IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ormnsc/v54y2008i6p1205-1211.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Research Note--Customer Loyalty Programs: Are They Profitable?

Author

Listed:
  • Siddharth S. Singh

    (Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005)

  • Dipak C. Jain

    (J. L. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208)

  • Trichy V. Krishnan

    (Department of Marketing, NUS Business School, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117592)

Abstract

Loyalty programs are very common in practice. Many researchers have worked at understanding the impact of loyalty programs on market competition and the mechanism behind it. Interestingly, almost all of the studies have explored a symmetric equilibrium where both of the competing firms offer a loyalty program. To our knowledge, the extant literature has not investigated in-depth whether asymmetric equilibrium can exist where only one firm chooses to offer a loyalty program and the other firm chooses to compete via lowering prices. Such a question is important because some markets do support such asymmetric equilibriums with respect to loyalty programs. Also, the existence of asymmetric equilibrium shows that a loyalty program need not be profitable for some firms. In this paper, we use a game-theoretic framework to investigate specific types of customer loyalty programs that provide benefit to loyal customers in the form of discount over market prices. The model considers consumer switching and includes two types of consumer heterogeneity. The first type of heterogeneity concerns the differences between customers with respect to their liking for loyalty programs, and the second type concerns the differences among the loyalty program members with respect to their ability to collect enough loyalty points to redeem loyalty rewards. By analyzing a duopoly market, we find that both symmetric equilibrium (i.e., where both competing firms offer the loyalty program) and asymmetric equilibrium (i.e., where one firm alone offers the loyalty program) can be sustained. The paper explores conditions for the existence of these two equilibriums.

Suggested Citation

  • Siddharth S. Singh & Dipak C. Jain & Trichy V. Krishnan, 2008. "Research Note--Customer Loyalty Programs: Are They Profitable?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 54(6), pages 1205-1211, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:54:y:2008:i:6:p:1205-1211
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.1070.0847
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.1070.0847
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/mnsc.1070.0847?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Byung-Do Kim & Mengze Shi & Kannan Srinivasan, 2001. "Reward Programs and Tacit Collusion," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(2), pages 99-120, June.
    2. Paul Klemperer, 1995. "Competition when Consumers have Switching Costs: An Overview with Applications to Industrial Organization, Macroeconomics, and International Trade," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 62(4), pages 515-539.
    3. Julian Villanueva & Pradeep Bhardwaj & Sridhar Balasubramanian & Yuxin Chen, 2007. "Customer relationship management in competitive environments: The positive implications of a short-term focus," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 5(2), pages 99-129, June.
    4. Ganesh Iyer & David Soberman, 2000. "Markets for Product Modification Information," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(3), pages 203-225, February.
    5. von Weizsacker, C Christian, 1984. "The Costs of Substitution," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 52(5), pages 1085-1116, September.
    6. Preyas S. Desai, 2001. "Quality Segmentation in Spatial Markets: When Does Cannibalization Affect Product Line Design?," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(3), pages 265-283, August.
    7. Preyas S. Desai & Devavrat Purohit, 2004. "“Let Me Talk to My Manager”: Haggling in a Competitive Environment," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(2), pages 219-233, August.
    8. Caminal, Ramon & Matutes, Carmen, 1990. "Endogenous switching costs in a duopoly model," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 353-373, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yang, Hai & Shao, Chaoyi & Wang, Hai & Ye, Jieping, 2020. "Integrated reward scheme and surge pricing in a ridesourcing market," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 126-142.
    2. Tang, Wei & Xie, Ningke & Mo, Dong & Cai, Zeen & Lee, Der-Horng & Chen, Xiqun (Michael), 2023. "Optimizing subsidy strategies of the ride-sourcing platform under government regulation," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    3. Amir Gandomi & Amirhossein Bazargan & Saeed Zolfaghari, 2019. "Designing competitive loyalty programs: a stochastic game-theoretic model to guide the choice of reward structure," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 280(1), pages 267-298, September.
    4. Thomas Reutterer & Kurt Hornik & Nicolas March & Kathrin Gruber, 2017. "A data mining framework for targeted category promotions," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 87(3), pages 337-358, April.
    5. Wang, Hai & Yang, Hai, 2019. "Ridesourcing systems: A framework and review," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 122-155.
    6. Gandomi, Amir & Zolfaghari, Saeed, 2018. "To tier or not to tier: An analysis of multitier loyalty programs׳ optimality conditions," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 20-36.
    7. Mengze Shi, 2013. "A theoretical analysis of endogenous and exogenous switching costs," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 11(2), pages 205-230, June.
    8. Wang, Sujuan & Hu, Qiying & Liu, Weiqi, 2017. "Price and quality-based competition and channel structure with consumer loyalty," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 262(2), pages 563-574.
    9. Bazargan, Amirhossein & Karray, Salma & Zolfaghari, Saeed, 2017. "Modeling reward expiry for loyalty programs in a competitive market," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 352-364.
    10. Gandomi, A. & Zolfaghari, S., 2013. "Profitability of loyalty reward programs: An analytical investigation," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 41(4), pages 797-807.
    11. Danaher, Peter J. & Sajtos, Laszlo & Danaher, Tracey S., 2016. "Does the reward match the effort for loyalty program members?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 23-31.
    12. Bing Jing, 2016. "Customer Recognition in Experience vs. Inspection Good Markets," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(1), pages 216-224, January.
    13. Bazargan, Amirhossein & Karray, Salma & Zolfaghari, Saeed, 2018. "‘Buy n times, get one free’ loyalty cards: Are they profitable for competing firms? A game theoretic analysis," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 265(2), pages 621-630.
    14. Krista J. Li, 2021. "Behavior-Based Quality Discrimination," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 23(2), pages 425-436, March.
    15. Aaron Luntala Nsakanda & Moustapha Diaby & Yuheng Cao, 2011. "An aggregate inventory-based model for predicting redemption and liability in loyalty reward programs industry," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 13(5), pages 707-719, November.
    16. Amirhossein Bazargan & Salma Karray & Saeed Zolfaghari, 2021. "Can restrictions on redemption timing boost profitability of loyalty programs in competitive environments?," Computational Management Science, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 99-124, January.
    17. Rehnen, Lena Marie, 2016. "Exit strategies of loyalty programs," jbm - Journal of Business Market Management, Free University Berlin, Marketing Department, vol. 9(1), pages 564-596.
    18. Emil Temnyalov, 2019. "Points mechanisms and rewards programs," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 436-457, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mengze Shi, 2013. "A theoretical analysis of endogenous and exogenous switching costs," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 11(2), pages 205-230, June.
    2. J. Miguel Villas-Boas, 2004. "Consumer Learning, Brand Loyalty, and Competition," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(1), pages 134-145, December.
    3. Miguel Villas-Boas, J., 2015. "A short survey on switching costs and dynamic competition," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 219-222.
    4. Mengze Shi, 2013. "A theoretical analysis of endogenous and exogenous switching costs," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 11(2), pages 205-230, June.
    5. Gehrig, Thomas & ,, 2002. "Introductory Offers in a Model of Strategic Competition," CEPR Discussion Papers 3189, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    6. Inderst, Roman, 2002. "Why competition may drive up prices," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 47(4), pages 451-462, April.
    7. Jiwoong Shin & K. Sudhir, 2010. "A Customer Management Dilemma: When Is It Profitable to Reward One's Own Customers?," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(4), pages 671-689, 07-08.
    8. Bazargan, Amirhossein & Karray, Salma & Zolfaghari, Saeed, 2017. "Modeling reward expiry for loyalty programs in a competitive market," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 352-364.
    9. A. Yeşim Orhun & Tong Guo & Andreas Hagemann, 2022. "Reaching for Gold: Frequent-Flyer Status Incentives and Moral Hazard," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 41(3), pages 548-574, May.
    10. de Jong, Gerben & Behrens, Christiaan & van Ommeren, Jos, 2019. "Airline loyalty (programs) across borders: A geographic discontinuity approach," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 251-272.
    11. Luís M. B. Cabral & Miguel Villas-Boas, 2005. "Bertrand Supertraps," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 51(4), pages 599-613, April.
    12. Caminal, Ramon & Claici, Adina, 2007. "Are loyalty-rewarding pricing schemes anti-competitive?," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 657-674, August.
    13. Luttmann, Alexander & Ladd, Daniel, 2023. "Loyalty rewards and redemption behavior: Stylized facts for the U.S. airline industry," MPRA Paper 119214, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Bazargan, Amirhossein & Karray, Salma & Zolfaghari, Saeed, 2018. "‘Buy n times, get one free’ loyalty cards: Are they profitable for competing firms? A game theoretic analysis," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 265(2), pages 621-630.
    15. Wohlfarth, Michael, 2017. "Data Portability on the Internet: An Economic Analysis," 28th European Regional ITS Conference, Passau 2017 169506, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    16. Gandomi, A. & Zolfaghari, S., 2013. "Profitability of loyalty reward programs: An analytical investigation," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 41(4), pages 797-807.
    17. Kutsal Dogan & Ernan Haruvy & Ram Rao, 2010. "Who should practice price discrimination using rebates in an asymmetric duopoly?," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 61-90, March.
    18. Alessandro Acquisti & Hal R. Varian, 2005. "Conditioning Prices on Purchase History," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(3), pages 367-381, May.
    19. Jorge Fernández‐Ruiz, 2019. "A Mixed Duopoly With Switching Costs," The Japanese Economic Review, Japanese Economic Association, vol. 70(2), pages 235-257, June.
    20. Bakhtiari, Ali & Murthi, B.P.S. & Steffes, Erin, 2013. "Evaluating the Effect of Affinity Card Programs on Customer Profitability Using Propensity Score Matching," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 83-97.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:54:y:2008:i:6:p:1205-1211. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.