The study provides evidence for small and medium-sized retail businesses that customer satisfaction is closely connected to how customers perceive the services they receive and the prices they pay.
Retail Competition Puts Customer Satisfaction in Focus
Retail businesses compete not only through the products they sell but also through the experience customers receive while shopping. Service responsiveness, reliable information, reasonable prices, and the perceived value of products can influence whether customers feel satisfied and decide to return.
The research focused on Toko Debi, a retail business in Sebagu Village, Teluk Keramat District, Sambas Regency. The store has operated since 2018 and offers 286 types of products across 12 categories, including food, beverages, cleaning products, personal care items, and household necessities.
According to the study, Toko Debi's revenue increased during the 2023–2025 period. Revenue rose from IDR 480 million in 2023 to IDR 525 million in 2024, before reaching IDR 590 million in 2025. The 2025 figure represented a 12.4 percent increase from the previous year.
The store also provides services such as arranging products, checking product conditions, providing information about prices and stock, and assisting customers during purchases. Toko Debi additionally uses bundled pricing for selected products, such as offering three packs of instant noodles for IDR 10,000.
However, increasing sales revenue does not necessarily show how customers evaluate service and pricing. This difference encouraged Nurmila and Sukardi to examine the relationship between service quality, price, and customer satisfaction specifically in a basic-needs retail business.
Survey of 100 Toko Debi Customers
Nurmila and Sukardi used a quantitative causal-associative research design. Data came from observations, interviews with store management, and questionnaires distributed to customers.
The researchers surveyed 100 Toko Debi customers selected through purposive sampling. Respondents had to have purchased from Toko Debi more than twice and make purchases based on their own initiative.
Customer responses were measured using a five-point Likert scale. The researchers analyzed the data using SPSS version 22, including validity, reliability, normality, linearity, multicollinearity, multiple linear regression, correlation, determination, F-test, and t-test analyses.
The questionnaire instruments demonstrated strong reliability. Cronbach's Alpha reached 0.937 for service quality, 0.928 for price, and 0.934 for customer satisfaction, all well above the study's reliability threshold.
Service Quality Has a Significant Effect
The research found that service quality has a positive and significant effect on customer satisfaction.
The regression coefficient for service quality was 0.390, while the t-value reached 5.464, exceeding the t-table value of 1.660. The significance value was 0.000, below the 0.05 threshold.
In practical terms, customers who perceived better service quality also tended to report higher satisfaction.
The researchers evaluated service quality through dimensions including physical facilities, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. These dimensions reflect how customers experience the store during the purchasing process.
The finding is consistent with several previous studies showing a positive relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction, although some earlier research in retail settings has reported different results.
Price Also Influences Satisfaction
Price was another significant factor.
The study found a 0.368 regression coefficient for price, with a t-value of 5.027 and a significance value of 0.000. The result indicates that customer perceptions of price are positively associated with satisfaction.
The researchers considered aspects such as affordability, price competitiveness, the match between price and product quality, and the benefits customers receive relative to what they pay.
For retail customers, a price can be perceived positively when it is considered reasonable in relation to product quality and benefits. This means pricing decisions can contribute directly to how customers evaluate their shopping experience.
Service Quality and Price Explain 63.7 Percent of Satisfaction
When analyzed together, service quality and price showed a strong relationship with customer satisfaction.
The correlation coefficient R was 0.798, indicating a strong relationship between the two independent variables and customer satisfaction.
More importantly, the R-square value was 0.637. This means service quality and price together explain 63.7 percent of the variation in customer satisfaction among the customers studied.
The remaining 36.3 percent is associated with other factors that were not included in the research model.
The simultaneous F-test further confirmed the relationship. The calculated F-value was 84.953, substantially higher than the F-table value of 3.09, with a significance value of 0.000.
Both hypotheses concerning the individual effects of service quality and price were also supported.
Implications for Retail Businesses
The findings have practical implications for Toko Debi and other retail businesses selling basic necessities.
First, improving service should remain a priority. Employees who provide accurate product and stock information, respond quickly to customer needs, and offer helpful assistance can contribute to a better shopping experience.
Second, pricing should be evaluated from the customer's perspective. Competitive and affordable prices can strengthen customer satisfaction, particularly when customers perceive that the products provide appropriate quality and benefits.
The results also suggest that businesses should not rely exclusively on price competition. Service quality and pricing work together in shaping customer evaluations.
Nurmila and Sukardi's findings indicate that customer satisfaction is influenced by both the quality of service and customers' perceptions of price, rather than by either factor in isolation.
The researchers also acknowledge that customer satisfaction is influenced by additional factors. They recommend future research examine variables such as product quality, promotion, location, store atmosphere, customer trust, transaction convenience, and customer loyalty.
About the Researchers
Yuni Nurmila is affiliated with the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Muhammadiyah Pontianak, with research in the area of economics, business, retail, service quality, pricing, and customer satisfaction.
Sukardi is also affiliated with the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Muhammadiyah Pontianak, with academic interests related to economics and business research.
The journal article does not provide the authors' academic degrees in the supplied publication text, so their degrees cannot be stated reliably without additional biographical information.
Source
Article title: The Effect of Service Quality and Price on Customer Satisfaction at Toko Debi in Teluk Keramat District, Sambas Regency
Authors: Yuni Nurmila and Sukardi
Journal: International Journal of Economic, Finance and Business Statistics (IJEFBS)
Volume/Issue: Vol. 4, No. 4
Publication year: 2026
Pages: 441–454
DOI: 10.59890/ijefbs.v4i4.21
URL: http://journalijefbs.my.id/index.php/ijefbs
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