毕设论文(样例)3 正文+参考文献

Building Consumer Loyalty in B2C E-commerce: The

Business Perspective

1Introduction

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Monthly Retail Trade Survey, Internet retail sales for 2000 were $25.8 billion,or 49% higher than 1999 sales of $17.3 billion (Reichheld, 2000, p.105). This rapid growth of e-retailing reflects the compelling advantages that it offers over conventional brick-and-mortar stores. However, e-retailing also comes with its own set of challenges. Competing businesses in the world of electronic commerce are only a few mouse clicks away. As a result, consumers are able to compare and contrast competing products and services with minimal expenditure of personal time or effort. According to Kuttner(1998, p.20), ―The Internet is a nearly perfect market because information is instantaneous and buyers can compare the offerings of sellers worldwide. The result is fierce price competition and vanishing brand loyalty.‖ Given the reduction in information asymmetries between sellers and buyers, there is a growing interest in understanding the bases of consumer loyalty in online environments.

From a seller’s perspective, consumer loyalty has been recognized as a key path to profitability. The Harvard Business School estimates that a 5% increase in consumer loyalty can increase your profitability by 25-80% (Reichheld, 1993, p.64). The high cost of acquiring customers renders many customer relationships unprofitable during early transactions. Only during later transactions, when the cost of serving loyal customers falls, do relationships generate profits. With millions of websites clamoring for attention, e-vendors have a tenuous hold at best on a large number of ―eyeballs.‖ In order to reap the benefits of loyal customer base, e-vendors need to develop a thorough understanding of the antecedents of e-loyalty, that is, consumer loyalty to a business that sells online. Such an understanding can help e-vendors gain a competitive advantage by devising strategies to increase e-loyalty. The main objectives of this thesis are therefore to identify those managerially actionable factors that impact e-loyalty and investigate the nature of their impact.

This article is structured as follows. First, the basic concepts of consumer loyalty in traditional business as well as e-loyalty are discussed. The factors that may lead to e-loyalty are explored. Then the consequences of e-loyalty are suggested. Finally, some advice to building e-loyalty is proposed accordingly.

2Consumer Loyalty: Basic Concepts

2.1Consumer Loyalty in Traditional Business

Based on the literature reviewed, consumer loyalty is defined as the totality of feelings or attitudes that would incline a customer to consider the re-purchase of a particular product, service or brand or re-visit a particular company, shop or website. Consumer loyalty has always been critical to business success and profitability.

Engendering and enhancing consumer loyalty is a core objective of loyalty marketing—a strategy employed by businesses in order to increase the loyalty of customers and other stakeholders in the drive to meet and exceed commercial objectives.

The fundamental assumption in loyalty marketing is that keeping existing customers is considerably less expensive than acquiring new ones. The Harvard Business School claimed that only a 5% improvement in customer retention can lead to an increase in profitability between 25% and 85% (Reichheld, 1993, p.64), depending upon industry sector. Therefore increased ―consumer loyalty‖ has a direct relationship with increased profitab ility. Increased ―consumer loyalty‖ has a direct relationship with increased profitability.

2.2Consumer Loyalty in B2C E-commerce—e-Loyalty

The concept of e-loyalty extends the traditional concept of loyalty to online consumer behavior. E-loyalty can be defined as feelings or attitudes that incline a customer to re-visit a website for information, communication or entertainment purposes, or to re-purchase a particular product or service from an online business. While many online business models exist, e-loyalty is critical to business success and profitability. E-loyalty