ABSTRACT

The study analyzed the perceived service quality relationship with customer retention and repurchase intention among frozen food dealer in Abia state, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to describe the socjo-economic characteristics of frozen food dealers; examine the perceived service quality offered to customers among frozen food dealers; ascertain customer retention strategies employed by frozen food dealers, investigate the petceived service quality relationship with customer retention intentions among frozen food dealers; determine the influence of service quality on customer repurchase intention among frozen food dealers in the study area and identify the factors affecting repurchase intention as well as quality service delivery among frozen food dealers in the frozen food market in Abia state. Primary data was used for the study. Data were obtained from 120 respondents in the study area using a well structured questionnaire. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and regression methods. The study revealed that young individuals are involved more in frozen food business with 68.3% of the respondents between the ages of 31-40 years. The mean age of 37.7 years was recorded amongst the respondent. The result also showed that most (65.8%) of the frozen food dealers were females. Majority (80.8%) of the respondent engages in marketing/trading as their major occupation. More so, the study revealed that majority (59.2%) of the respondents engaged in frozen food marketing business as their major occupation and are well experienced in the business having gained, some years of experience in the business with the mean years of marketing experience of frozen fish of 8.3 years. the perceived quality service offering to the customers included home delivery of goods; selling at affordable prices; selling branded and labeled foods; fishes are sold directly from fridges, sellingproperly packaged food, selling weighed foods, giving customers receipts of purchase and giving sales bonus to customers. The frozen food dealers operate mostly on small scale level. The frozen food dealer adopted such customer retention strategies of ensuring constant product availability, extraordinary custom,er service, courtesy system, product reliability, home delivery services, price flexibility and leverage, customer loyalty and reduction of attrition, branding and labeling and packaging in other to survive in the business in Abia state. Perceived service quality and customer retention among the frozen food dealers in Abia state are related. Positive association exists between frozen food dealers's quality service delivery and customer repurchase intention of frozen food dealers. Satisfaction, attitudinal loyalty, good taste, good and firm texture and price significantly influenced repurchase intention of customers of frozen food in the study area. Capital, level of education, market location, supply of labour and access to input significantly influenced the quality of service delivery among frozen food dealers in Abia state. The study concluded that there is perceived service quality relationship with customer retention and repurchase intention among frozen food dealer in Abia state. The study recommended that policies aimed at bettering the quality of service delivery of frozen food dealers in Abia state should as a clue considers those factors that significantly influenced the quality of service delivery among frozen food dealers in Abia state as observed in the study.