Thesis (MEcon)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: With heightening competitive pressures in the retailing environment, customer satisfaction
and customer loyalty have become barometers of retailer performance. Determining the
relationship of all the controllable elements that encourage or inhibit consumers during their
contact with a retailer, defined as the Total Retail Experience (Berman and Evans, 1998: 19),
with customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, formed the basis of this study. The
dimensions ofTRE that were applied in this study were five controllable components, namely
personal interaction, merchandise value, internal store environment, merchandise variety and
complaint handling. The empirical study was applied specifically to a retailer dealing in
health, home and beauty products.
Data for this study was gathered via questionnaire from 34 000 of the most loyal card holders
which participated in the loyalty program offered by the health, home and beauty retailer.
The results of the data study indicated that the TRE instrument was a valid instrument to
measure the success of providing a positive TRE for their consumers. Further, the instruments
used to measure customer satisfaction and loyalty were deemed highly reliable.
Of the five elements of TRE, enhancing the quality of personal interaction should be the
primary focus in improving customer satisfaction, and it is significant that this retailer's
management need only focus on improving these five dimensions of TRE to enhance
customer satisfaction, given that almost three-quarters of customer satisfaction was accounted
for by the five TRE dimensions. Results indicated that in contrast to customer satisfaction,
customer loyalty was primarily driven by product related issues, with merchandise value
being the strongest predictor of loyalty. Again, it was noted that more than half of the
retailer's customer loyalty could be accounted for by the five TRE dimensions. Thus, efforts
to improve any of the five TRE dimensions would enhance customer loyalty within this
retailer's cardholder base. The varying importance of the specific TRE dimensions to both
customer satisfaction and customer loyalty allow this retailer to identify the driving forces
behind each of these concepts and allow for prioritizing strategies to optimize satisfaction and
loyalty within their consumer base. By analyzing the responses of the individual items
(questions) that measure each of the TRE dimensions as they appeared in the questionnaire,
this study enables the retailer to focus on very specific aspects that influence each dimension
of the TRE experience. Overall, it must be noted that respondents had positive experiences at
the health, home and beauty retailer, which provides the retailer with a useful indicator of current satisfaction and loyalty levels and a point of comparison in determining the impact of
the strategies employed to heighten satisfaction and loyalty. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Toenemende druk van mededinging in die kleinhandelomgewing veroorsaak dat
klientsatisfaksie en -lojaliteit barometers van kleinhandelprestasie word. Die basis van hierdie
studie is daarin gelee om vas te stel wat is die verwantskap tussen al die beheerbare elemente
wat verbruikers se gedrag tydens kontak met 'n kleinhandelaar aanmoedig of inhibeer,
gedefinieer as die Totale Kleinhandelervaring (TKE) (Berman en Evans, 1998: 19), en
klientsatisfaksie en -lojaliteit is. Die dimensies van TKE wat in hierdie studie toegepas is, is
vyf beheerbare komponente, naamlik persoonlike interaksie, handelsware waarde, interne
winkelomgewing, handelsware verskeidenheid en klagte hantering. Die empiriese studie is
spesifiek toegepas op 'n kleinhandelaar wat handel dryf in gesondheid-, huis- en
skoonheidsprodukte.
Data vir die studie is ingesamel met behulp van 'n vraelys wat aan 34 000 van die mees lojale
kaarthouers wat lid is van die lojaliteitsprogram van die gesondheid-, huis- en
skoonheidsprodukte kleinhandelaar, gestuur is . Die resultate van die studie toon dat die TKE
instrument 'n geldige instrument is om die sukses te meet indien 'n positiewe TKE vir kliente
aangebied word. Voorts is ook bevind dat die instrumente wat gebruik is om satisfaksie en
lojaliteit te meet, hoogs betroubaar is.
Die verbetering van persoonlike interaksie tussen kliente en personeel blyk die primere fokus
te wees indien klientsatisfaksie verbeter wil word. Die vyf dimensies van TKE is
verantwoordelik vir byna driekwart van kliente se satisfaksie. Die kleinhandelaar se bestuur
behoort dus slegs te fokus op die verbetering van die vyf dimensies van TKE. In kontras met
satisfaksie, blyk lojaliteit primer veroorsaak te word deur produk verwante kwessies, met
handelsware waarde as die sterkste voorspeller van lojaliteit. Meer as die helfte van die
lojaliteit aan die kleinhandelaar word teweeggebring deur die vyf dimensies van TKE. Dus,
pogings om enige van die vyf dimensies van TKE te verbeter, sal lei tot 'n verhoogde
klientlojaliteit onder die kleinhandelaar se lojaliteit-kaarthouers.
Die varierende belangrikheid van die verskillende TKE dimensies vir beide klientsatisfaksie
en -lojaliteit stel die kleinhandelaar in staat om die dryfkragte agter elkeen van hierdie
konsepte te identifiseer en maak die prioritisering van strategiee om satisfaksie en lojaliteit te
maksimeer, moontlik. Die ontleding van die response op die individuele items (vrae) wat
elkeen van die TKE dimensies meet soos wat dit in die vraelys voorkom, maak dit vir die kleinhandelaar moontlik om op spesifieke aspekte wat elke dimensie beinvloed, te fokus.
Globaal gesien is bevind dat respondente positiewe ervarings by die gesondheid-, huis- en
skoonheidsprodukte kleinhandelaar gehad het en hierdie kan as 'n nuttige indikator gebruik
word van bestaande satisfaksie- en lojaliteitsvlakke en ook as 'n punt van vergelyking vir die
bepaling van die doeltreffendheid van strategiee wat aangewend word om satisfaksie en
lojaliteit te verbeter.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/50104 |
| Date | 03 1900 |
| Creators | Sanderson, Karin |
| Contributors | Terblanche, N. S., Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Business Management. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | Unknown |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 104 p. |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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