Study of Customer Relationship Marketing Practices in Organised Retailing in Food and Grocery Sector in India: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

The fast changing trends in lifestyles, food and eating habits ofconsumers have contributed largely to the growth and development oforganisedfood andgrocery retailformats in India. But, this sector is predominantly (99.2 percent) dominated by the traditional kirana stores, which have strong relationships with the customers for various technical andfunctional quality benefits extended to them. This posed a great challenge to the organised retailers for customer acquisition and retention ofloyal customers in this fierce competition. The paradigm shift in marketing practices from the traditional marketing to reactive marketing and then to relationship marketing have reiterated the significance ofleveragingfirm-customer relationshipfor reaping mutual benefits. Thus relationship marketing has come to the fore and occupied centre stage as one ofthe strategic tools for organised retailers to develop ways for attracting and motivating potential customers to remain staunch loyalists forever. However, little is known about the actual influences ofthe cornerstones of relationship marketing on relationship quality and customer loyaltyfrom an empirical analysis in the context ofchanging trends in food and grocery retailing. This study seeks to investigate the influence ofrelationship marketing cornerstones viz., Customer Satisfaction, Trust, Commitment, Communication on Relationship Strength which further explore the affect on attitudinal outcomes like relationship quality and behavioural outcomes such as customer loyalty. The study further examines an influence ofthe relationship quality on customer loyalty. This study is purely based upon the primary data and necessary secondary data to reinforce the model. A total of150 retail customers in Hyderabad activelyparticipated in this survey. Thefindings from the study indicated that customer satisfaction has emerged as a significantfactor,followed by commitment and trust for managing relationship quality and customer loyalty. Variousmanagerial and marketing implications are extensively discussed.

Customers' relationship with their grocery store: Direct and moderating effects from store format and loyalty programs

“…Several previous studies revealed the existence of a positive relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty (e.g., Hallowell, 1996;Homburg and Giering, 2001;Ming-Tien et al, 2010;Prasad and Aryasri, 2008;Wallace et al, 2004). Others authors showed the following positive effects of customer satisfaction: customer retention (Bolton and Lemon, 1999;Rust and Zahorik, 1993), repurchase intention (Bolton and Lemon, 1999;Taylor and Baker, 1994), repurchase behaviour (Anderson and Sullivan, 1993;Cronin Jr et al, 2000;Mittal and Kamakura, 2001), positive references (word-ofmouth) to potential customers (Bitner, 1990;Grönroos, 2004;Palmatier et al, 2006;Swan and Oliver, 1989).…”

Green Experiential Marketing, Experiential Value, Relationship Quality, and Customer Loyalty in Environmental Leisure Farm

“…Trust can also be defined as the willingness to rely on a trusted and well-meaning partner. If customers receive high-quality services and are aware that service personnel are reliable and genuine, positive word of mouth will form (Prasad and Aryasri, 2008;Monferrer-Tirado et al, 2016). Caceres and Paparoidamis (2007) argued that long-term loyalty entails commitment, where if a customer has brand commitment, three important behavioral outputs will result: repeated purchase of the brand's products, offsetting of changes caused by competition, and offsetting of negative feelings caused by dissatisfaction.…”

“…It has been indicated in the studies from Ai (2016), Wu H. C. et al (2018) that high trust and satisfaction arising from the process of experience are conducive to generating high customer loyalty. In longterm relationships with customers, if customers' commitment can be continuously maintained, their relationship with the firm will be enhanced, which will increase purchase frequency (Prasad and Aryasri, 2008;Arcand et al, 2017). Furthermore, Caceres and Paparoidamis (2007) argued that the development of trust and commitment is strategically important, because it creates a relationship atmosphere between the two parties and directly affects the customer's behavioral intentions (Monferrer-Tirado et al, 2016).…”

The Effect of Self-Service Technology, Service Quality, and Relationship Marketing on Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty

“…Currently, customer loyalty and satisfaction become very important for the bank, and this has been studied and discussed in a lot of research and literature. Prasad and Aryasri (2008) argued that marketing can consistently identify customer satisfaction as well as be a key to customer loyalty. In addition, customer satisfaction can provide many benefits for the company because higher level of customer satisfaction will result in greater customer loyalty (Lovelock and Wright, 2007).…”