Factors Affecting Customer Loyalty In Retail

2. OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

In order to justify the research problem below objectives were taken into consideration for study the overall impact on customer loyalty.

1. To study trends of customer loyalty in retailing sector of India with reference to brick-n-mortar stores.

2. To identify the factors affecting customer loyalty in brick-n-mortar stores.

3. To measure the impact of these factors on customer loyalty in brick-n-mortar stores.

4. To suggest the measures to improve customer loyalty in brick-n-mortar stores.

3. Reference to Literature

Retail

A brief reference to the studies/ reports in the area is useful to gain insight into the problem.

Abishek Parekth (2002)11 in his article titled, ― Enter the hypermarkets‖ says that the retail boom

Retail store design factors into window displays, furnishings, lighting, flooring, music and store layout to create a brand or specific appeal. Employees working in this area are responsible for designing the store and presenting merchandise and fixtures in the store (Michael Levy and Weitz, 2010).

Arvind Singh (2004) in his article argues that the truly most productive and desirables assets are not buildings and fixtures but a profitable customer base. He also states that enhanced customer relationship implies taking customer service and associated profitability to new heights by increasingly interactive retailing. He also discusses extensively, now the advancements in technology have changed the face of retailing and have compelled retailers in India to rethink their strategies. He also suggests that retailers must reassess their strategies and must acquire a mindset in managing customer relationship to be successful in the ever changing

Retailers can also form alliances with other suppliers to provide customers with greater choice. To illustrate, a retailer may keep only a limited assortment of a given product category in inventory but can form alliances with other suppliers and manufacturers that can ship products to customers of the retailer from their own, more extensive inventories. However, the customer has seamless access to the entire range of products carried by the alliance from the retailer’s store. Many consumers do not want to deal with multiple vendors when shopping. Bergen, Dutta, & Shugan (1996) noted that consumer search costs associated with shopping across retailers increase with the number of competing alternatives. In contrast, an increase in the number of available alternatives at a single retailer can greatly reduce the opportunity costs of time and the real costs of inconvenience and search expended in virtual store hopping. The retailer that offers greater choice can emerge as the dominant, top-of-mind destination for one-stop shopping, thereby engendering