Dissertation Ayushi
Dissertation Ayushi
Dissertation Ayushi
On
Study of consumer perception about loyalty programs in retailing models
Submitted in the partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of degree of
PGDM (2016-18) in:
Marketing & Finance
TABLE OF CONTENT
Sr. No. Name Of The Topic Page No.
1. Certificate 3
2. Declaration 4
3. Acknowledgement 5
4. Abstract 6-7
5. Introduction 8-12
12. References 33
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project report entitled Study of consumer perception about
loyalty programs in retailing models is submitted to International School of Business
and Media, Pune partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of the degree of
PGDM (Marketing & Finance) is an original work carried out by Ms. Ayushi Anand,
under the guidance of Dr. Soumyajit Patnaik. The matter embodied in this report is a
genuine work done by her to the best of my knowledge and belief and has not been
submitted before, neither to this College nor to any other College/University for the
fulfilment of the requirement of any course of study.
I, Ayushi Anand, hereby declare that the following project report on Study of
consumer perception about loyalty programs in retailing models is my original
authentic work.
The project was undertaken as a part of the course curriculum of PGDM Program,
ISB&M, Pune. This has not been submitted to any other examination earlier.
I further declare that the information presented in this project is true and original to
the best of my Knowledge.
Ayushi Anand
17020
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I avail this opportunity to express my deep sense of gratitude to all who have helped
me to carry out and complete this dissertation report successfully. I am thankful to
our president Dr. Pramod Kumar, Director, International School of Business & Media,
Pune. I wish to acknowledge my appreciation to Dr. Soumyajit Patnaik, mentor and
guide of my dissertation, who has been extremely helpful to me during the entire
period of my research work. His valuable guidance, suggestions and support provided
me the right kind of view desired to accomplish the task of completing this research.
As my supervisor Dr. Soumyajit Patnaik, worked with me during the period of my
dissertation and showed the right way on how to go about it for every challenge I
faced. Without his help and encouragement this dissertation would not have been
successfully completed.
I am thankful to all faculty members for their valuable suggestions. I would like to
thank my parents who always remained as my source of inspiration.
A sincere thank you to all my friends whose efforts have helped me in giving a final
shape and structure to my project.
Further, it has affirmed that perceived benefits significantly affect purchase decisions
of the consumers.
The study additionally recommends the guiding part of loyalty program enrollment in
the connection between perceived benefits of loyalty and purchase decisions of clients.
When customers believe that they get more benefits from loyalty programs and similar
campaigns they tend to have higher intentions to purchase from the same store in near
future of which they own a loyalty card, thus leading to a long term relationship with
the store and the brand which makes them a retained, loyal customer.
Moreover, the demographic variables included in the study may help the retailers to
target the customers for loyalty card membership. The price is a major attribute that
makes the customers to run after discounts or any sort of offer which can reduce the
price of the goods that they are buying, no matter who provides it. Results show that
both psychological and economic measures influence customer’s loyalty.
The study reveals that organizations have the fantasy that their customers are totally
loyal but a totally loyal customer is a myth. A customer can be retained only as long as
the companies strive hard to retain their customers and provide the customers the value
that they desire of at the prices which are affordable to them and their pockets. The
customers do not limit their loyalty to just one or two organizations, but they are loyal
to those organizations which provide them better offers and deals. Thus, “complete
value for money” is what an Indian customer looks for.
Holding a membership card which can indicate a commitment attitude was not
significant to the loyalty or satisfaction attached to a particular brand. Some of the
main reasons why customers take a loyalty program is the discount which follows
these cards. Thus, the organizations should understand that disloyalty within varying
degrees is a reality and a necessary evil which they need to train in their favor and keep
their customers retained for a longer time.
Chapter 1
Introduction
Fast changes are occurring in the business condition. The upper hand that associations
accomplished because of their product differentiation strategies do not hold a similar position in
today’s era because a lot of companies today come up with a “me-too product” thus because of this
the product differentiation strategy no longer works. Most organizations today can mass customize
products and make it exceptionally difficult for their clients to recognize their item/benefit and that
of a competitor. In such a domain, having faithful consumers is a consistently expanding challenge
for the seller.
The choice of products and services has increased so much that today’s customers are always having
an alternative for every product that they intend to purcahse. It is therefore, of supreme significance
and need for the seller that she or he has ways and intends to prevent the customer from changing
over to the competing products and services.
Quick changes and serious rivalry have brought about infinite options being made accessible in the
business condition for the customers. In such a situation, it turns out to be essential and a flat out
need for the marketers to not let the customer to change over to the products and services of
competitors. Therefore, it is evident for the organizations today to run a difficult race to charm the
customers through an assortment of relationship advertising methodologies and strategies. One
such technique utilized to influence the customers to adhere to a specific product/mark/store is
'Customer Loyalty Program'
The essential thought process behind a loyalty program is remunerating customers for their
repeated purchase behavior, empowering, keeping up and in this manner improving the level of
loyalty by delivering the customers with focuses at which different benefits can be earned by them.
By actualizing captivating loyalty programs, advertisers hold their valuable customers i.e. gain their
loyalty.
Moreover, it can draw in new customers, some of whom will move toward becoming supporters
over the long haul. Loyalty Programs are thought to be exceedingly viable in holding customers and
are promptly acknowledged by the two customers and retailers.
A successful loyalty program has to be designed in the consideration of the following rules:
1. Obtain customers that are probably going to repurchase.
2. Perceive which customers are probably not going to repurchase and limit the marketing spend for
this segment accordingly.
3. Spotlight the marketing spending plan on the individuals who display an indistinguishable profile
from existing repurchases but are yet to make a repurchase from the brand.
2-Tier system: Offer small rewards as a base offering for being a part of the program, and encourage
repeat customers by increasing the value of the rewards as the customer moves up the loyalty ladder.
The difference between points and tiered systems is that customers extract short-term versus long-
term value from the loyalty program. Tiered programs may work better for high commitment, higher
price-point businesses like airlines, hospitality businesses, or insurance companies.
3- Charge an Upfront Fee for VIP Benefits: Charge one-time (or annual) customers to start
collecting points by their purchases. Clearly this system is most applicable to businesses that thrive
on frequent, repeat purchases. For an upfront fee, the customers are relieved of inconveniences that
could impede future purchases.
*Singh & Khan (2012) highlighted how short term actions with few modifications with the profit will
turn into long term customer loyalty and hence long term benefit. The authors were focusing on
understanding the customer retention and customer loyalty and their importance to the business.
The authors also understand the approach of how to increase customer retention and customer
loyalty towards the business. With the understanding of the behavior of the customers and
satisfying them provides the benefit to the business in the long term. Establishing good relationship
with the customers by providing better services will create customer loyalty and more visits over
time. This will bring more profit to the business in long-term and will reduce the competition. The
study also identified the strategies which attract the customers to the retailer and also understood
the considerations to be done while implementing them. With this, it will help the business to gain
customer retention and loyalty towards their business if they implement them diligently. (Singh &
Khan 2012)
*Agchi & Xingbo (2011) identified a moderator, step-size ambiguity, and address that when
ambiguity is high, only reward distance affects loyalty programs. When ambiguity is lower,
consumers integrate step size with reward distance. The physical and psychological distance
estimation contexts (e.g., weight loss, savings) where distances and step sizes can vary (e.g., as a
function of units: kilograms vs. pounds), but especially in loyalty rewards contexts.
*Omar et al. (2009), pointed out that the introduction of customer relationship marketing
instruments by retailers has been strongly increased in recent years both in theory and practice.
Loyalty programs have become a popular choice of marketing strategy by retailers who believe that
loyalty programs are an important strategy and mechanism for retailers to build store traffic,
increase basket size and increase frequency by creating deeper relationship with their customer.
However, some members in the marketing industry have begun to question the effectiveness of
loyalty programs in obtaining customers’ support and loyalty. The authors reported on the results of
a preliminary study of the literature which has been conducted in an attempt to understand the
issue and role of service quality in retail loyalty programs as well as factors that are important in
loyalty program service quality.
*East et al. (2005), defined Consumer loyalty as a singular concept, usually as an attitude toward the
loyalty object or as repeat patronage behavior. The definition may combine attitude and behavior in
either an additive or an interactive expression. The authors argue that definitions of loyalty are
useful if they predict phenomena such as recommendation, search and retention (loyalty
outcomes). The findings of the study addressed that in three consumer fields, the combination
measures of customer loyalty often perform poorly as predictors of loyalty outcomes compared
with singular measures since recommendation is predicted by attitude but not by repeat patronage.
Retention and search behavior are predicted better by repeat patronage than by attitude. The
prediction of loyalty outcomes is not improved by the inclusion of an interaction term in the model.
The combination concepts of loyalty are of limited value. And there is no form of loyalty that
consistently predicts all the different loyalty outcomes and, so they abandon the idea of a general
concept of loyalty.
*Lewis (2004) developed a model for customers’ response to a loyalty program under the
assumption that purchases represent the choices of customers who are solving a dynamic
optimization problem. This theoretical model is using a discrete-choice dynamic programming
formulation. The author relies on specific loyalty program with data from an online merchant that
specializes in grocery and drugstore items. The results suggest that the loyalty program under study
is successful in increasing annual purchasing for a substantial proportion of customers. Loyalty
programs have an important effect on customer relationship management for firms in travel related
industries such as airlines, hotels, and rental cars.
*Kopalle and Neslin (2003) have proposed analytical models to study the impact of loyalty
programs in categories with different structures.
*Deighton (2000) addressed that information technology enables firms to practice individual-level
marketing which help the wide spread of loyalty programs into several industries such as: gaming,
financial services, and retailing.
*Henning & Klee, (1997), focused at the customer satisfaction with a company’s product or services
as it is the key to company’s success and long-term competitiveness. The author considered
customer satisfaction a central determinant of customer retention. The overall purpose of this study
is to develop a conceptual foundation for investigating the customer retention process, with the use
of the concepts of customer satisfaction and relationship quality. The study has a critical
examination of the satisfaction-retention relationship, and the development of a comprehensive
view of the customer’s quality perception.
*Dowling and Uncles (1997), explained that there are three primary lessons from the research they
did. First, a major reason for launching of many customer loyalty programs is competition. Second, if
a loyalty program does not support the product or service value proposition, it might be justified in
attracting more distributors to deal with the product. Third, brand loyalty is more likely to come
from the market
*O’Brien and Jones (1995) suggest that the major factors that customers consider when assessing
programs are the relative value of awards and the probability of achieving a reward. The probability
of achieving a reward is a function of cumulative buying thresholds and time constraints.
*(Keaveney 1995) Loyalty programs have a long-run positive effect on customer evaluations and
behavior. If loyalty rewards programs increase relationship durations and usage levels, then
customers will be increasingly exposed to the complete spectrum of service experiences.
*Increased customer satisfaction and loyalty have a positive influence on long-term financial
performance. The positive financial outcomes of the rewards program exceed the investments
made in the program
Chapter 3
Research Methodology
3.4 Instruments
To achieve the goal of this study, the focus will be made on finding primary data by building a
questionnaire (Instrument) to collect data from the targeted sample.
Loyalty Programs: Loyalty programs are organized marketing activities that reward, and in
this manner support, dedicated purchasing behavior, which is possibly advantageous to the
firm.
Point System: This is the most well-known commitment program. Regular customers win
focuses, which convert into some kind of reward discount, gifts or special customer
treatment, customer purchases toward a specific measure of focuses to recover their
reward. It is a card issued by a grocery store or tie store to a customer, used to record
credit focuses granted for cash spent in the store.
Tier System Reward: This framework offers little rewards as a base offering for being a
piece of the program, and energizes repeat customers by expanding the estimation of the
prizes as the customer climbs the unwaveringness stepping stool. Level framework reward
will be estimated in this examination by seven explanations, beginning from question ten
till question nine to a limited extent three of the questionnaire.
Chapter 4
Data Analysis and Interpretation
Question 1. Do you currently take part in any loyalty
programs?
Analysis: According to the survey, most people were neutral about both the statements.
Question 5: Please rate the following in order of importance
to you from a loyalty program:
a) Exchanging points for benefits
b) Receiving emails on sales and discounts
c) Receiving targeted texts on sales and discounts based on your
interests
d) Exchanging points for rewards
Analysis: According to this most people have rated Exchanging points for rewards as the
most useful thing for them, exchanging points for benefits as second most useful offer,
Receiving targeted texts on sales and discounts based on your interests as the third
most useful thing and Receiving emails on sales and discounts as the least useful thing.
Question 6: Would you repurchase products and services
from Company ABC if it provides you loyalty benefits?
Analysis: According to the survey 78% people said that they will repurchase from the
same brand if it offers them loyalty benefits and 22% people said no to the repurchase
option.
Question 7: I usually get better discounts from in-store
promotions than loyalty schemes:
Analysis: According to the survey 52% people said that they get better discounts from
in-store promotions than loyalty schemes and 48% people said that they get better
discounts from loyalty schemes than in-store promotions .
Question 8: I buy products if there are extra points
offered on them
Analysis: According to the survey 60% people said that they buy more products if there
are extra points offered on them and 40% people said that they don’t buy more
products if there are extra points offered on them.
Question 9: I will stick to the same brand if they offer
me extra benefits of loyalty:
Analysis: According to the survey 60% people said that they buy more products if there
are extra points offered on them and 40% people said that they don’t buy more
products if there are extra points offered on them.
Chapter 5
Conclusion
According to the findings of the current study all the loyalty programs are useful and important for
building and maintaining customer retention. That means customer retention is benefited from the
foundation of all loyalty program initiatives. A lot of people these days are either already enrolled in
some of the loyalty program or want to get enrolled at the earliest. Most people register themselves
on a loyalty program to get cashbacks, the second preferred option for people to register
themselves on a loyalty program is to get discounts, also people enroll themselves for free gifts and
ease of use and some of the people look for no entry fees, i.e they will register if there is no fees for
it.
Most people have rated Exchanging points for rewards as the most useful thing for them,
exchanging points for benefits as second most useful offer, Receiving targeted texts on sales and
discounts based on your interests as the third most useful thing and Receiving emails on sales and
discounts as the least useful thing. Thus, companies should focus on giving the option of exchanging
loyalty points for their further purchases. According to the survey, most people said that they will
repurchase from the same brand if it offers them loyalty benefits so the companies can leverage this
program as a marketing initiative which will help them to derive more sales from their retained
customers.
One of the major determinants of customer loyalty is perceived value which is mainly derived from
the benefits that customers perceive to get by becoming a member of loyalty programs. They
pointed that buyers will assess what they get and what they give when they are purchasing an
item/benefit. The likelihood of procurement goal will increment, when buyers gain a greater
number of advantages than they pay for an item estimated the impact of customer saw benefits on
shopper buy expectation in retailing industry and found that customers seeing distinctive
advantages have unique purchase behavior.
Loyalty programs provide retailers with an effective method to uncover who their customers are
and achieve a greater understanding of their buying behaviors, capture useful information about
them and then apply this information to the entire customer base. Many retailers look upon loyalty
programs as essential to their business. Among retail sectors, there is much relevance of loyalty
programs in apparel retail particularly because of its representativeness of organized retailing in
India and large number of competitors.
Chapter 6
Recommendations
Marketers need to know how to enhance loyalty programs that mirror the customer's shopping
states of mind and way of life, so as to keep them faithful to the business and make them a life
time customer. To achieve this objective I prescribe the following:
• Marketers must continue utilizing a wide range of customer loyalty programs because of
their reasonable effect on customer retention. Particularly the Tier framework reward system.
• Have an alluring loyalty program name.
• The program must be easy to comprehend and simple to join.
• Marketers must continue searching for new and imaginative devices to distinguish their
loyalty programs, to pull in new customers and to increase the purchasing amount of the existing
ones.
• Marketers must be centered around the harmony amongst expenses and incomes of each
particular loyalty program, since it is vital for any business to think in an economical way.
• Due to the way the customers vary in their attributes and inclinations, the unique loyalty
projects ought to be segmented according to the characteristics and preferences of the target
customers.
• The loyalty programs must be easy to redeem the points and the benefits. Which means
the marketers must develop a loyalty program which helps the loyalty program members to be
able to convert their points into merchandise, discounts and other services.
• The loyalty program ought to be centered around holding the customers because of their
part in prescribing the organization to their companions and relatives through the positive
informal exchange as holding a customer is more affordable than procuring new ones.
• It is important to diversify the loyalty programs to attract more customers from different
demographic characteristics and maintain them as long as possible.
• Develop a loyalty programs which fits the youth’s needs and shopping necessities.
• Keep customers educated about all accessible loyalty projects and how to manage it
through messages and SMS.
• Develop a straightforward criticism framework and tune in to customer's perspectives and
proposals in regards to the accessible loyalty programs