The 2016 Macao Consumer Satisfaction Index survey was sponsored by the Macao Foundation and carried out by the Market Research Center of the Institute for Sustainable Development, M.U.S.T..The researchers of the research project include Prof. Chan Lai Kow, Director of the Institute for Sustainable Development, M.U.S.T., and Assistant Prof. Li Yan Chen of the School of Business, M.U.S.T.. Since the launch of the Macao Consumer Satisfaction Index series first in 2007, this has been the 10th consecutive year for the Market Research Center of the Institute for Sustainable Development, M.U.S.T. to carry on the survey on the addressed index and to release the relevant results to the press.
Press conference of the 2016 Macao Consumer Satisfaction Index
From May 4 to May 16, 2016, adopting the telephone interviewing system of the Center, by way of random sampling, the Market Research Center of the Institute for Sustainable Development, M.U.S.T. successfully interviewed 876 Macau residents, where the interviewees took questions on their experiences and feelings as a consumer recently in Macau and Zhuhai.
The consumer satisfaction degree of the Macao Consumer Satisfaction Index consists of 5 factors: product quality, service quality, cost & performance, customer complaints, and customer loyalty. Of the five factors, “product quality”, “service quality”, and “cost & performance” are the three major roles in affecting the “consumer satisfaction degree”, and the highs or lows of the “consumer satisfaction degree” eventually affect the other two factors: “consumer complaints” and “consumer loyalty”. On a scale of 0 to 100, the higher the marks are, the higher the satisfaction degree is.
The 2016 Macao Consumer Satisfaction Index consists of four sub-categories: shopping in Macau, shopping in Zhuhai, Macau restaurants and Zhuhai restaurants. The constitution of these sub-categories is made in accordance with the theories and methods of marketing and statistics, where the above-mentioned four consumption categories could be used for direct comparison.
After breaking double new heights in 2015, both the Macao shopping satisfaction degree and the Macao restaurants satisfaction degree receded in 2016. The Macao shopping satisfaction degree scored 71.1, 2.2% lower compared to that of 2015 (a decrease by 1.6 marks). The Macao restaurants satisfaction degree scored 69.8, 1.3% lower than 2015 (a decrease by 0.9 marks).
Also declined in comparison to 2015 were the Zhuhai shopping satisfaction degree and the Zhuhai restaurants satisfaction degree. The Zhuhai shopping satisfaction degree scored 66.5, 3.2% lower than that of 2015 (a decline of 2.2 marks). The Zhuhai restaurant satisfaction degree scored 66.2, 1.3% lower than that of 2015 (a decline of 0.9).
Over the course of past ten years, with regard to the three sub-indexes that affect the satisfaction index, Macau has remained placed in top. With respect to clothewear and footwear shopping, Macau scored 7.7, 7.4, and 4.0 respectively in Product Quality, Service Quality, and Affordability. With respect to consuming at restaurants, Macau consistently scored higher than Zhuhai in Food Quality and Service Quality, respectively 3.8 and 4.5 higher on average; with respect to the Affordability sub-index, except for 2008 and 2009 when Macau scored lower than Zhuhai, Macau remained ahead of Zhuhai, 1.1 marks higher on average.
For clothewear and footwear products, in comparison to improvement at the quality of services, improvement at the quality of products proved to be doubly effective in affecting the consumers’ satisfaction degree. While continue maintaining and improving the quality of services, practitioners of Macau’s clothewear and footwear retail businesses should simultaneously give more considerations to the quality and cost-performance ratio of the sold products. As an economic entity that relies mainly on the tourism and leisure industry, Macau’s clothewear and footwear products are mostly imported; retailers of Macau’s clothewear and footwear industry should pay close attention to the changes and trends of consumer demands, continue bringing in high-quality reasonably-priced brands and products, and continue elevating product quality and attending to cost-performance ratio, so as to better meet the demands of the consumers and improve the consumers’ satisfaction degree.
Practitioners at the Macau restaurant industry, however, should attach equal importance to both food quality and service quality, administering double assurances at both the two regards. For the purpose of improving the consumer satisfaction degree and retaining the customers, Macau’s food and beverage industry, on the one hand, must maintain its constant high quality, keeping its traditional characteristics in “color, taste, flavor, and presentation” while moderately launching new products in accordance with the market needs, and on the other, continue to maintain its traditional service characteristics, which features a strong home flavor combining hominess, integrity, and hospitality, making the guests feel at home and feel money well spent.
