Customer satisfaction, trust and repurchase intention towards hypermarkets in Klang Valley, Malaysia: the mediating effect of customer loyalty

A hypermarket is a modern shop that offers a wide range of items and services under one roof. Since 1993, Malaysia has seen an increase in the number of hypermarkets, particularly in places with large and dense populations. Klang Valley, which comprises of Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, have the most hypermarkets in Malaysia compared to other states. Customers constant strong push have driven hypermarket retailers to consistently move ahead, compete and sustain in the market through high-intensity competitions. Customers are especially important for competitiveness in businesses which they are heavily involved in decision-making. In such circumstances, this study seeks to investigate the effect of customer loyalty as a mediating variable on repurchase intentions towards hypermarkets in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Loyal customers will shop at their preferred hypermarket on a frequent basis, and repurchase intentions can develop among these customers. Besides, with the current situation impacting Malaysia and a variety of shopping options for customers, this study can assist hypermarkets in understanding their customers' behaviour. There are few studies that consider repurchase intentions in hypermarkets. As a result, in addition to focusing on customer loyalty and repurchase intention, this study also included two variables: customer satisfaction and trust. The survey was carried out in three areas, namely Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. It was conducted by using a self-administrated questionnaire in Google Forms platform. This study also focused on the working age range of 15 to 64 years old because they have an income that influences consumer behaviour. This study collected a total of 479 questionnaires, however only 474 of them were useful. The acquired data were examined using two software, SPSS and PLS-SEM. The findings of this investigation indicate that the five hypotheses proposed had significant effects. Customer satisfaction and trust had significant effect on customer loyalty. As for customer loyalty, it had significant effect on repurchase intention. In addition, testing the effect of mediating variable in this study, it was found that customer loyalty has mediated the relationship between independent variables (customer satisfaction and trust) and repurchase intention. Keywords: hypermarkets, customer satisfaction, trust, customer loyalty, repurchase intention, Social Exchange Theory (SET).