The Impact of Service Perception in the Offline Solo Dining on

Catering Industry of Consumers' Willingness to Repurchase

Haina Wang

School of Economics and Business Administration, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China

Keywords: 'Solo Dining', Repurchase Willingness, Service Perception, Satisfaction.

Abstract: With the change of consumer attitudes and the rise of the single economy, a new form of consumption called

'solo dining' has merged, the improvenment of consumers' satisfaction and willingness to repurchase offline

'solo dining' catering industry services has become a key focus. Quality perception, affordability perception,

pleasantness perception, uniqueness damand perception and social influence perception are selected as

independent variables, and satisfaction is used as a mediating variable. This study aims to identify the impact

of service perception in the solo dining on catering industry of consumers' willingness repurchase. An online

questionnaire survey method and descriptive analysis have been adopted to verify hypotheses. The results

indicate that quality perception, affordability perception, pleasantness perception, uniqueness demand

perception and have a positive impact on repurchase willingness, while social influence perception has no

significant effect on repurchase willingness. Satisfaction plays a partial mediating effect between quality

perception and repurchase willingness, and a complete mediating effect between pleasantness perception,

uniqueness demand perception and repurchase willingness. The research will enrich the study on the

relationship between service perception, and repurchase willingness in the offline 'solo dining' catering

industry, and provide suggestions for offline 'solo dining' services in the catering industry.

1 INTRODUCTION

According to the China Statistics Bureau and the

China Population and Employment Statistics

Yearbook 2023, by the end of 2024, China's single

population may reach 300 million, and China will

officially enter the era of super single. The expansion

of the single population has led to changes in social

structure and consumption concepts, followed by the

rise of the single economy.

The majority of contemporary singles have

received good education, have stable jobs and

objective economic income, and have a high pursuit

of quality of life. Their consumption philosophy tends

to be more inclined towards the satisfaction of self-

worth and emotional value. Therefore, the single

population is gradually shifting from survival

oriented consumption to development oriented

consumption. Under the premise of meeting basic

needs, people are beginning to pursue the quality,

experience, and personalization of consumption,

https://orcid.org/0009-0004-1217-9092

which further enhances the development potential of

the single economy (Yuan et al., 2023).

At the same time, with the accelerated pace of

modern life and work, people's leisure time has been

compressed. In order to save time and energy, people

have gradually formed consumption habits that

pursue convenience and efficiency. Especially for

single people living alone, eating alone has become a

norm. In order to meet the dining needs of the single

population, a new industry of 'solo dining' has

emerged, such as solo rotating hot pot, micro KTV

rooms, and grid partitioned dining. The consumption

choice of 'solo dining' is a satisfaction of the objective

needs of modern living conditions and an emphasis

and pursuit of self-worth and emotional value. The

single population has led a new form of consumption,

endowing solitude with deeper and more diverse

spiritual meanings, making solitary enjoyment a trend.

In the current social environment, the new

consumption trend of resisting food waste has also

provided assistance for the consumption form of 'solo

dining', reducing resource waste, improving dining

Wang, H.

The Impact of Service Perception in the Ofﬂine Solo Dining on Catering Industry of Consumers’ Willingness to Repurchase.

DOI: 10.5220/0013861600004719

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on E-commerce and Modern Logistics (ICEML 2025), pages 791-804

ISBN: 978-989-758-775-7

791

efficiency, and giving the 'solo dining' model more

long-term development potential. Food is of

paramount importance to the people, and as an

essential daily activity for everyone, which constantly

drives the development of the catering industry.

Under the multiple influences of the 'single economy',

'solitary economy', and 'self enjoyment economy', the

'solo dining' service has important research value and

optimization space.

Currently, researchers mainly study consumers'

willingness to choose 'solo dining' based on their

consumption concepts and habits. Some studies have

pointed out that the 'solo dining' model can meet the

convenience of single consumers in purchasing and

consuming food, and is in line with the new

consumption concept of reducing food waste. It can

also reflect the importance of food quality and

hygiene, thus further promoting the development of

the 'solo dining' catering economy. Some studies have

also pointed out that young single consumers have a

new pursuit of independent lifestyles and high

requirements for quality of life. They believe that

'solo dining' consumption is an enjoyment of life and

an investment in personal consumption, which

positively promotes consumers' willingness to

purchase 'solo dining' (Li, 2021). Chen analyzed the

case of Zihaiguo and found that through product

innovation and category expansion, a multi category

matrix was formed, which met consumers' pursuit of

new experiences and promoted their purchase

willingness (Chen, 2021). At the same time, it is also

proposed that there may be challenges in terms of

price, as consumers may consider repurchasing after

trying new products due to relatively high prices,

indicating that price and cost-effectiveness are

important factors affecting consumers' willingness to

purchase (Chen, 2021). Zang pointed out through her

analysis of Liangmi Restaurant that consumers'

personal psychological state and feelings of

loneliness can also affect their purchase intention.

Some people may enjoy solitude and have a pleasant

experience during 'solo dining' meals, which

promotes their purchase intention. It has also been

found that the environmental design and service

methods of restaurants can also affect consumers'

purchase willingness. By providing independent

seating space and movable curtains, customers are

provided with more choices, which can be either

lonely or social. This design meets the needs of

different consumers, and useful designs further

promote consumers' purchase willingness (Zang,

2020).

2 RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE

2.1 Theroretical Significance

By breaking down the service perception of 'solo

dining' into five dimensions: quality perception,

affordability perception, uniqueness demand

perception, pleasantness perception, and social

influence perception, a more comprehensive

theoretical analysis framework is constructed.

Existing research in the field of 'solo dining' mostly

focuses on the traditional service perception

dimension and leans towards functional design

research. However, this study incorporates

'perception of unique deamands' and 'perception of

social influence', which can explain the dual driving

mechanism of the single population's pursuit of

personalized expression and social identity in

consumption, filling the gap in explaining the

psychological needs of new consumer groups. This

study uses satisfaction as a mediating variable, which

can provide a deeper and more comprehensive

explanation of the impact of 'solo dining' service

perception on consumer repurchase willingness from

the perspective of emotional motivation.

The single population has characteristics such as

'self satisfied consumption' and 'light socialization',

and their consumption decisions may rely more on

emotional values rather than traditional rational

factors. By examining the positive impact of

perceived pleasure on satisfaction, the applicability of

emotion driven consumption motivation in the single

economy scenario can be verified, providing

theoretical support for further research on segmented

populations.

2.2 Practical Significance

Through the study of the perception pathway of 'solo

dining' service, the findings can guide catering

enterprises to more accurately optimize the design of

'solo dining' service. On the one hand, the 'solo dining'

brand and enterprises can enhance the uniqueness and

enjoyable experience of catering services by

launching differentiated services such as 'DIY

package matching' and setting up immersive dining

environments to enhance emotional value. On the

other hand, enterprises can achieve the dual

advantages of high-quality services and affordable

prices based on the functional influencing factors, and

utilize the social influence of 'solo dining' services to

introduce management measures to strengthen social

identity.

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3 THEORETICAL ASSUMPTIONS

AND HYPOTHETICAL

MODELS

3.1 Theoretical Assumptions and

Research Design

3.1.1 Quality Perception

In the 'solo dining' service scenario, quality

perception is the comprehensive judgment of

consumers on the functionality and experience of the

service. Consumers' requirements for food and

environment, as well as their demands for privacy and

personalized adaptation unique to 'solo dining',

directly affect their satisfaction evaluation of the

service. According to research on the relationship

between perceived service quality and willingness to

consume again, perceived service quality is

considered an important influencing factor in the

formation of happiness motivation, and the formation

of happiness motivation directly affects satisfaction

with service experience (Zhang & Cai, 2021).

Therefore, the following hypothesis is proposed:

H1: The perceived quality of 'solo dining' services

has a positive impact on satisfaction.

3.1.2 Affordability Perception

In the context of 'solo dining' service, consumers'

perception of affordability focuses on whether the

price is low and on whether personalized needs are

met at a reasonable cost, and even brings unexpected

experiences. The theory of customer perceived value

emphasizes that consumers form comprehensive

value judgments by comparing the benefits and

perceived costs of service provision (Li & Shen,

2022). When perceived benefits exceed costs,

perceived benefits are enhanced, which in turn drives

satisfaction improvement. Therefore, a cost-benefit

perception scale was developed from the cost

perception scale, and based on this, hypotheses were

proposed:

H2: The perceived affordability of ‘solo dining’

services has a positive impact on satisfaction.

3.1.3 Pleasantness Perception

Pleasantness perception refers to the degree of

excitement and satisfaction that an individual feels

under external environmental stimuli. Perceived

pleasure is a complex sense of pleasure that

consumers experience through controlling the service

process, enjoying personalized experiences, and

receiving emotional compensation in a self guided

dining decision without social pressure. It includes

both functional satisfaction and emotional positive

feedback. According to research on the relationship

between emotional experience and tourist satisfaction,

it has been found that pleasure has a significant

impact on satisfaction (Wang, 2018). Therefore, the

following hypothesis is proposed:

H3: The perceived pleasure of ‘solo dining’

service has a positive impact on consumer satisfaction.

3.1.4 Uniqueness Demand Perception

Tian and McKenzie define uniqueness demands as

consumers showcasing their personality traits and

social identity through innovative consumption

methods (Tian & McKenzie, 2001). According to the

research conducted by Li Shuang et al. on the impact

of service perception on consumer purchase intention,

uniqueness demands have a positive impact on

consumer satisfaction (Li et al., 2024) Therefore, the

following hypothesis is proposed:

H4: The unique demand perception of ‘solo

dining’ service has a positive impact on satisfaction.

3.1.5 Social Influence Perception

In the context of this study, social influence

perception refers to consumers' subjective cognition

and evaluation of their social environment. The social

atmosphere may generate social pressure or support

for consumers to choose the 'solo dining' dining

option. 'Solo dining' may involve identity display in

public settings, which directly affects consumers'

sensitivity and focus, thereby affecting satisfaction.

Therefore, the following hypothesis is proposed:

H5: The perceived social influenceof ‘solo dining’

services has a positive impact on satisfaction.

3.1.6 Satisfaction and Repurchase

Willingness

Heesup et al.'s research on consumer experience

suggests that satisfaction is the objective evaluation

of consumers after purchasing and using a product,

that is, whether the product can meet consumers'

needs for a pleasant experience (Heesup et al., 2019).

In this study, satisfaction refers to the experience that

single consumers experience when choosing 'solo

dining' services at offline restaurants. Consumer

repurchase willingness refers to the intensions of

consumers to consume and experience the 'solo

dining' service again after purchasing and enjoying it.

Satisfaction is an important factor in forming repeat

purchase intention, and improving satisfaction can

The Impact of Service Perception in the Ofﬂine Solo Dining on Catering Industry of Consumers’ Willingness to Repurchase

793

further enhance consumers' repeat purchase intention.

Therefore, the following hypothesis is proposed:

H6: The perception of 'solo dining' service has a

positive impact on repurchase willingness through the

mediating effect of satisfaction.

3.2 Model Building

Based on the above content, this article constructs a

model of the impact of service perception on

consumer repurchase willingness in the offline 'solo

dining' catering industry, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Research Model

4 METHOD

4.1 Participants

This study used a questionnaire survey method to

collect data, mainly investigating the impact of

service perception in the offline 'solo dining' catering

industry on consumers' willingness to repurchase. The

survey subjects were not limited in terms of gender,

age, education, and monthly income.

4.2 Questionnaire Design

The questionnaire consists of personal information

and corresponding items for each variable. The

questions are based on the Likert five point scale, with

‘1’ indicating strongly disagree and ‘5’ indicating

strongly agree. The analysis found that the reliability

and validity of ‘perceived affordability’ were poor, so

the title item 'Among the same offline catering

services, the price of solo dining service is more

affordable' was deleted to form the final indicator

item. The measurement scale and reference sources

are shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Measurement scales and reference sources

Variable name Number Indicator items References

Quality

Percepetion

I think the quality of offline 'solo dining' service is stable and

reliable.

I think the offline 'solo dining' service is comprehensive.

The ordering process for the 'solo dining' service is simple and

convenient.

The order processing of the 'solo dining' service is timely.

When dining at 'solo dining' restaurant, it is convenient to pick up

the meal

(Dai et al.,

2017; He,

2013)

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Affordability

Perception

The offline 'solo dining' service provides me with more favorable

packages.

I think the consumption of 'solo dining' restaurants offline is

worthwhile and cost-effective.

I think the price level of offline 'solo dining' service is reasonable.

(Sweeney et

al., 2001)

Pleasantness

Perception

I found the dining experience at the 'solo dining' restaurant

interesting and enjoyable.

The 'solo dining' service brings joy to my life.

I enjoy the process of eating alone.

I feel happy when I eat alone.

(Liu, 2017)

Uniqueness

Demand

Perception

The dishes I customize are different from other dishes in terms of

taste and appearance.

My customized dishes make me stand out.

I prefer to customize my own dishes rather than the fixed set meals

offered by businesses.

I am willing to try my own customized dishes before others.

(Chen et al.,

2005)

Social Influence

Perception

The attitudes and opinions of friends and family towards the 'solo

dining' service will affect my satisfaction with the service.

Having friends around who have experienced the 'solo dining'

service can affect my satisfaction with the service.

Friends and relatives recommending offline 'solo dining' services to

me will increase m

satisfaction with the service.

(Jing et al.,

2022)

Satisfaction

I am satisfied with the service experience of the 'solo dining'

restaurant offline.

It is wise to dine at a 'solo dining' restaurant.

I enjoyed my dining experience at the 'solo dining' restaurant.

Overall, the service of 'solo dining' restaurants can meet my needs

(Du, 2023)

Repurchase

Willingness

If there is a chance next time, I would like to continue to dine at the

'solo dining' restaurant offline.

I would recommend others to go to offline 'solo dining' restaurants.

If I have enough money, I will consider dining at a 'solo dining'

restaurant offline again.

I prefer dining at 'solo dining' restaurants compared to other

restaurants.

(Jia et al.,

2024)

5 RESULTS

5.1 Data Collection and Descriptive

Analysis

This article adopts the method of online questionnaire

survey, and creates a questionnaire through the

'Wenjuanxing' platform. The questionnaire is sent to

social media platforms such as WeChat, QQ,

Xiaohongshu. A total of 214 questionnaires were

collected, and 6 invalid questionnaires were

eliminated through a common sense test. The

remaining 208 questionnaires had a validity rate of

97.20%.

Statistical analysis was conducted on the sample,

with females accounting for 69.7% and males

accounting for 30.3% of the surveyed population. The

main educational background is undergraduate

(43.8%). The age distribution is mainly between 18-

25 years old (45.2%). The monthly income is mainly

concentrated between 1001 and 5000 yuan (70.2%),

as shown in Table 2.

Considering the limitations of the 'solo dining'

consumer audience, based on the 'solo dining'

experience of the survey subjects, further screening of

questionnaire data with higher relevance to this study

was conducted, as shown in Table 3. It can be seen

that 62.02% of the survey respondents have

experienced the 'solo dining' service, while 37.98%

have not. This indicates that a considerable number of

consumers have a certain degree of attention to the

consumption form of 'solo dining'. Among them,

32.21% of the survey respondents experience 'solo

dining' services more than once a year, while only

6.73% of the survey respondents have no experience

The Impact of Service Perception in the Ofﬂine Solo Dining on Catering Industry of Consumers’ Willingness to Repurchase

795

or interest, indicating that the majority of consumers

are interested in 'solo dining' services.

A data study on the expected factors of survey

respondents without a 'solo dining' experience found

that as shown in Table 4, over 60% would choose to

try 'solo dining' due to the privacy space provided by

the 'solo dining' service, and 46% of survey

respondents would expect social simplification and a

sense of ceremony during the 'solon dining' process.

This indicates that consumers place the highest

importance on the perceived pleasure of 'solo dining'

services. More than 50% of the survey respondents

chose unique food as the reason for trying 'solo dining',

indicating that consumers also have a high perception

of the demand for service uniqueness. 39% of survey

respondents expect efficient service for 'solo dining',

and 32% of survey respondents will experience 'solo

dining' services based on recommendations and

positive reviews from family and friends. This

indicates that consumers' perception of the quality and

social influence of 'solo dining' services will to some

extent become factors to consider, but there is still

room for improvement.

Table 2: Descriptive statistical analysis of sample characteristics

Characteristic Variable T

e Sam

le Size Percenta

Gender

Male 63 30.3%

Female 145 69.7%

Age

Under 18 years old 1 0.5%

18~25 years old 94 45.2%

26~30 years old 47 22.6%

31-40 years old 39 18.8%

41-50 years old 21 10.1%

Over 50 years old 6 2.9%

Monthly Income

Below 1000 RMB 9 4.3%

1001-3000 RMB 75 36.1%

3,001-5,000 RMB 71 34.1%

5001-10000 RMB 49 23.6%

Above 10,000 RMB 4 1.9%

Educational

Background

Junior high school and below 27 13.0%

High school/technical secondary 30 14.4%

school/vocational high school 54 26.0%

junior college 91 43.8%

Undergraduate

Maste

6 2.9%

Table 3: Descriptive analysis of experience

Pro

ect O

tion Sam

le Size Percenta

Experience

Frequent experience (more than once a

year)

67 32.2%

Occasional experience (less than once a

year)

62 29.8%

No experience but interested 65 31.3%

No experience and no interest 14 6.7%

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Table 4: Descriptive analysis of expectation factors

Pro

ect O

tion Sam

le Size Percenta

Expectant

Factors

Private space, independent partition seats / independent sockets 51 64.6%

Unique dishes, self-selected ingredients combination / small set

meals

40 50.6%

Efficient service, silent call s

stem 31 39.2%

Simplify social interaction, without unnecessary social interaction,

and have a sense of ritual for eatin

alone

37 46.8%

Recommendations and

ositive feedback from friends and famil

26 32.9%

Others

(

curiosit

about new consum

tion

atterns

)

7 8.9%

5.2 Reliability Analysis

This study used SPSS for reliability testing. As shown

in Table 5, the Cronbach's alpha coefficients of each

variable in the questionnaire are 0.888, 0.872, 0.877,

0.848, 0.811, 0.890, and 0.875, respectively, all of

which are greater than 0.8, indicating that the

questionnaire has good reliability and the data in this

study is true and reliable.

Table 5: Reliability analysis of the scale

Variables Numbers of Questions Cronbach's α

Qualit

Perce

tion 5 0.888

Affordabilit

Perce

tion 3 0.872

Pleasantness Perce

tion 4 0.877

Uniqueness Demand Perception 4 0.848

Social Influence Perception 3 0.811

Satisfaction 4 0.890

urchase Willin

ness 4 0.875

5.3 Validity Analysis

The study was divided into three groups for factor

analysis: independent variable, mediator variable, and

dependent variable, as shown in Table 6. The KMO

values of the three groups were 0.947, 0.832, and

0.830, all greater than 0.8, and the Bartlett sphericity

test of the three groups was less than 0.01, indicating

that the scale is suitable for factor analysis.

According to the results of factor analysis, using

principal component analysis and maximum variance

rotation method, five factors were extracted from all

items in the independent variable group for factor

analysis. Among them, several measurement items

(A1, A2, D2, E1) of some variables were deleted due

to the standard load coefficient not reaching 0.6, as

shown in Table 7. The standard load coefficients for

all items in the table are greater than 0.6, and the

cumulative explanatory variation of the factors is

77.694%, which is greater than the recommended

cumulative variation standard of 60%. Therefore, the

explanatory level is good. By using principal

component analysis, one factor was extracted from

both the mediator variable group and the dependent

variable group, as shown in Table 7. The standard

loading coefficients of all items in both variable

groups were greater than 0.6, and the cumulative

explanatory variation of the two variable groups was

75.298% and 72.845%, both greater than 60%.

Therefore, the explanatory power was relatively good.

Table 6: KMO and Bartlett's Test

KMO and Bartlett's Test

Independent

Variable

Mediator

Variable

Dependent

Variable

KMO sampling appropriateness

measure

0.947 0.832 0.830

Bartlett's test for

sphericity

Approximate chi

uare

1238.726 293.330 254.803

Free de

ree 105 6 6

nificance 0.000 0.000 0.000

The Impact of Service Perception in the Ofﬂine Solo Dining on Catering Industry of Consumers’ Willingness to Repurchase

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Table 7: Analysis of scale validity

Variable

name

Indicator items

Load

Facto

References

Quality

Percepetion

The ordering process for the 'solo dining' service is simple and

convenient. (A3)

The order processing of the 'solo dining' service is timely. (A4)

When dining at 'solo dining' restaurant, it is convenient to pick up the

meal.（A5）

0.731

0.732

0.671

(He, 2013)

Affordability

Perception

The offline 'solo dining' service provides me with more favorable

packages. (B1)

I think the consumption of 'solo dining' restaurants offline is worthwhile

and cost-effective.(B2)

I think the price level of offline 'solo dining' service is reasonable.(B3)

0.719

0.753

0.777

(Sweeney

et al.,

2001)

Pleasantness

Perception

I found the dining experience at the 'solo dining' restaurant interesting

and enjoyable.(C1)

The 'solo dining' service brings joy to my life.(C2)

I enjoy the process of eating alone.(C3)

I feel happy when I eat alone.(C4)

0.683

0.734

0.618

0.776

(Liu,

2017)

Uniqueness

Demand

Perception

The dishes I customize are different from other dishes in terms of taste

and appearance.(D1)

I prefer to customize my own dishes rather than the fixed set meals

offered by businesses.(D3)

I am willing to try my own customized dishes before others.(D4)

0.604

0.81

0.608

（Chen et

al., 2005)

Social

Influence

Perception

Having friends around who have experienced the 'solo dining' service can

affect my satisfaction with the service.(E2)

Friends and relatives recommending offline 'solo dining' services to me

will increase my satisfaction with the service.(E3)

0.615

0.843

(Jing et al.,

2022)

Satisfaction

I am satisfied with the service experience of the 'solo dining' restaurant

offline.(F1)

It is wise to dine at a 'solo dining' restaurant.(F2)

I enjoyed my dining experience at the 'solo dining' restaurant.(F3)

Overall, the service of 'solo dining' restaurants can meet my needs.(F4)

0.899

0.823

0.851

0.896

(Du, 2023)

Repurchase

Willingness

If there is a chance next time, I would like to continue to dine at the 'solo

dining' restaurant offline.(G1)

I would recommend others to go to offline 'solo dining' restaurants.(G2)

If I have enough money, I will consider dining at a 'solo dining' restaurant

offline again.(G3)

I prefer dining at 'solo dining' restaurants compared to other

restaurants.(G4)

0.835

0.876

0.824

0.877

(Jia et al.,

2024)

5.4 Hypothesis Testing

5.4.1 Regression Analysis of Perceived 'Solo

Dining' Service on Repurchase

Willingness

From Table 8, it can be seen that the adjusted R

value

of the model is 0.793, indicating that the five

dimensions of quality perception, affordability

perception, pleasantness perception, uniqueness

demand perception, and social influence perception

can explain 79.3% of the changes in consumer

repurchase willingness, and the explanatory power is

very good. According to Table 9, the F-value is

98.975 and the p-value is less than 0.05, indicating

that the overall regression model is significant.

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Table 8: Summary of the independent variable group model

Model Summar

Model R R-squared Adjusted R-squared

Standard estimation

erro

1 0.895

0.801 0.793 0.37062

a. Predictive variables: (constant), quality perception, affordability perception, pleasantness

perception, uniqueness demand perception, social influence perception

Table 9: ANOVA analysis of independent variable group

ANOVA

Model

Sum of

uares

Free Degree Mean Square F Signicance

Regressio

67.975 5 13.595 98.975 0.000b

residual 16.895 123 0.137

Total 84.870 128

a. Dependent variable: repurchase willingness

b. Predictive variables: (constant), quality perception, affordability perception, pleasantness

perception, uniqueness demand perception, social influence perception

Regression analysis was conducted with

perceived quality, perceived affordability, perceived

pleasantness, perceived uniqueness demands, and

perceived social influence as independent variables,

and repurchase willingness as the dependent variable.

The specific results are shown in Table 10. According

to the table, quality perception has a significant

positive impact on repurchase willingness (β=0.495,

p=0.000). The perception of affordability has no

significant effect on repurchase willingness (β=0.007,

p=0.910). Pleasantness perception has a positive and

significant impact on repurchase willingness

(β=0.227, p=0.002). The perception of uniqueness

demands has a significant positive impact on

repurchase willingness (β=0.213, p=0.005). The

perception of social influence has no significant

impact on repurchase willingness (β=0.048, p=0.408).

Therefore, the impact of 'solo dining' service

perception on repurchase willingness is in the order of

quality perception > pleasantness perception >

uniqueness demand perception.

Table 10: Significance analysis of independent variable group

Coefficient

Model

Non-standardized

Coefficient

Standardized

Coefficient

t Significance

Standard

Erro

Beta

(

constant

)

0.098 0.176 0.557 0.578

Qualit

Perce

tion 0.495 0.089 0.466 5.584 0.000

Affordability Perception 0.007 0.063 0.008 0.113 0.910

Pleasantness Perception 0.227 0.071 0.234 3.205 0.002

Uniqueness Demand

Perce

tion

0.213 0.074 0.212 2.856 0.005

Social Influence

Perce

tion

0.048 0.058 0.053 0.829 0.408

a. Dependent variables：repurchase willingness

5.4.2 Regression Analysis of 'Solo Dining'

Service Perception on Satisfaction

As shown in Table 11, the adjusted R

value of the

model is 0.809, indicating that the five dimensions of

quality perception, affordability perception,

pleasantness perception, unique demand perception,

and social influence perception can explain 80.9% of

the variance in satisfaction, which is a good

explanation. From Table 12, it can be seen that the F

value is 109.186 and the p-value is less than 0.05,

indicating that the overall regression model is

significant.

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Table 11: Summary of the Mediating Variable Group Model

Model Summar

Model R R Square Adjusted R square

Standardized Estimated

Erro

1 0.903a 0.816 0.809 0.35607

a. Predictive variables:(constant), quality perception, affordability perception, pleasantness

perception,uniqueness demand perception, social influence perception

Table 12: ANOVA analysis of mediator variable group

ANOVA

Model

Sum of

Square

Free Degree Mean Square F significance

ression 69.217 5 13.843 109.186 0.000b

Residual Erro

15.595 123 0.127

Total 84.812 128

a. Dependent variables: satisfaction

b. Predictive variables:(constant),quality perception, affordability perception,pleasantness

perception,uniqueness demand perception, social influence perception

A regression analysis was conducted with

quality perception, affordability perception,

pleasantness perception, unique demand perception,

and social influence perception as independent

variables and satisfaction as the dependent variable.

The specific results are shown in Table 13. As shown

in Table 13, quality perception has a positive and

significant impact on satisfaction (β=0.356, p=0.000).

The perception of affordability has no significant

impact on repurchase willinngness (β=0.149,

p=0.016). Pleasantness perception has a positive and

significant impact on repurchase willingness

(β=0.208, p=0.003). The perception of uniqueness

demands has a significant positive impact on

repurchase willingness (β=0.310, p=0.000). Social

influence perception has no significant impact on

repurchase willingness (β=-0.033, p=0.549).

Therefore, assuming that H1, H2, H3, and H4 are true,

the impact of the perception of 'solo doining' service

on satisfaction is in the order of quality perception >

uniqueness demand perception > pleasantness

perception > affordability perception. Assuming that

H5 has not been verified.

Table 13: Significance analysis of mediator variable group

Coefficient

Model

Non-standardized

Coefficient

Standardized

Coefficient

t Significance

Standard

Erro

Beta

(constant) 0.076 0.169 0.446 0.656

Quality Perception 0.356 0.085 0.335 4.178 0.000

Affordabilit

Perce

tion 0.149 0.061 0.164 2.438 0.016

Pleasantness Perce

tion 0.208 0.068 0.214 3.048 0.003

Uniqueness Demand

Perception

0.310 0.072 0.309 4.342 0.000

Social Influence

Perception

-0.033 0.055 -0.037 -0.602 0.549

a. Dependent variables: satisfaction

5.4.3 Analysis of the Mediating Effect of

Satisfaction

As shown in Table 14, the adjusted R

value of the

model is 0.836, indicating that quality perception,

affordability perception, pleasantness perception,

unique demand perception, social influence

perception, and satisfaction can explain 83.6% of the

changes in consumers' repurchase willingness, with a

good explanatory power. From Table 15, it can be

seen that the F value is 109.970 and the p-value is less

than 0.05, indicating that the overall regression model

is significant.

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Table 14: Summary of Dependent Variable Group Model

Model Summar

Model R R Square Adjusted R square

Standardized Estimated

Erro

1 0.919a 0.844 0.836 0.32948

a. Predictive variables:(constant),quality perception, affordability perception,pleasantness

perception,uniqueness demand perception, social influence perception

Table 15: ANOVA analysis of dependent variable group

ANOVA

Model

Sum of

Square

Free Degree Mean Square F significance

regression 71.626 6 11.938 109.970 0.000b

Residual

Error

13.244 122 0.109

Total 84.870 128

a. Dependent variables: satisfaction

b. Predictive variables:(constant),quality perception, affordability perception,pleasantness

perception,uniqueness demand perception, social influence perception

A regression analysis was conducted with

quality perception, affordability perception,

pleasantness perception, unique demand perception,

social influence perception, and satisfaction as

independent variables, and repurchase willingness as

the dependent variable. The specific results are shown

in Table 16. As shown in Table 16, under the

influence of six dimensions, quality perception has a

positive and significant impact on repurchase

willingness (β=0.323, p=0.000). The perception of

affordability has no significant impact on repurchase

willingness (β=-0.065, p=0.264). The perception of

pleasantness has no significant impact on repurchase

willingnes (β=0.127, p=0.055). The perception of

uniqueness needs has no significant impact on

repurchase willingness (β=0.062, p=0.382). Social

influence perception has no significant impact on

repurchase willingness (β=0.064, p=0.215).

Satisfaction has a significant positive impact on

repurchase willingness (β=0.484, p=0.000).

Table 16: Significance analysis of dependent variable group

Coefficient

Model

Non-standardized

Coefficient

Standardized

Coefficient

t Significance

Standard

Erro

Beta

(

constant

)

0.062 0.157 0.393 0.695

Quality

Perception

0.323 0.084 0.304 3.833 0.000

Affordability

Perception

-0.065 0.058 -0.071 -1.122 0.264

Pleasantness

Perce

tion

0.127 0.065 0.130 1.939 0.055

Uniqueness

Demand

Perce

tion

0.062 0.071 0.062 0.877 0.382

Social Influence

Perce

tion

0.064 0.051 0.070 1.246 0.215

(

constant

)

0.484 0.083 0.484 5.800 0.000

a. Dependent variables: repurchase willingness

The Impact of Service Perception in the Ofﬂine Solo Dining on Catering Industry of Consumers’ Willingness to Repurchase

801

Comparing the results of regression model 1 and

regression model 3, it was found that the coefficient of

the positive significant impact of quality perception on

repurchase willingness decreased from 0.495 to 0.323,

indicating that most of the impact was direct, but a

small portion of the influence was achieved through

satisfaction. Therefore, satisfaction plays a partial

mediating role between quality perception and

repurchase willingness.

The influence of pleasantness perception and

uniqueness demand perception on repurchase

willingness is not significant, indicating that there is

no direct influence, and their influence on repurchase

willingness is mainly achieved through satisfaction.

Therefore, satisfaction plays a fully mediating role

between pleasantness perception, uniqueness demand

perception, and repurchase willingness.

Comparing the results of regression model 2 and

regression model 3, it is found that perceived value has

a positive impact on satisfaction, but it does not

directly affect repurchase willingness. Satisfaction

does not transfer the impact of perceived value to

repurchase willingness. Perhaps because when the

price rationality and value for money reach the market

average level, the stimulating effect of continuing to

optimize cost-effectiveness on repeat purchases has

declined. Therefore, satisfaction has no mediating

effect between perceived value and repurchase

willingness.

Social influence perception has no positive impact

on satisfaction and repurchase willingness, and

satisfaction cannot play a mediating role in social

influence perception and repurchase willingness. In

the hypothesis, social influence perception describes

consumers' perception of social evaluation around

them and affects their intension to consume. In the

context of solo dining services, the social evaluation

that single consumers face more often may be the

evaluation and recognition of strangers, but the

evaluation and recognition of strangers cannot affect

the experience and recognition of the service by the

consumer group itself. Therefore, in such a situation,

social influence perception cannot have a direct

positive impact on consumers' intension to repurchase.

Therefore, satisfaction does not play a mediating role

between social influence perception and repurchase

willingness.

In summary, H6 is partially verified.

6 CONCLUSION

6.1 Summaries

Through the hypothesis testing of the impact of 'solo

dining' service perception on consumers' repurchase

willingness, the following conclusions were drawn:

① The quality perception of 'solo dining' service can

directly have a significant positive impact on

satisfaction, and can also positively and significantly

affect consumers' repurchase willingness through the

mediating effect of satisfaction. ②The perception of

the benefits of 'solo dining' services has a significant

positive impact on satisfaction, but it cannot

positively influence consumers' willingness to

repurchase through the mediating effect of

satisfaction. ③ The pleasant perception of 'solo

dining' service can have a positive and significant

impact on satisfaction, and can also have a positive

impact on consumers' repurchase willingness through

the full mediating effect of satisfaction. ④The unique

demand perception of 'solo dining' services can have

a positive and significant impact on customer

satisfaction, and can also have a positive impact on

consumer repurchase willingness through the full

mediating effect of satisfaction. ⑤The perception of

the social influence of 'solo dining' services does not

positively affect customer satisfaction, and it cannot

positively influence consumers' willingness to

repurchase through the mediating effect of

satisfaction. ⑥ The mediating effect of satisfaction in

the model is partially significant.

6.2 Suggestions

The results of the hypothesis test indicate that the

perception of quality, pleasantness, and uniqueness

needs in the 'solo dining' service have a significant

positive impact on satisfaction and repurchase

willingness. This suggests that these dimensions have

a greater impact on consumers' repurchase

willingness, possibly because consumers pay more

attention to the efficiency, convenience, and positive

emotional value of service provided during the 'solo

dining' experience, as well as creative choices. The

results of the descriptive analysis indicate that for

consumers who have not experienced it, the

personalized design of the privacy space and the

simplified social dining atmosphere provided by 'solo

dining' will also increase their expectations for 'solo

dining'. Based on this situation and combined with the

current development trend of the offline catering

industry, the following suggestions are made for

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catering enterprises and brands to provide offline 'solo

dining' services:

(1)Catering enterprises should pay attention to the

demand of consumers for optimized space and

efficient service. 'Solo dining' restaurants should

adopt an independent partitioned non-face-to-face

dining layout to reduce social pressure and enhance

the privacy and independence of consumers when

dining alone. At the same time, merchants should also

increase intelligent equipment based on the spatial

characteristics of individual card seats, such as silent

call buttons and serving robots, to reduce the

communication between consumers and waiters and

ensure the convenience of consumers during their

dining experience alone.

(2)Catering enterprises should pay attention to the

consumer's need for pleasant emotions. To make

consumers feel calm and beautiful when eating alone,

businesses should increase the readability of the menu

and the exquisiteness of the dishes. For example,

limited theme packages launched in conjunction with

the season, with more encouragement or gifts about

themes such as ‘self-healing’ and ‘pleasing oneself’,

can enhance consumers' enjoyment and emotional

resonance. Businesses can also appropriately increase

indirect interactions between consumers, such as

adding message walls, so that groups of ‘solo eaters’

can also have a sense of social belonging, while

enhancing consumers' memory and stickiness to the

brand. Merchants can also build immersive restaurant

environments, creating a warm and healing

atmosphere through lighting, music, and decoration to

enhance the experience of companionship.

(3)Catering enterprises should pay attention to the

unique demands of consumers. In order to give

consumers the greatest freedom in choosing

ingredients, businesses need to provide consumers

with complete and meaningful introductions to

dishes, such as information on the traceability of

ingredients and suggestions for nutritional

combinations, to make consumers feel more

comfortable in their choices. Based on different

consumption levels of consumers, businesses can

launch different quality packages, such as organic

ingredients for high-end customers and cost-effective

packages for middle- and low-end customers. Due to

the flexible time of 'solo dining', businesses can also

extend their business hours to include services such as

breakfast, afternoon tea, and late-night snacks,

adapting to the lifestyle and work pace of more 'solo

dining' people.

6.3 Reflection and Prospect

The survey in this study still has some limitations. On

the one hand, the sample size is small, and the impact

of regional cultural differences on service perception

has not been taken into account, which may limit the

universality of the conclusions. On the other hand, the

research did not fully control other potential factors,

such as geographical convenience and the variety of

dishes, which may make the explanation of service

perception on repurchase willingness inaccurate.

Therefore, based on the above analysis, future

research in related directions can further explore the

differential impact mechanisms of service perception

in different food and beverage categories, such as hot

pot and fast food. Different categories of service

design will have different focuses, with fast food

focusing more on efficiency and fine dining

emphasizing privacy. In combination with the

measurement dimensions of service perception, the

internal characteristics of consumers can also be used

as a direction for further in-depth research.

Psychological variables such as personality traits and

preferences for solitude can be introduced to analyze

the moderating effect of consumers' service

perception on their willingness to repurchase.

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