The customer retail app experience: Implications for customer loyalty

Retailer mobile applications are one of the principal retail purchase and information search channels. Customer experience is key to retail app success. However, its dimensions and impact on retailer performance have been the subject of only a limited number of studies. This research builds on existing customer retail app experience literature by considering four dimensions as precursors of satisfaction with the retailers’ app and customer loyalty (cognitive, affective, relational and sensorial). Data were collected from a sample of 545 retailer app users and analysed using PLS-SEM. The results demonstrate that the affective dimension has the most influence and they highlight the importance of the sensory experience, which even surpasses the cognitive experience. The effect of the relational dimension on customer satisfaction, meanwhile, could not be positively confirmed. Analysis of the moderating effect of gender, age and device type used identifies effects that have not, until now, been demonstrated in current literature.     

The impact of affective and cognitive app experiences on loyalty towards retailers

Although mobile applications (apps) are now widespread, to date few studies have considered the effects that app use has on loyalty towards the retailer. This study aims to explore the impact of affective and cognitive app experiences on loyalty towards retailers. A theoretical model, validated empirically with data from a survey using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), is proposed. The results show the key role of affective experience and its impact on cognitive experience and that both dimensions positively influence the satisfaction and trust that users have in apps, which in turn has a positive effect on loyalty felt towards the retailer. These findings contribute towards improving the theoretical knowledge of the impact of apps on the retailer-customer relationship, and guide businesses in developing and implementing appropriate app-related strategies.     

The influence of customer experience with automated games and social interaction on customer engagement and loyalty in casinos

Drawing on experiential marketing theory, This study examines the relationship between casino customers’ experience with automated games and their engagement and loyalty responses to casinos. Social interaction as a proxy of visiting motivation is modelled as a moderator in the relationship. Customer behaviours include word-of-mouth, visiting frequency, and average spending. The study focuses on Australian land-based casino members with automated game experience. The results show that customer experience with some features of automated games had a positive and significant impact on customer engagement with the casino, which led to positive loyalty. Automated game experience also had an indirect effect on customer loyalty. Social interaction exhibited a significant moderating effect on the relationship between customer engagement and visiting frequency. Discussion and implications of these findings for the literature and practitioners conclude the paper.     

What drives retailer loyalty? A meta-analysis of the role of cognitive,affective, and social factors across five decades

Today's retailers face significant competition due to the proliferation of both retail formats and channels. It is crucial for retailers to understand how to develop a loyal customer base for competitive advantage. To this end, we conducted a meta-analysis of 1,908 effect sizes from 319 studies on retailer loyalty over the last 50 years, to examine the impact of cognitive, affective, and social retail experience on customer loyalty toward a retailer. Our analysis shows that affective experience became more important over time and had the highest impact on retailer loyalty, 24% more than that of social drivers and 50% more than cognitive drivers. Affective experience is particularly impactful online and for retailers of hedonic or low-involvement products. Social drivers increased significantly in impact over time too. Its effect was particularly strong on attitudinal loyalty, for studies with a higher proportion of females, and surprisingly, in utilitarian rather than hedonic retail contexts. Taken together, our findings suggest that traditional cognitive differentiators such as price and product assortment are no longer sufficient for maintaining customer loyalty to a retailer. Positive affective and/or social experience represent a more defensible path toward customer loyalty.     

Supermarket self-checkout service quality,customer satisfaction,and loyalty: Empirical evidence from an emerging market

Supermarket shoppers around the world are increasingly encountering and using self-service technologies (SSTs) during their shopping process. The SSTs are mainly offered to reduce retailer costs and enhance customer's experience. Among the many different SSTs available, self-checkout systems (SCS) have become an extremely popular choice of supermarkets around the world. Although some of the main motivations of the supermarkets for offering SCSs are cost cutting, speed, and convenience, supermarkets are also assuming that these services would enhance customer experience, satisfaction, and ultimately loyalty. However, empirical evidence is needed to better understand customer expectations of SCS service quality and how technology based service quality impacts retail patronage. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to examine the service quality of supermarket/grocery store SCSs and its impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty in an emerging market, namely Turkey. Using the SSTQUAL scale (Lin and Hsieh, 2011), data (n=275) for the study is collected from shoppers who had just completed going through the self-checkout counter in a large supermarket chain. The results of this study show that SCS service quality positively influences loyalty through the customer satisfaction path. Managerial and research implications of the findings are discussed.     

Customer retailer loyalty in the context of multiple channel strategies

With an increasingly competitive retail environment and decreasing customer switching costs, customer retailer loyalty is a critical goal for merchants of all types. We investigate customer retailer loyalty in the context of multiple channel retailing strategies. Results show that multiple channel retail strategies enhance the portfolio of service outputs provided to the customer, thus enhancing customer satisfaction and ultimately customer retailer loyalty. These results suggest that multiple channel retailing can be a useful strategy for building customer retailer loyalty.     

Service integration in omnichannel retailing and its impact on customer experience

Although omnichannel retailing has received considerable attention from scholars and practitioners in recent years, its impacts on customer experience and relationship outcomes remain unclear. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effects of two components of service integration in omnichannel retailing, namely service consistency and service transparency, on customer experience (i.e. flow and perceived privacy risk), and customer loyalty. Flow theory and hyperbolic discounting theory are employed to underpin these relationships. The data was collected using an online survey with 786 useable responses. Our findings indicate that service consistency has a direct and significant impact on flow and perceived risk while only the effect of service transparency on flow is significant. Moreover, both flow and perceived risk are related to customer loyalty to a retailer. Furthermore, it is found that showrooming behaviour and location-based service usage moderate the relationship between service consistency and privacy risk. The findings of the research provide important implications for a retailer regarding the development, implementation and management of omnichannel strategy.     

Personalization and hedonic motivation in creating customer experiences and loyalty in omnichannel retail

This study examines the effects of personalization and hedonic motivation on customer experience and its loyalty outcomes in omnichannel retail context. The study develops eight hypotheses which are tested using two survey samples (Finland (n = 2084) and Sweden (n = 2334). In addition, empirical analysis includes 20 semi-structured interviews. The findings support all the hypotheses confirming the positive relationships personalization and hedonic motivation have on cognitive and emotional customer experience components. Further, the positive effects of customer experience on loyalty are confirmed. The results provide both theoretical and managerial insights for improved CX and customer loyalty.     

Relationship between sales force reputation and customer behavior: Role of experiential value added by sales force

Based on the resource-based view theory and the experiential value model, this paper aims to investigate how experiential value added by the salesperson mediates the relationship between perceived salesperson reputation and customer behavior. A questionnaire is constructed, and data are collected from 229 customers served by financial salespeople working in five bank agencies in Canada. Structural equation modeling was employed to assess the proposed research model empirically. The empirical results revealed that the two dimensions of experiential value – economic benefit and service productivity – partially mediated the relationship between perceived salesperson reputation and both customer loyalty towards the salesperson and customer share of wallet. However, enjoyable interaction mediates only the relation among salesperson reputation and customer loyalty. The managerial implications are addressed.     

CUSTOMER SERVICE IN THE INTERNET‐ENABLED LOGISTICS SUPPLY CHAIN: WEBSITE DESIGN ANTECEDENTS AND LOYALTY EFFECTS

This article extends the existing research on logistics customer service‐loyalty relationships to the online logistics supply chain environment by examining potential website determinants of logistics customer service quality. A structural equation analysis of 373 online shopping transactions suggests that perceived quality of all logistics customer service activities (perceived cycle time, in‐stock availability, and customer responsiveness) varies inversely with: (1) perceived ease of use, and (2) content vividness of the website; and positively with product information content. However, only retailer customer responsiveness assessment was found to have any significant influence on consumer intended loyalty behavior in Internet‐enabled supplies chains.     

Contactless but loyal customers: The roles of anxiety and sociability in the hotel service context

To move their businesses in a positive direction, service providers are increasingly adopting contactless technologies. However, the influence of contactless service (CS) on important customer outcomes has been ignored. This study formulated a research framework to investigate the roles of customer anxiety and sociability in the relationship between CS and customer loyalty in the hotel setting. The findings revealed that CS is positively related to customer loyalty. Pandemic-related customer anxiety helps transit the positive impact of CS on customer loyalty. However, customer sociability dampens the effects of CS on customer loyalty. More specifically, as customer sociability increases, the positive impact of CS on customer loyalty decreases directly and indirectly via customer anxiety. Our findings provide novel contributions to the emerging CS literature by disclosing the psychological mechanisms under the “contactless effect” and the potential theoretical boundary condition. In addition, the findings deliver practicable benefits to service managers in fighting the COVID-19 crisis.     

Customer value and customer loyalty: Is competition a missing link?

This study is aimed at providing an insight into the effects of competition on customer value delivery for customer loyalty. Data were collected using a questionnaire on dyads of service employees and customers. The techniques of ANOVA, ordinary least squares, and logistic regression were used to analyze the dyad data in terms of research purposes. Results show that competition is a moderator of the relationship between customer value and customer loyalty from the consumer perspective. Also, competition is a predictor of customer loyalty from the employee perspective. Insights into this asymmetry in the view on competition between employees and consumers are found. Findings of the moderating effects of competition on the customer value-customer loyalty relationship suggest the significance of competition in the service encounter. In addition, this study found that the predictive validity of the loyalty model for consumers is significantly higher than that for employees. This finding suggests that the factors driving customer loyalty are better captured from the consumer perspective. Findings of the impact of competition on the consumer’s experience of different types of value provide insights as to where to invest in generating customer value to achieve desired customer loyalty. This study also suggests to managers how service employees could be recruited and managed to achieve a service competitive advantage. This study extends our understanding of the customer value–customer loyalty relationship by uncovering the significant role of competition from a dyadic viewpoint.     

Recipes for achieving customer loyalty: A qualitative comparative analysis of the dimensions of customer experience

Theoretical literature on customer experience (CX) agrees that the effects of customer experience on customer behavior depend on different combinations of its dimensions. In contrast with unidimensional or integrated approaches to CX, determining customer behavior requires specifying how the dimensions of CX interact. However, empirical research on the interactions between CX dimensions has not, to our minds, progressed sufficiently. Therefore, in this study, we have advanced CX research by empirically demonstrating the ways in which customer loyalty can result from various dimensions; we do this by focusing on synergies between different CX dimensions within a DIY sector. A sample of 603 consumers from France, applied to a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) model, reveals two configurations that firms can use to achieve superior customer loyalty. The findings also specify that complementarity and substitutability effects result among CX dimensions when they reflect a perfect match, and not simply by adding extra dimensions. Further analysis reveals both distinct features and similarities among generational cohorts, in terms of CX dimensions assessment, and their relevance for customer loyalty. This article thus contributes to existing research by tracing the multiple CX paths that can lead to enhanced performance for firms within the DIY sector.     

eTailQ: dimensionalizing, measuring and predicting etail quality

Quality is related to customer satisfaction, retention and loyalty in both product and services settings. Thus, quality is expected to be a determinant of online retailer success as well. Based on online and offline focus groups, a sorting task, and an online survey of a customer panel, the authors establish the dimensions of the etail experience, and develop a reliable and valid scale for the measurement of etail quality. The analysis suggests that four factors—website design, fulfillment/reliability, privacy/security and customer service—are strongly predictive of customer judgments of quality and satisfaction, customer loyalty and attitudes toward the website.     

物业服务质量对顾客价值及顾客忠诚的影响:居住档次的调节作用

在竞争日益加剧的市场环境中如何提供高质量的服务,提升顾客感知价值以及顾客忠诚度是企业获取竞争优势的关键所在.本文以物业服务行业为研究背景,建构服务质量各维度对顾客价值和顾客忠诚的影响机制模型,并检验居住档次对该模型的调节效应.研究结果表明:与其他行业的服务质量维度构成不同,物业服务质量由实体环境、专业保障、服务效率和人文关怀四个维度构成;实体环境对顾客忠诚产生正向显著影响,而专业保障、服务效率、人文关怀三个服务维度虽然对顾客忠诚没有显著的直接影响,但均通过顾客价值对其产生间接影响;顾客价值是解释服务质量影响顾客忠诚的重要中介变量;居住档次部分调节了实体环境、专业保障、服务效率和人文关怀对顾客价值及顾客忠诚的影响.     

Engaging and retaining customers with AI and employee service

Artificial intelligence (AI) permeates in service organisations as a tool to enhance operational efficiency and improve customer experience. Reports show that most consumers prefer human interactions with service employees. Drawing on this observation, the current study examines how customers' service experiences with employees and AI influence customer engagement and loyalty. Customers’ emotional intelligence is proposed as a moderator between service experience and customer engagement. The study was conducted with hotel customers in Australia. The results show that whilst both service experience with employees and AI are significantly related to customer engagement and loyalty, only certain dimensions make significant unique variances in the outcome variables. The findings indicate that customers prefer employee service. These service experiences also have significant partial mediation effects on customer loyalty. Emotional intelligence has a significant moderation effect on customer engagement. Discussion of these findings and implications derived from this study concludes this paper.     

The antecedents of customer loyalty: A moderated mediation model of customer relationship management quality and brand image

This study examines the mediating role of customer relationship management (CRM) quality to better explain the effects of service evaluation variables (service quality, customer satisfaction and customer value) on customer loyalty. The study also investigates the moderating effect of brand image on these mediated relationships. The mediating role of CRM quality on the relationship between the service evaluation variables and customer loyalty is supported. Further, it is found that the indirect effect of customer satisfaction on customer loyalty via CRM quality is stronger when perceived brand image is high than when it is low. The results have implications for relationship managers, brand managers and scholars who use service evaluation and relational metrics to predict customer loyalty.     

Reconceptualizing value creation: Exploring the role of goal congruence in the Co-creation process

As companies gradually shift from the exchange view to the resource integration view, the creation of value also shifts from the customer sphere to the joint sphere. As a result, the customer and service provider are responsible for co-creating value through resource integration. However, it raises the question of whether customers are capable of contributing to the co-creation of value. Our study proposes a framework of how goal congruence plays a pivotal role in the resource integration process between all actors in the joint sphere. When the level of goal congruence between customer and service provider actors is high, it stimulates the exchange of valuable resources from all actors, which leads to the actual experience of co-creation resulting in value-in-use and improves service outcomes, i.e., customer satisfaction and loyalty. Data were collected through a field survey from salon-and-spa customers (n = 530) and PLS-SEM was employed to test the hypotheses and further analysis. The results show that goal congruence impacts customer satisfaction and loyalty through value-in-use. Therefore, suggesting service providers to properly socialize their goals will be a good strategy to increase customer capability to co-create value and ultimately enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.     

The link between corporate social responsibility and customer loyalty: Empirical evidence from the Islamic banking industry

Increased support from customers for Islamic financial services is very important to create resilience and competitiveness in the Islamic banking industry. By highlighting certain social activities, this paper estimates the role of Islamic banks’ CSR in influencing customer loyalty, both individually and through the integrated roles of image, trust, satisfaction, and reputation. These paths explore how CSR makes customers impressed, convinced, satisfied, amazed, and ultimately loyal to Islamic banks. The empirical analysis of partial least square structural equation modeling (n = 283) has shown that CSR directly and positively impacts loyalty. Indirectly, these two aspects have an insignificant relationship through the serial roles of image-reputation and satisfaction-reputation, but significant through the single role of reputation and the serial role of trust-reputation. This study has resulted in an updated prediction model of Islamic banking customer loyalty. The practical implication lies in the importance of developing CSR to generate trust and reputation which ultimately increase customer loyalty toward Islamic banks.