CiteNScope — Scholarly Index & Analytics
Discover / IJRBSPUBLICATION RECORD

Do customer loyalty programs enhance customers buying behaviour in supermarkets in Kenya?

Lucy Ongaya Lawrence ORCID ↗ · Stephen Makau Muathe ORCID ↗

International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science · 2022 · Vol. 11 / Issue 3 · 01-15

Research reach

Publication metrics

External links open provider records or DOI searches. Provider counts are not combined. Mendeley readership measures saves, not citations.

Dimensions

Live provider badge. If unavailable, use the Dimensions link above.

CROSSREF CITATIONS2

Observed 21 Oct 2026, 07:22 UTC

OpenAlex · Citations3Cached provider observation

Observed 21 Oct 2026 00:49 UTC

Mendeley · Readers—No verified count available

OpenAlex and Mendeley observations refresh on article visits, at most once per 24 hours. Unavailable data is not zero. Google Scholar opens a DOI search.

OpenAlex / Citation year

Annual citations to this article

View provider totals ↑

Citations received by this article, grouped by the year of the citing work. Crossref and OpenAlex lifetime totals remain separate in Publication metrics.

2017–2026 Annual history last updated:

Citations received

OpenAlex · year of the citing work

OpenAlex

Hover over a year or focus the chart and use arrow keys to inspect values.

2017–2026 annual-history window. 2026 is year to date. Unknown years have gaps.

View data & coverage

2026 is incomplete. Within a successfully fetched ten-year window, omitted years mean zero. Years beyond a saved observation’s window remain unknown (—). Older citations are excluded, so this chart’s sum may differ from the OpenAlex lifetime total. The date above belongs to this annual history; an unsuccessful refresh keeps the previous observation.

Overview

Abstract

This study aims to examine the effect of customer loyalty programs on customer buying behavior in supermarkets in Nairobi City County, Kenya.  Specifically, the study sought to establish the effect of reward programs, point accumulation programs, and reward frequency programs on customer buying behavior. A descriptive research design was employed, and questionnaires and interview guides were used to collect data. A sample of 384 respondents was selected from a target population of 985,016 using the non-probabilistic purposive sampling method. Findings indicate that consumers’ level of preference for the particular supermarket loyalty programs was high in specific supermarkets. It was also found that points’ redemption rates differed among the supermarkets. The majority of the supermarkets allowed customers to redeem their points at any time and customers preferred benefits connected to frequent visits and fast points reimbursement based on the reward method used. The study concluded that point cumulative program and reward method program positively and significantly affects consumer buying behavior but reward frequency negatively and significantly affected customer buying behavior. The study recommended that the point accumulation program should be made easier for customers by the marketing departments in the supermarkets.

Keywords: {'name': 'Customer Loyalty Programmes'}, {'name': 'Customer Buying Behaviour'}, {'name': 'Supermarkets in Kenya'}

Authors & affiliations

Lucy Ongaya Lawrence
Affiliation not supplied

Stephen Makau Muathe
Affiliation not supplied

Deposited references

Supplied references, not a list of publications citing this article.

DOI: 10.4236/ajibm.2021.119059

DOI: 10.2307/3250961

DOI: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.03.049

DOI: 10.14738/assrj.512.5545

DOI: 10.1108/IJBM-01-2018-0009

Bwire, Z.W. (2016). The Effect of Loyalty Programs on Financial Performance of Mobile Telecommunication Firms in Kenya. Masters Project, University of Nairobi, Kenya.

Choi, E. (2015). The Influence of Tier Level of Hotel Loyalty Programs on Guest Perceptions and Tolerance for Service Quality. Master’s Thesis. University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

DOI: 10.1108/IntR-12-2013-0257

Crewsell, J. (2018). Research Design. Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches (5th Ed.). SAGE Publishers: London

DOI: 10.1002/1097-0266(200010/11)21:10/11<1105::AID-SMJ133>3.0.CO;2-E

DOI: 10.1177/0002716211423363

Ghazy A. & Shaker T. (2014). Theoretical Foundations of Relationship Marketing. International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering. 47(3).

Gordon, J. (2021). Internal Resources and Capabilities - Strategy. Retrieved from; https://thebusinessprofessor.com

DOI: 10.26666/rmp.ijbm.2020.5.9

Greston, P. (2000). Exploring Cultural Differences in Consumer Decision Making: Advances in Consumer Research. 21(4), Pages 318-322.

DOI: 10.1177/002224299505900201

DOI: 10.1080/0267257X.1997.9964484

Juneja, P. (2018). Relationship Marketing – Background and Theory. Management Study Guide. Retrieved from https://www.managementstudyguide.com

Kamau, L. (2017). Effect of Loyalty Programs on Customer Retention: A Case of Nakumatt Supermarkets Kenya. Master’s Thesis. United States International University of Africa.

DOI: 10.1002/mar.21027

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (2018). Economic Survey, 2018. Retrieved from: http://dc.sourceafrica.net

DOI: 10.1109/ICSSSM.2010.5530253

DOI: 10.1002/ev.242

DOI: 10.3390/su12155979

Subsidies. Sustainability Journal, 6(3).

Magatef, S.G. & Tomalieh, E.F. (2015). The Impact of Customer Loyalty Programs on Customer Retention. International Journal of Business and Social Sciences. 8(1), 78-93.

Mavis, H.D., Chen, W. & Minta, P. V. (2015). Assessing the Impact of Loyalty Program on Consumer Purchasing Behavior in Fine-Dining Restaurant. European Journal of Business and Management, 30(7).

Moreira, P. I. & Botelho, D. (2014). Factors Influencing Supermarket Store Loyalty in Brazil and their Implications to Loyalty Programs ESC Business School, Brazil. Global Journal of Management and Business Research, 14(2).

DOI: 10.1080/0267257X.2014.974658

DOI: 10.1504/IJIMB.2015.068149

Muathe, S.M., Wawire, N.W., & Ofafa, G.A., (2013). An Empirical Study on the Relationship between Organizational Factors and Adoption of ICT among Health-Related SMEs in Nairobi, Kenya. International Journal of Arts and Commerce, 2(3), 1-16.

Muganda, D., Otuya R., & Waiganjo, M. (2014). Effect of Customer Loyalty Schemes on Competitiveness of Supermarkets in Kenya. European Journal of Business and Management, 6 (16).

Nderi W. (2019). Relationships Among loyalty programs benefits, customer satisfaction, experiential encounter and customer loyalty in the hospitality industry: Survey of Star Rated Hotels in the Coastal Region of Kenya. http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/2754

Ofunya, F. (2015). Effects of Customer Loyalty Schemes on Consumer Behavior in Supermarkets in Nairobi. Journal of Marketing and Consumer Research. 8, ISSN 2422-84.

DOI: 10.1108/16605371011083512

DOI: 10.13106/jafeb.2020.vol7.no6.221

DOI: 10.1177/1938965513498300

Reicheld, Z. (2014). Enhancing Customer Retention through Relationship Marketing, Journal of Marketing, 6 (11): 121-126.

Waari, D., Bonuke, R. & Kosgei, D. (2018). Loyalty Programs Benefits and Customer Loyalty: The Mediating Role of Customer Satisfaction. Retrieved from; Http://Ir.Mu.Ac.Ke:8080/Xmlui/Handle/123456789/2213