Customer Loyalty and Retail Outlets Patronage in Nigeria

The evolving trend of establishment of intra-national, transnational and transcontinental retail outlets providing quality service offering across countries of the world has made complex the level of competition and drive for acquiring loyal customers in order to increase their market share The value added role of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in retail service delivery has impacted in no small measure on customer choice profile, thereby providing them with an array of options on which service provider to patronize. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of customer loyalty on retail outlets patronage in Nigeria. The study evaluates the basic concept of retail service delivery and its effect on customer loyalty, equity theory in combination with the six (6) dimension of retailing experience was adopted as the theoretical framework for the study. The respondents for this study were customers of the South African Retail outlet giant – Shoprite in three basic locations of its Lagos, Nigeria outlets namely; Lekki, Ikeja and Suru- Lere. The study methodology was presented using the descriptive statistical technique of administering questionnaire to respondents and personal interview for the purpose of data gathering. The result of the study was obtained using Pearson Correlation Coefficient technique; the study findings and discussion showed that there is a positive relationship between customer loyalty and consistent patronage of retail outlets in Nigeria. The study concludes that retail outlets should create a robust relationship with their customers through consistent satisfaction and quality service delivery.