Influence of Nature of Product And Frequency of Visit on Store Loyalty: A Study of Uttarakhand (Emerald)

Abstract

Purpose: A large population with continuous increasing purchasing power has made India a cynosure for Indian and international retailers. But this scenario also poses a challenge for retailers in maintaining customer loyalty. This paper addresses this challenge by examining the influence of nature of product and frequency of visits on store loyalty.

Design/Methodology: A questionnaire was designed and administered by self, to collect data on store loyalty and other dimensions under discussion. Each of the items on loyalty was evaluated on a five-point Likert scale. Mall intercept method was used to collect the data. Three hundred and fifty-two respondents from various cities of Uttarakhand were selected using a systematic sampling method out of which 250 respondents completed the valid information. Data was analysed using Factorial Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).

Findings: Results showed that average Indian consumer are not frequent visitor to organized stores and most of them were visiting for consumer care products rather than for grocery or vegetables. It was also that neither product type nor frequency of visits influences store loyalty. The interaction effect was also absent. These results are in contradiction to prior studies.

Research Limitations/Future scope: There must be other factors like price, location, convenience, etc. in addition to the nature of the product and the frequency of visit responsible for store loyalty which should be studied in future research. Consumers in this study were restricted to Uttarakhand only thus, the representation of sample might have been limited.

Implications: The findings offers insight to the marketers as well academicians. The study makes it evident that the behaviour of customers residing in towns has to be studied in detail in order to identify their latent needs.

Keywords: Frequency of visit; Interaction effect; Nature of product; Organized retailing; Store loyalty

JEL Classification: Emerald