Srini S. Srinivasan, Rolph Anderson and Kishore Ponnavolu

The business of selling to consumers by means of the Internet, commonly referred to as e-retailing, continues to grow. With virtually instantaneous access to large amounts of information regarding products and prices, today's Internet shoppers are able to quickly compare and contrast competing products and services from a variety of sellers. With numerous web sites possessing comparable products all clamoring for attention, e-retailers have a tenuous hold on shoppers. In addition to this challenge, the initial marketing expenditures needed to acquire online customers in this competitive environment can be substantial. To ensure profitable returns, e-retailers need to build large bases of loyal customers that will yield adequate returns over time.

To successfully attract, nurture, and retain a loyal customer base, e-retailers need a thorough understanding of the antecedents and consequences of e-loyalty, that is, those factors that influence a customer's favorable attitudes regarding an e-retailer and result in repeat buying behavior. Based on in-depth interviews with online customers, executives in the e-commerce arena, and professional website designers, we identified eight factors (8 Cs) that potentially affect e-loyalty: (1) customization, (2) contact interactivity, (3) cultivation, (4) care, (5) community, (6) choice, (7) convenience, and (8) character. Three potential consequences or outcomes of customer e-loyalty were also identified: (1) word-of-mouth promotion, (2) willingness to pay more, and (3) the disinclination to search for alternatives. Using a survey of online customers, we demonstrate that seven of the eight factors (with the exception of convenience) positively impact e-loyalty. We also empirically establish that e-loyalty, in turn, leads to positive word-of-mouth and willingness to pay more.

Our findings provide e-retailers with benchmarks for measuring, managing, and enhancing e-loyalty and can serve as a basis for future research in the e-commerce arena.