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.