The psychometric properties of eTail quality: an international investigation across product categories

Purpose The links between quality and customer satisfaction, retention and loyalty in offline retail settings are well established. It therefore seems fair to posit that quality will also be a determinant of online retailer success. This assumption motivated Wolfinbarger and Gilly to develop a scale for the measurement of “eTail quality”. The paper's purpose is to validate that scale. Design/methodology/approach The study investigates the equivalence of the eTailQ scale across different product categories in three countries. Tests for both conceptual and psychometric equivalence are conducted. Findings Findings suggest that eTailQ exhibits conceptual equivalence. It also exhibits psychometric equivalence by providing acceptable levels of reliability, variance extracted and both discriminant and nomological validity. Originality/value eTailQ can be used with confidence by online goods and service retailers in English speaking countries outside the USA.