Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Analysis of consumer behaviour in a retail drugstore chain in Russia based on the type of consumer loyalty

Galina Galkina , Elena Gribkova, Tatiana Pak, Olga Bazarkina, Kristina Sudarenko, Maxim Kurashov, Alexey Smirnov

Department of Pharmaceutical Management and Economics, Medical Institute, Peopleâ€™s Friendship University of Russia, Moscow 11719, Russian Federation;

For correspondence:- Galina Galkina Email: galkina_ga@pfur.ru Tel:+9165060894

Accepted: 23 April 2019 Published: 31 May 2019

Citation: Galkina G, Gribkova E, Pak T, Bazarkina O, Sudarenko K, Kurashov M, et al. Analysis of consumer behaviour in a retail drugstore chain in Russia based on the type of consumer loyalty. Trop J Pharm Res 2019; 18(5):1133-1140 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v18i5.31

© 2019 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To identify the consumer loyalty types in a retail segment of the Russian pharmaceutical market.

Methods: A sociological study was conducted in pharmaceutical organisations of various forms of ownership, located in different administrative districts of Moscow (Russian Federation). This was done using a questionnaire developed in advance, and based on literature review. The survey involved 480 respondents selected in a simple random sampling.

Results: All questionnaire filled out by the respondents were considered valid. Analysis of the loyalty parameters obtained during the study are as follows: (1) behavioural (repeated purchases), (2) emotional (subjective opinions and experience, sympathy, respect for the brand, etc) and (3) rational (utility assessment) components (4) consumer satisfaction, (5) the desire to buy again, (6) the ability to switch to competitors. They were allocated to four consumer segments. In the course of the study, one consumer segment identified a type of loyalty that had not been previously reviewed by other authors; therefore, a modified classification of the loyalty types was created. Under this classification, constancy, constancy imaginary, inconstancy, and migratory loyalties can be some types of loyalty. The identified socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents influenced the categorization of the loyalty type.

Conclusion: A modified classification of loyalty types was created which serves as a parameter for segmentation of the respondents into four groups, with well-readable characteristics and the primary trends in making purchases.

Keywords: Consumer loyalty, Consumer behaviour, Migratory loyalty, Consumer segments, Pharmaceutical market