American Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This study examines service quality in large-scale wholesale markets by focusing on the experiences and expectations of merchants operating within Yiwu Commodity City. A modified SERVQUAL framework is employed to develop an evaluation system covering six dimensions: tangibility, reliability, assurance, empathy, e-commerce services, and logistics support. Data were collected through a questionnaire designed to capture both the service expectations and actual service perceptions of market merchants. The weighted SERVQUAL approach was subsequently applied to identify gaps between expected and experienced service performance. The findings indicate that all six dimensions produce negative service-quality gaps, suggesting that the services provided do not fully satisfy merchant expectations. Logistics support and empathy emerge as the most pronounced areas of concern, reflecting weaknesses in operational convenience, responsiveness, and merchant-oriented assistance. The overall weighted service-quality score is -0.8092, while the perceived level of service represents approximately 79.77% of merchant expectations. The findings point to the need for improvements in market infrastructure, operational management, digital commerce facilities, logistics coordination, administrative responsiveness, and long-term market development strategies.

Keywords: Professional Wholesale Market; Service Quality; SERVQUAL; Merchant Experience; Service Evaluation; E-commerce; Logistics Services.