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The authors investigate the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the domain of food retailing, focusing on the western-style coffee shop sector of the coffee category in the State of Kuwait. On the basis of more than 600 responding users of the 39 coffee shop retailer brands, the authors provide evidence that satisfaction and loyalty are positively related: as satisfaction levels increase, levels of loyalty also increase. Additionally, the study investigates three hypotheses proposed to explain why satisfied consumers are not always loyal consumers. Evidence is provided supporting all three explanations: (1) satisfied buyers may not be loyal because they are loyal to other brands, (2) satisfied buyers may not be loyal because they are inherent switchers with more experience regarding the category, and (3) satisfied buyers may not be loyal because they are more satisfied with their overall experiences in the category. In general, the findings suggest that satisfaction is highly relevant in developing long-run customer loyalty, but that satisfaction is indeed a necessary but insufficient factor in generating loyalty.
Pleshko et al. (2014) studied this question.