The retail industry has contributed to the economic growth of many countries and is undoubtedly one of the fastest changing and dynamic sectors in the world. The emergence of new trends in retailing is a significant event in Indian marketing scenario. Retailers therefore recognize that customer satisfaction plays a key role in a successful business strategy and it is therefore crucial for managers to understand what drives customer satisfaction. By satisfying customers through high quality service, business firms not only retain their current customers, but also increase their market share. The current market place has become more competitive as customers continually expect retailers to match or exceed their expectations. Maintaining customer satisfaction is crucial for such retailers as they transact in a highly competitive world. In this respect, the research aims to establish the drivers of customer satisfaction, through a consideration of retail service quality dimensions. Thus, in a competitive market, retail stores are expected to compete on both price and quality of services and also it is necessary to meet consumers’ requirements and expectations in price and service quality. In this context, the researchers have made a modest attempt to study the service quality of organized retail sores in Salem city. In the present study, physical aspects, reliability, personal interaction, problem solving and policy are taken as dimensions to measure service quality of the organized retail stores. As an essential part of the study, the primary data were collected from 150 customers with the help of questionnaire. Analysis of variance, student t test, paired t-test, analysis of co-efficient of variation and percentage analysis were employed. The finding of this study brings to light that there exists a significant difference in the acceptance level of the customers between the expected and perceived levels of various dimensions of service quality such as physical aspects, reliability, personal interaction, problem solving and policy. The researchers have suggested various measures to improve the service quality of the organized retail stores in Salem city.

KEYWORDS: Retail Stores, Service Quality, Organized Retailing, Customer Satisfaction.