A Preliminary Investigation into the Implementation of Loyalty Programmes within Luxury Fashion Department Stores

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to analyse the effectiveness of loyalty programmes within the luxury retailing context from the perspectives of customers. Moreover, the research intends to determine whether or not loyalty programmes motivate customers to return to the same department store. For this research project, the researcher has chosen to use a quantitative approach, using online surveys as a method to collect data, as it was the most suitable method to achieve the overall aim and objectives. The online survey was distributed through many social media platforms to a target specific sample and have collected a sample size of 103 respondents. The results from the research project has concluded that loyalty programmes are widely used in luxury fashion department stores, as a marketing strategy. The results also revealed that both type of rewards - experiential and financial incentives, should be included in luxury loyalty programmes and cannot be offered independently. The researcher has found that loyalty programmes within the luxury retailing context is effective to an extent, to increase the involvement of customers, and to communicate promotions to its customers. The results also raised that providers should consider integrating or introducing loyalty programmes into a mobile application, as it is found out to be more important and convenient for members. The researcher has experienced limitations whilst conducting this research project. One of the limitations is that the researcher was unable to gain accessibility to collect primary data from a specific luxury department store. Another limitation that arose from the research was that the researcher had to disregard twenty responses as responses did not meet the criteria.