Loyalty Research

We love research at the Loyalty Science Lab! Whether it's pure academic research or collaborative research with industry partners, our researchers aim to create a deeper understanding of brand loyalty and customer loyalty. Check out our sample projects, recent publications, and research insights for practitioners.

The Politics of Brand Loyalty

Discover how social and political values are reshaping consumer relationships with brands. 听Our latest research reveals the impact of ideological alignment on loyalty, retention, and marketing strategy.

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Sample Current & Past Projects

Loyalty Calculus

Collaborate with a 听multichannel retailer to understand the top-down vs. bottom-up relationship between customers' loyalty in specific channels and their overall loyalty toward the retailer.听

Loyalty Program Mindset

Examine how program tier status and distance change consumer mindset and how to personalize email communication based on such changes.

Defining Loyalty

Explore the complex relationships between brand vs. channel loyalty, family vs. personal loyalty, and sales vs. service loyalty, to define the concept of a loyal 听customer

Future of Loyalty

A multi-country consumer survey to understand what loyalty means to听 consumers, new drivers of customer loyalty, and loyalty program engagement and impact.

Goal Psychology in Loyalty Programs

Investigate the utilization of goal psychology to optimize personalized progress feedback based on consumer tier status and history in a loyalty program.

Monetary vs. Non-Monetary Rewards

Study differential reactions to monetary vs. non- monetary rewards in a loyalty program, as a result of time discounting and customer-firm relationship.听

Loyalty Science Lab

Contact

Loyalty Science Lab

757-683-6551
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Explore The Loyalty Puzzle

Every three years, Loyalty Science Lab compiles a list of the most important  loyalty questions at the moment based on academic and practice community feedback. 

Read the latest Edition
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Recent Academic Publications

  • Zhang, Junzhou and Yuping Liu-Thompkins (2023), "Personalized Email Marketing in Loyalty Programs: The Role of Multidimensional Construal Levels,鈥 Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, in press. 听
  • Liu-Thompkins, Yuping, Shintaro Okazaki, and Hairong Li (2022), "Artificial Empathy in Marketing Interactions: Bridging the Human-Al Gap in Affective and Social Customer Experience," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 50 (6), 1198-1218. 听
  • Liu-Thompkins, Yuping, Leila Khoshghadam, Arjang Attar Shoushtari, and Saeed Zal (2022), 鈥淲hat Drives Retailer Loyalty? A Meta-Analysis of the Role of Cognitive, Affective, and Social Factors Across Five Decades," Journal of Retailing, 98 (1), 92-110. 听

Research Insights for Practitioners

Check out for accessible research insights with key takeaways for practitioners. Here are a few of our most popular articles:听

  • :听We are often asked this question: "What is loyalty?" Drawing on years of loyalty research, we look at the four layers of loyalty and how they matter in different听ways.听
  • Two large-scale scientific studies published in top marketing journals offer evidence on loyalty program impact and optimal design considerations.听
  • :听Consumers engage with loyalty programs that provide value to them. This article outlines six criteria for assessing the overall value of a loyalty program.听
  • :听Brand activism is the act of brands taking a public stance on one side of a controversial issue. This article looks into its effects on the brand and how to make it more effective.

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