The Impact of E-Service Quality and E-Trust on E-Loyalty: The Mediating Role of E-Satisfaction in the Online Food Delivery Industry

Abstract

The rapid growth of the online food delivery industry has intensified competition among digital platforms, making customer loyalty a critical strategic objective. This study investigates the effects of e-service quality and e-trust on e-loyalty, with e-satisfaction serving as a mediating variable among ShopeeFood users in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. A quantitative research design with a causal approach was employed using a cross-sectional survey of 170 ShopeeFood users selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4.1. The findings reveal that e-service quality and e-trust have significant positive effects on both e-satisfaction and e-loyalty. Furthermore, e-satisfaction significantly enhances e-loyalty and partially mediates the relationships between e-service quality and e-loyalty, as well as between e-trust and e-loyalty. These results confirm that customer satisfaction represents a key mechanism through which superior digital service quality and customer trust are transformed into sustainable loyalty. The study contributes to the digital marketing and relationship marketing literature by validating an integrated model of customer loyalty in the online food delivery context.