The performance of the retailing sector for the past few years is outstanding and witnesses a huge revamping exercise, significantly contributed by the growth of the organized retailing. Rapid urbanization, exposure to large number of foreign brands and changing lifestyle and preferences has contributed to the growth of retailing in India. The quality of service that has been perceived by the customers irrespective of the brand or make is what ultimately results in a customer walking back to the store once again. The article provides insights into the service quality prevalent in the retail stores as perceived by the customers and how some of the factors are related with that of the socio economic factor. For the purpose of study a sample of 170 was chosen on the basis of convenience at leading retail stores in Chennai. A questionnaire on five scale rating was administered to collect the data by way of personal interview. For the purpose of analysis and drawing inferences the statistical tools used are Cronbanch Alpha, percentage analysis, Factor analysis, ANOVA, intercorrelation and regression. The six factors namely, reliability, matching customer needs and products, customer handling, customer convenience, tangibles and quality of staff were identified with the use of factor Analysis. Depending on the sex of the customer ie male or female the way in which the customer is handled and the quality of service varies. The higher customers perception on service quality at retail stores will result in higher customer loyalty.
