Loyalty Schemes in Retailing

To test the impact of stand-alone vs. multi-partner programs on customer loyalty, management interviews were conducted and a survey with 1,150 German customers of two fuel station chains was carried out. Stand-alone programs were found to excel at generating behavioral and attitudinal loyalty, as well as positive word-of-mouth.

To expand existing literature on loyalty schemes, the impact of stand-alone vs. multi-partner programs on customer loyalty was evaluated. In addition, the effects of store satisfaction, membership in competing programs, as well as various shopper characteristics were tested. Therefore, interviews were conducted with loyalty executives and a survey was carried out with 1,150 German customers of two fuel station chains. Stand-alone programs were found to outperform multi-partner schemes in their ability to trigger behavioral loyalty (e.g. share-of-wallet), attitudinal loyalty, and positive word-of-mouth. While program members showed significantly higher levels of loyalty than non-members, those of the stand-alone solution did so to an even greater extent than those of the coalition scheme. «Best Dissertation of 2011» by the WU Vienna University of Economics and Business and Winner of the «Outstanding Award 2011» by the ECR Austria.

Autorentext

Nicolas Hoffmann completed his studies the WU Vienna University of Economics and Business and the FH Joanneum Graz with distinction. He is a recipient of multiple scholarships for academic excellence and was awarded «Best Dissertation of 2011» by the WU, among others. Professionally, he has meanwhile shifted his focus to strategy consulting.

Inhalt

Contents: Customer loyalty research Loyalty programs: history, types, characteristics, the value of data Multi-partner schemes: types, specifics, success factors, impact and spread the next evolutionary step? Empirical study: configuration, theoretical reference points, hypotheses, results.