Customer Enablers Influencing Toothpaste Brand Loyalty Among Millennials in Kenyan Private Universities

Abstract

Consumer behavior is undergoing a gradual shift, moving away from frequent brand switching towards a loyalty-centered approach. While past research has individually investigated customer-enabling factors (customer switching costs, customer involvement, customer commitment, and customer relationship proneness) and their impact on brand loyalty, there exists a research gap on how these factors collectively influence brand loyalty among millennials. There is also scarce studies of African origin exploring CRP influence on loyalty. This study's primary objective was to explore customer enabling factors customers to influence brand loyalty concerning toothpaste among millennials attending private universities in Kenya. Previous research suggests that customer commitment, involvement, switching costs, and CRP influence brand loyalty to varying extents, sometimes displaying negative correlations. Through a descriptive research design, Social Exchange Theory was used to ground the study targeting a sample of 399 millennials enrolled at 19 chartered private universities in Kenya. A self-administered Likert scale questionnaire was distributed through a multi-stage sampling technique and data analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling and Confirmatory Factor Analysis via Maximum Likelihood method. Results revealed that customer commitment and switching costs influence is statistically significant on brand loyalty. Millennials are more likely to engage with a brand when the consumer-vendor-brand relationship is robust. Brand managers need to boost CRP and use relevant communication to boost commitment and involvement of millennials. They need to leverage switching costs by capitalizing on associated benefits these costs bring to customer to nurturing mutually beneficial long-term relationships. For future research, it was recommended to focus on the Generation Z cohort to investigate the impact of brand loyalty on non-convenience products.