The average South African tertiary student spends more than the average South African individual each month, making them a valuable market to be understood by retailers. One technique retailers use to differentiate themselves from the increased competition is by relationship marketing through loyalty programmes. Research on the topic of loyalty programmes increased rapidly over the last decade. The problem, however, is that the majority of past research on the subject of loyalty programmes only focused on what happens after customers have already joined a loyalty programme. Little research exists regarding the factors that influence subject participation in loyalty programmes. Furthermore, to date no research study has investigated factors that might influence loyalty programme participation among South African students. The purpose of this study was to understand the tertiary student market by building on the research of De Wulf et al. (2013:69-83) as a vital study to explore factors that might influence them to participate in retail loyalty programmes. An exploratory study was conducted, in which data was collected from students studying at Pearson Institute of Higher Education/ CTI Pretoria by means of self-administered questionnaires. The study followed a quantitative research approach, in order to satisfy the research objectives. The results of the study indicate that the top four characteristics most likely to influence students to participate in a retail loyalty programme, include: a loyalty programme where you receive immediate discounts on certain items at purchase; a loyalty programme that allows you to use your loyalty card at more than one retailer; a loyalty programme with unlimited duration on the usage of benefits or rewards; a loyalty programme that rewards you by giving immediate benefits. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

The primary purpose of this study was to determine consumers’ perceptions of loyalty programmes offered by cosmetic retailers in Durban and on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast, South Africa. A broad and in-depth literature review of loyalty programmes as tools for retaining consumers, as well as the different types of loyalty programmes currently available in South Africa, was conducted. An empirical study was conducted by using an interviewer-administered questionnaire to collect data from consumers who were members of cosmetic retailers’ loyalty programmes. A quantitative approach was followed in order to satisfy the research objectives of the study. Loyalty programmes are an integral part of many retail businesses as they allow retailers to reward returning consumers with (amongst others) discounts or special promotional offers when the loyalty programme is used at the point of sale. The rapid advancements in technology has also enabled retailers to maintain databases containing valuable information on consumers’ spending patterns, which informs retailers about products consumers prefer buying. Retailers all over the world have been using loyalty programmes to retain existing consumers by rewarding loyalty and win over new consumers. Although many South African retailers have introduced loyalty programmes into their businesses, consumers’ perceptions of loyalty programmes offered by cosmetic retailers have not been investigated here. The results of this research study indicate that consumers perceived loyalty programmes as easy to use at the point of sale when making purchases. Consumers also felt that loyalty programmes helped them to save money through the redemption of vouchers or points. Overall, consumers were satisfied as members of cosmetic retailers’ loyalty programmes. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)