforms face heightened challenges in post-pandemic, necessitating intensified customer retention efforts. Retaining existing customers is more cost-effective than acquiring new customers. Central to this endeavor is the quality of e-services, which profoundly influences customers' likelihood of making repeat purchases. By exploring how different e-service dimensions-customer service, fulfilment, platform design, security/privacy, and trust-impact repurchase intentions, this study brings a new lens to understanding consumer behavior, particularly how gender shapes these relationships. Through purposive and convenience sampling, 200 responses were collected from online Malaysian shoppers. Data analysis conducted via PLS-SEM unveils the significant influences of customer service, fulfilment, and security/privacy on repurchase intentions. Notably, platform design and trust exert negligible influence, whereas security/privacy emerges as the primary driver of repurchase intention. Gender plays a pivotal role in moderating the effects of platform design and trust differently for male and female consumers. From a managerial perspective, e-commerce platforms must tailor their strategies to account for gender differences in customer preferences. For instance, investing in security/privacy measures is critical for both genders, while enhancing platform design and fulfilment processes may better attract female customers. On the other hand, focusing on customer service quality will improve retention among male shoppers.