Determinants of customer loyalty and retention A study of supermarket customers in Bangalore

Abstract

Considering the ever dynamic lifestyle of the customers in Bangalore,the proposed study tried to find out the expectations and aspirations of supermarket customers in Bangalore.Most of the currently available studies are based on conceptual understanding and don t have an empirical backup. The proposed study is designed to determine the customer loyalty and retention of Supermarket Customers in Bangalore. newlineThe literature initiates an exhaustive discussion of various constructs leading to customer retention. Based on references from the literature constructs identified for customer retention are customer satisfaction, switching costs and customer loyalty and for customer loyalty the constructs identified are trust,commitment and customer satisfaction.For determining satisfaction the constructs identified in the proposed study are convenience of location, store atmosphere,promotion, customer relationship management practices and merchandise. Through extensive literature review,hypotheses were derived and the proposed conceptual model is developed. newlineObjectives of the proposed study are to empirically validate a model linking customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and customer retention with select antecedents. Research Methodology explains about the population spread from which the samples are collected, the justification for using the particular sampling technique and also about the tool employed for data collection. The techniques employed for checking the reliability and validity of the tool and pilot data analysis are also explained. Data collection was conducted using a structured questionnaire designed using Likert scale measurement. The pilot sample data consisted of 250 respondents.The questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS(v.20,software using Cronbach Alpha, Intra Class Correlation and Confirmatory factor analysis. newlineThe data collected from 600 respondents in Bengaluru city was used for the full fledged study.