Omnichannel has become a central part of future retailing and is expected to be implemented by multiple brands. Omnichannel is an extension of multichannel enquiring complete integration between channels. As customers’ demands changes and demonstrate switching of brands, maintaining loyal customers’ in the evolving retail market with unlimited options is a continuous challenge. There are indicators of omnichannel retailing increasing customer satisfaction but there is no research investigating how it could affect brand loyalty, either through attitudinal loyalty, behavioural loyalty or a combination of both. This research aims to explore how implications of omnichannel retailing could facilitate the demanded satisfactory shopping experience and lead to embarked brand loyalty. A qualitative method was chosen to explore this phenomenon by using primary, secondary data and conducting of in-depth interviews. The results shows that omnichannel is an significant factor facilitating a satisfactory shopping experience, in turn inflicting attitudinal loyalty, but there were vague signs of behavioural loyalty. Thus, omnichannel was not considered the main factor affecting brand loyalty due to lack of expressed commitment to repurchase, hence omnishoppers rarely surpasses the step of satisfaction to fully becoming brand loyal.

Bakgrund Som en följd av ett hårdare marknadsklimat har allt fler företag antagit en mer kundorienterad inriktning med kundrelationer i fokus (Xie & Chen 2013). Lojala kunder är en värdefull tillgång för företag, och allt fler forskare framhåller vikten av att behålla och vårda de befintliga kunderna (Bahaedin 2012). Ett verktyg för att erhålla och behålla lojala kunder är lojalitetsprogram (Lui & Yang 2009) men inom forskningen råder det delade meningar kring lojalitetsprogrammens effekt och huruvida man erhåller lojala kunder. Motsättningarna kring programmens effekter tyder på att mer forskning krävs för att få en djupare förståelse för kundlojalitet i relation till lojalitetsprogram.Syfte Studiens syfte är att beskriva hur lojalitetsprogram och dess förmåner kan påverka medlemmars lojalitet samt påvisa hur fördelningen av förmåner ser ut hos lojalitetsprogram inom detalj- och dagligvaruhandeln på den svenska marknaden.MetodI studien har en kvalitativ ansats tillämpats i form av fokusgrupp, individuella intervjuer och en innehållsanalys. Fokusgruppen och de enskilda intervjuerna tillämpades för att erhålla en djupare förståelse för medlemmars erfarenhet av och attityder gentemot lojalitetsprogram. Innehållsanalysen tillämpades för att kartlägga ett urval av lojalitetsprograms fördelning av förmåner inom detalj- samt dagligvaruhandeln på den svenska marknaden.Resultat Studiens resultat bekräftar tidigare forskning kring att dagens konsumenter snarare är polygamt lojala. Det är svårt att erhålla sann kundlojalitet genom lojalitetsprogram men studien har visat att de monetära förmånerna kan bidra till beteendemässig lojalitet. Resultatet i denna studie visar även att funktionalitet och pris många gånger har en mer avgörande påverkan i konsumenters val av butik än vilket lojalitetsprogram de är medlem i. Lojalitetsprogrammen som har studerats i denna studie har en jämn fördelning av monetära och icke-monetära förmåner men att det främst är de monetära förmånerna som medlemmar attraheras av är något som syns tydligt i denna studie. De rekommendationer vi kan ge till företag utifrån studiens resultat är att fokusera mer på de icke-monetära förmånerna, hur kunderna behandlas snarare än vilka ekonomiska förmåner de erhåller skulle kunna framkalla mer hållbara lojalitetseffekter.

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SUMMARY Jurgita Kalėdaitė Creation of loyalty of users of the production of the stock company „Alita“ Graduation dissertation of the graduate studies, 78 pages, 23 pictures, 5 tables, 52 sources of literature, 6 appendixes, Lithuanian. Key words: loyalty, loyalty of users, creation of loyalty. Object of the research – loyalty of users for the SC „Alita“. Matter of the research – creation of loyalty of users. Purposes of the work: 1) to identify the factors, which form loyalty of users, to classify them into groups according to the level of their loyalty; 2) to give recommendations for stimulation of loyalty of users on a basis of the results of the empiric research. Tasks: 1) to analyze scientific literature according to the aspect of loyalty of users; 2) to analyze the current situation, to pick out the measures for stimulation of loyalty used by the company; 3) to question customers of the company, to estimate their loyalty for the production of the company; 4) to identify the factors, which stimulate loyalty of users; 5) to give recommendation for stimulation of loyalty of users. Methods of the research – these methods of the research were used to research this problem and to receive theoretic and practical results: a systematic analysis, a comparative analysis and a cross analysis, graphical of loyalty of users groups. To estimate effective measures, which help to stimulate loyalty of current users and to form loyalty of potential customers of the stock company... [to full text]

Ekonominių krizių laikotarpiu konkurencija tarp verslo organizacijų ypač suaktyvėja, nes reikia galvoti ne tik apie tai, kaip plėsti verslą, bet ir kaip jį išsaugoti: kaip išlaikyti turimą rinkos dalį ir pasiekti, kad įmonės veikla ir toliau išliktų pelninga? Kadangi rinka yra perpildyta įmonių, kurios prekiauja labai panašiais produktais, iškila problema ne tik kaip prisivilioti, bet ir kaip išlaikyti klientus. Įmonės siekiai išlaikyti turimas pozicijas rinkoje sudaro būtinybę vykdyti aktyvią lojalumo politiką, kurios tikslas išsaugoti senus klientus ir pritraukti naujus. Kuriamos įvairios klientų išlaikymo strategijos, tačiau dažnai neįsigilinama, kas yra klientų lojalumas ir kaip būtų galima jį įvertinti. Vartotojų lojalumo kūrimo ir valdymo problemos yra labai aktualios tiek ryšių su visuomene, rinkodaros, vadybos sričių specialistams, tiek pačioms organizacijoms bei jų vadovams. Tyrimo objektas– vartotojų lojalumas. Darbo tikslas – įvertinti trijų prekybos tinklų Kauno mieste vartotojų lojalumą. Šiam tikslui pasiekti iškelti tokie uždaviniai: 1. Apžvelgti lojalumo sampratas ir jų esmę; 2. Nustatyti vartotojų lojalumą lemiančius veiksnius; 3. Identifikuoti vartotojų lojalumo tipus; 4. Remiantis teorine analize, parengti vartotojų lojalumo tyrimo metodiką; 5. Įvertinti tirtų įmonių vartotojų lojalumą. Tyrimo metodai: iškeltai problemai tirti ir teoriniams bei praktiniams rezultatams gauti naudoti šie tyrimo metodai: mokslinės literatūros analizė, anketinė apklausa raštu... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / During the period of economic crises, competition among business organizations becomes more and more intensive in that they must think not only about business development but also about its retention: how to preserve the present market share and the profitability of business activity in future? Since market is overloaded with various enterprises selling very similar products, the problem which arises is that of retaining consumers rather than attracting them. The objectives of the companies to retain the present position in the market leads to the situation where it is necessary to carry out active loyalty policy which would be aimed at retaining present customers and attracting the new ones. Various client retention strategies are being created; however, at many cases, the concept of client loyalty, and its assessment methodology are left underestimated. The issues of building and managing customer loyalty are topical for the specialists of public relations, marketing and management as well as for the very organizations and their managers. Object of Research – consumer loyalty. Aim of Research is to assess the loyalty of consumers of the three trade networks in the city of Kaunas. The following goals were established in order to achieve the above-mentioned aim: 1. to review the concepts of loyalty ant their most important points; 2. to define the factors determining customer loyalty; 3. to identify the types of consumer loyalty; 4. on the basis of theoretical analysis, to... [to full text]

This study measures brand loyalty of banking clients in South Africa. To do so, the study employs the newly developed brand loyalty conceptual framework of Moolla (2010) from the fast–moving consumer good industry as point of departure, and firstly, test its applicability to banking clients, secondly, adapt the framework where needed, and thirdly, used the adapted framework to measure the brand loyalty levels of the banking clients. The results show that the Moolla model could be used with minor adaptations in the banking industry, and that the reliability as measured by Cronbach alpha coefficients are acceptable. In measuring the brand loyalty levels, it is clear banking clients are not very loyal, scoring low on all the brand loyalty influences except customer satisfaction (which falls in the fair to good margin). / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

This study measures brand loyalty of banking clients in South Africa. To do so, the study employs the newly developed brand loyalty conceptual framework of Moolla (2010) from the fast–moving consumer good industry as point of departure, and firstly, test its applicability to banking clients, secondly, adapt the framework where needed, and thirdly, used the adapted framework to measure the brand loyalty levels of the banking clients. The results show that the Moolla model could be used with minor adaptations in the banking industry, and that the reliability as measured by Cronbach alpha coefficients are acceptable. In measuring the brand loyalty levels, it is clear banking clients are not very loyal, scoring low on all the brand loyalty influences except customer satisfaction (which falls in the fair to good margin). / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Business-to-business customer loyalty management is an essential and long-standing theme in business research and practice. Loyal clients are of great importance within Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), as the business model relies strongly on long-term business relationships, e.g. due to subscription models. Nevertheless, to the best of our knowledge, there is no study on how to design loyalty initiatives used in business-to-business SaaS relationships yet. Therefore, our thesis asks the question “How can loyalty initiatives be designed to improve the loyalty of SaaS business clients?”. By applying a qualitative research methodology with multi-case studies, we were able to investigate the status-quo of customer loyalty management by looking at the vendor side and then analysing the perception of loyalty initiatives, with respect to the client’s perspective. A broad number of in-depth empirical data was collected in semi-structured interviews conducted with employees of six SaaS vendor firms and seven of their clients. As we used an abductive approach, we were able to compare our findings with the existing literature and extend previous theory. Our interview findings were then clustered into eight dimensions, which were based on the customer lifecycle, and various initiatives have been assigned to them. All initiatives included several actions performed by the vendors, which were then classified into three categories, according to how important it was perceived by their clients. We concluded our research with the ‘Design Guide for Loyalty Initiatives’ that summarises our findings and provides an overview for SaaS vendors to review and adjust their initiatives. Hence, we deliver valuable insights for SaaS vendors to gain a deeper understanding of their clients’ needs and to, in turn, prioritise their performed loyalty actions and allocate their budget accordingly.

An emerging body of research has focused on cryptocurrencies and loyalty programs; nevertheless, there is still a significant knowledge void and potential for more investigation into this field and the relation between them. Research has given a limited amount of attention to the role that cryptocurrencies play, even though cryptocurrencies have the potential to radically alter the nature of value perception, which is an essential component of the design of any loyalty program. As a primary research gap, we argue that limited attention has been paid to how incorporating cryptocurrencies, as the reward of a loyalty program, can influence the effectiveness of that program, which is translated as customer loyalty. This thesis pays attention to this issue and fills this research gap. We intend to have a more in-depth look to understand the role that cryptocurrencies play in loyalty programs as there is limited research on these two topics together, even though cryptos and loyalty programs have a combined monetary value of billions of dollars. The purpose of this thesis is to get a better understanding of the ways in which cryptocurrency, as a forward-thinking component of a reward program's innovative design, might affect consumer loyalty. The study focuses on three primary questions. The first is related to the impact that cryptocurrencies have on people's conceptions of loyalty in the context of loyalty reward programs. The second one focuses on the role of emotions and cognitions of the types of rewards and how the customer molds their loyalty to a particular reward program. The third question centers on the potential implications and impacts that come along with implementing cryptocurrency as a design element in a reward program.To address our research questions, a mix-method study and analysis were conducted. First, we conducted quantitative research on why people (users of loyalty programs) are interested in reward programs and examined how their cognitions and emotions associated with cryptocurrencies influence attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. To accomplish this, we administered a survey to 162 respondents, analyzing various variables, including perceived value, status dependence, and skepticism in the perception of loyalty. Second, we also conducted 7 semi-structured interviews with people who have worked in the loyalty reward industry (employees of firms offering a reward program), which was helpful for taking into consideration the company’s point of view too regarding the role of cryptocurrencies in influencing customer loyalty (adding to the insights derived from the quantitative part of the study regarding the user point of view).Our study contributes to the body of literature on loyalty programs (Kim et al., 2021), which are now being deployed and examined at a pace that is unprecedented, since loyalty programs are excellent tools for relationship marketing. However, attempts in the real world often fail, or at the very least do not live up to expectations, which highlights the need for a closer look at the design of loyalty programs that can boost their effectiveness. We build on prior research that suggests paying attention to the design, psychological, and operational elements which can play a role in influencing customer loyalty and particularly, we focus on cryptocurrencies as a design element that can trigger different emotions and cognitions, which are critical for attitudinal and behavioral loyalty.

Titel: Recept på differentiering – En studie om differentiering och kundlojalitet på den svenska apoteksmarknaden Författare: Elin Enblom & Anita Music Handledare: Richard Afriyie Owusu Examinator: Bertil Hultén Kurs: Examensarbete på magisternivå 30 hp. Civilekonomprogrammet inriktning marknadsföring, Linnéuniversitetet Kalmar, VT2017. Forskningsfrågor: Hur nyttjar svenska apotek differentieringsstrategier för att uppnå konkurrensfördelar gentemot marknadens aktörer? På vilket sätt påverkas kundlojalitet av differentiering på den svenska apoteksmarknaden? Syfte: Syftet med studien är att utreda och analysera hur differentieringsstrategier nyttjas av apotek och vilken påverkan förevarande har på lojalitet hos kunden. Syftet kommer att undersökas utifrån både konsumenternas och apotekens perspektiv för att ge en mer objektiv syn. Studien ämnar att tolka de båda perspektivens syn på apoteksbranschens nuvarande arbete gällande differentiering och kundlojalitet för bidra till ökad kunskap inom området. Genom det önskar vi att bidra med teoretiska implikationer till den befintliga teorin. Studien ämnar även att bidra med generella praktiska implikationer för apoteksmarknaden och dess framtida utveckling inom området för differentiering och lojalitet. Slutligen kommer studien att bidra med mer specifika implikationer till uppdragsgivaren Apoteksgruppen AB på hur de borde differentiera sig för att kunna påverka kundernas lojalitet positivt. Genom dessa förslag önskar vi uppvisa hur Apoteksgruppen AB kan stärka sin konkurrenskraft gentemot marknadens övriga aktörer. Metod: Studien har nyttjat en kvalitativ inriktad fallstudie med en abduktiv ansats. Datainsamlingen av primärdata har skett genom fokusgrupper och intervjuer utifrån både ett kund- och företagsperspektiv. Resultat & slutsatser: Differentieringsstrategier som nyttjas av svenska apotek och som ger konkurrensfördelar är varumärke, erbjudande, plats och lojalitetsprogram. Differentiering har en positiv påverkan på såväl beteende- och attitydaspekter av lojalitet där främst plats, service och erbjudande påverkar. Teoretiska & praktiska implikationer: De teoretiska implikationerna består av en reviderad undersökningsmodell där sambandet mellan differentiering och lojalitet på den svenska apoteksmarknaden förklaras. Studien ger både generella praktiska implikationer samt implikationer specifika för Apoteksgruppen AB där de utvecklingsmöjligheter som finns för marknaden presenteras. Nyckelord: Differentiering, differentieringsstrategier, lojalitet, beteendelojalitet, attitydlojalitet, apotek. / Title: Recipe for differentiation - A study in differentiation and customer loyalty in the Swedish pharmacy market Authors: Elin Enblom & Anita Music Supervisor: Richard Afriyie Owusu Examiner: Bertil Hultén Course: Master Thesis 30 ECTS, Business Administration and Economics Programme, Linnaeus University Kalmar, Spring 2017. Research questions: How does Swedish pharmacies use differentiation strategies to achieve competitive advantages against the market actors? How is customer loyalty affected by differentiation in the Swedish pharmacy market? Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate and analyze how differentiation strategies are used by pharmacies and what impact this has on the loyalty of the customer. The aim will be examined from the perspective of both consumers and pharmacists to provide a more objective view. The study aims to interpret the views of the two perspectives on the pharmaceutical industry's current work regarding differentiation and customer loyalty to contribute to increased knowledge in the field. Through this we wish to contribute theoretical implications to existing theory. The study also aims to provide general practical implications for the pharmacy market and its future development in ​​differentiation and loyalty. Finally, the study will contribute more specific implications to the client Apoteksgruppen AB on how they should differentiate to positively influence customer loyalty. Through these proposals, we wish to display how Apoteksgruppen AB can strengthen its competitiveness against other actors in the market. Method: The study has used a qualitatively oriented case study with an abductive approach. The data collection of primary data has been conducted through focus groups and interviews based on both a customer and business perspective. Results & conclusions: Differentiation strategies used by Swedish pharmacies and which provide competitive advantages are brand, offer, location and loyalty programs. Differentiation has a positive impact on both behavioral and attitudinal aspects of loyalty, primarily in terms of location, service and offerings. Theoretical & practical implications: The theoretical implications consist of a revised survey model explaining the relationship between differentiation and loyalty in the Swedish pharmacy market. The study gives both general practical implications and implications specific to Apoteksgruppen AB, where the opportunities of development available to the market are presented. Keywords: Differentiation, differentiation strategies, loyalty, behavioral loyalty, attitude loyalty, pharmacy.