C/M/229. Masters Dissertation. Differences in customer loyalty in a traditional and Internet environment: An examination of traditional and Internet retailers in the book market.

Customer loyalty is a central and growing topic in the area of marketing and marketing strategy. The traditional view in marketing has been to focus on acquiring new customers. However, firms are beginning to realise that it can be more profitable in the long-term to focus on retaining existing customers, especially as markets become more competitive. Here, customer loyalty is central to retaining customers. However, there are added complications when firms try to build customer loyalty in an online environment, called e-loyalty. In such an environment, customers look for very different attributes in their retailer than when shopping in the high-street. Focusing on three main players in the UK book market, Waterstones, Amazon and Borders, this dissertation examines two aspects of customer loyalty: First, the differences in customer loyalty in a traditional and Internet environment; second, the relative importance of different factors that affect levels of e-loyalty using an existing conceptual framework. The study involves some 50 research participants, whose data is thoroughly analysed and discussed in light of the literature review. The literature review is comprehensive and discusses the areas of traditional and relationship marketing, customer loyalty, including measures and types of customer loyalty, as well as e-loyalty. The dissertation would be useful for anyone interested in customer loyalty and e-loyalty, as well as the differences between traditional and relationship marketing, for which there is a comprehensive literature review. It is also useful in highlighting how to perform and analyze primary research and then apply those findings to the literature that has been set out.