Relationship Marketing with Loyalty Programs in UAE Retail Markets

Abstract

The focus of retail marketing is on customer retention and satisfaction instead of solely selling. The ever changing digital revolution, driven by the spread of internet, mobile technology, and recently the social networking phenomena resulted in a new ‘Information Age’ of consumers. Due to the ease of access to various information sources, which allows shoppers to compare a variety of available goods and services, this consumer segment is becoming very much price-and-quality sensitive, demanding “more for less” from the shopping experience. The effective use of relationship management strategies will allow retailers to consistently identify and communicate meaningful value chain elements to its market segment, which will ensure differentiation and build on loyalty. The renowned 20-80 rule, states that eighty percent of a company’s earnings is produced by twenty percent of its core customers. Based on these findings, many of the most successful retailers have shifted their focus towards CRM strategies which largely embrace the use of loyalty schemes. The purpose of this paper is to identify the various aspects of customer relationship in retailing and to explore the loyalty programs and its future in United Arab Emirates.

Keywords: Customer Value, Relationship Marketing, Loyalty Programs, Retailing

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