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Customer loyalty presents a paradox. Many see it as primarily an attitude‐based phenomenon that can be influenced significantly by customer relationship management initiatives such as the increasingly popular loyalty and affinity programs. However, empirical research shows that loyalty in competitive repeat‐purchase markets is shaped more by the passive acceptance of brands than by strongly‐held attitudes about them. From this perspective, the demand‐enhancing potential of loyalty programs is more limited than might be hoped. Reviews three different perspectives on loyalty, and relates these to a framework for understanding customer loyalty that encompasses customer brand commitment, customer brand acceptance and customer brand buying. Uses this framework to analyze the demand‐side potential of loyalty programs. Discusses where these programs might work and where they are unlikely to succeed on any large scale. Provides a checklist for marketers.

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Purpose -Aims to examine the proposition that consumer sales promotions are more effective when they provide benefits that are congruent with those of the promoted product. This proposition is considered at the ethnic-group level (i.e. do differences in cultural values at this level have an impact on sales promotion effectiveness?). Design/methodology/approach -A quasi-experimental design is used to test a series of hypotheses based on a sample of Anglo-Australians and Chinese-Australians. The main experiment is informed by the results of two pretests. Findings -First, there are significant differences in consumer cultural values at an ethnic-group level. Second, despite these differences, ethnicity does not have a significant impact on responses to sales promotions. Third, the expected congruency effects between products and promotion types are not found.Research limitations/implications -Some of the detailed results match those reported in previous studies, but there are important differences too. Practical implications -There is a need to be aware of differing cultural values at an ethnic-group level. Notwithstanding this inference, the second finding suggests that there continues to be scope for using standardised strategies when promoting to different ethnic groups. Finally, considerable caution should be exercised when planning promotion strategies around hoped-for congruency effects. Originality/value -New light is cast on the relationship between consumer differences at an ethnic-group level and the effectiveness of various types of sales promotion for utilitarian and hedonic products.

Many empirical regularities in the buying behavior of consumers have been linked together into a comprehensive model, the Dirichlet. In this paper we list some of the well-established regularities, show how they are theoretically intertwined, and illustrate how this approach to modeling can assist the marketing analyst.brand choice, store choice, replication studies, empirical generalisations