Relationship and search for discounts, and their effects on loyalty and e-commerce, when mediated by satisfaction and trust

Abstract

This study analyzes the e-commerce relationships, since it can be less humanized and characterized by the search for discounts. Marketing stablishes that the consumption relationships must be based in multiple gains and on a long-term vision. However, although virtual environment fosters economies of scale to the organizations and more attractive prices to consumers, the intensification of this process suggests that there will be only price comparisons in the long term, eroding profitability and improving spurious relationships between companies and consumers. Through structural equation modeling, this study identified that the relationships based on propension to discount lead to satisfaction and trust, more than relationship based relations, as on more human business approaches. We also identified the mediation of loyalty and trust in online consumption environment by replicating the findings in physical stores, to reinforce business to consumer relations.