Effective digital loyalty strategies in services during COVID-19 pandemic: does digital adoption matter?

Niros, Meletios and Niros, Angelica (2022): Effective digital loyalty strategies in services during COVID-19 pandemic: does digital adoption matter? Published in: 10TH International Conference on Contemporary Marketing Issues (8 July 2022): pp. 339-344.

Abstract

E-consumer Behaviour is a shifting fast as more and more consumers migrate from physical to digital stores to limit physical interaction. This research explores the effectiveness of digital loyalty strategies in services’ industry under the light of the ongoing pandemic and the respective increase in terms of Digital Adoption (DA) within the industry. In addition, this study investigates the direct effects of perceived in-store infection threat (SIT). To collect data, online self-administered survey was utilized in Greece, where 235 adult consumers participated. Findings revealed that SIT benefits Repurchase Intentions (RI) of digital services, since it exerted positive direct effects in using digital channels. Moreover, DA moderates the effectiveness of loyalty strategies. As a result, marketing strategies and practices are proposed sensitive to digital adoption or frequency of use.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Customer Equity Drivers; e-Consumer Behaviour; COVID-19; Services
• Subjects: M - Business Administration and Business Economics ; Marketing ; Accounting ; Personnel Economics > M3 - Marketing and Advertising; M - Business Administration and Business Economics ; Marketing ; Accounting ; Personnel Economics > M3 - Marketing and Advertising > M31 - Marketing

References

Aaker, J., Fournier, S. and Brasel, S.A. (2004), “When good brands do bad”, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 31 No. 1, pp. 1-16.

Abadi, H.R.D., Kabiry, N. and Forghani, M.H., 2013. Analyzing the effect of customer equity on satisfaction. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 3(5), p.600.

Aldas-Manzano, J., Ruiz-Mafe, C., Sanz-Blas, S. and Lassala-Navarre, C., 2011. Internet banking loyalty: evaluating the role of trust, satisfaction, perceived risk and frequency of use. The Service Industries Journal, 31(7), pp.1165-1190.

Chaudhuri, A. and Holbrook, M.B. (2001), “The chain of effects from brand trust and brand affect to brand performance: the role of brand loyalty”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 65 No. 2, pp. 81-93.

Erdem, T., Swait, J. and Valenzuela, A., 2006. Brands as signals: A cross-country validation study. Journal of marketing, 70(1), pp.34-49.

Gielens, K., Ma, Y., Namin, A., Sethuraman, R., Smith, R.J., Bachtel, R.C. and Jervis, S., 2021. The future of private labels: towards a smart private label strategy. Journal of Retailing, 97(1), pp.99-115.

Guzzo, T., Ferri, F. and Grifoni, P., 2016. A model of e-commerce adoption (MOCA): consumer's perceptions and behaviours. Behaviour & Information Technology, 35(3), pp.196-209.

Ho, M.H.W. and Chung, H.F., 2020. Customer engagement, customer equity and repurchase intention in mobile apps. Journal of business research, 121, pp.13-21.

Jamal, A., Khan, M.S. and Tsesmetzi, M.S., 2012. Information cues roles in product evaluations: the case of the UK cosmetics market. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 20(3), pp.249-265.

Molinillo, S., Aguilar-Illescas, R., Anaya-Sánchez, R. and Liébana-Cabanillas, F., 2021. Social commerce website design, perceived value and loyalty behavior intentions: the moderating roles of gender, age and frequency of use. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, p.102404.

Nawaz, Z., Ahmad, M., Piracha, S. and Raza, M., 2017. Customer equity of Pakistani fast food restaurant: A study of attitudinal customer equity. Management Science Letters, 7(2), pp.87-96.

Niros, M.I., Ding, Q.S., Pollalis, Y. and Niros, A.I., (2018). Marketing strategies in foreign markets sensitive to consumer ethnocentrism and confidence: Empirical evidence from Greece. European Marketing Academic Annual Conference.

Pollak, F. and Konecny, M., 2021. Analysis of E-Consumer Behaviour–Selected Findings from an Analysis of Czech E-Shops and their Customers during the Global Pandemic. In SHS Web of Conferences (Vol. 90, p. 01015). EDP Sciences.

Razzaq, Z., Yousaf, S. and Hong, Z., 2017. The moderating impact of emotions on customer equity drivers and loyalty intentions: evidence of within sector differences. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics.

Rust, R.T., Lemon, K.N. and Zeithaml, V.A. (2004), “Return on marketing: Using customer equity to focus marketing strategy”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 68 No. 1, pp. 109-127.

Svajdova, L., 2021. Consumer Behaviour during Pandemic of COVID-19. Journal of International Business Research and Marketing, 6(3), pp.34-37.

Szymkowiak, A., Gaczek, P., Jeganathan, K. and Kulawik, P., 2021. The impact of emotions on shopping behavior during epidemic. What a business can do to protect customers. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 20(1), pp.48-60.

Vogel, V., Evanschitzky, H. and Ramaseshan, B. (2008), “Customer equity drivers and future sales”. Journal of Marketing, Vol. 72 No. 6, pp. 98-108.