Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty in Town Centres: Applying the American Customer Satisfaction Index Framework in Darmstadt

German town centres are facing considerable challenges following structural changes in society. As people's preferences and needs change, the once predominantly monofunctional city centres can no longer meet such needs and are becoming more and more perceived as obsolete. As a result, town centres struggle to maintain the loyalty of their visitors, who increasingly turn to alternatives that can fulfil their demands. Therefore, decision-makers in many town centres have tried different approaches, such as hosting temporary pop-up events and implementing pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, to increase attractiveness. Until now, this decision-making has often been based on intuition rather than empirical evidence, without a deeper understanding of the quantitative dynamics between visitor loyalty and its city centre. Furthermore, the role of the visual appearance of a city centre remains unclear. This study addresses this shortcoming using an adapted American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) model in the new framework of town centres. The focus is on causal relationships between the utilisation of city centres and the loyalty of city centre visitors. In doing so, the study aims to provide stakeholders, such as municipalities and real estate owners, with data-driven recommendations for action. These recommendations are intended to support the people-centred and future-oriented development of city centres. For this purpose, a dataset consisting of N = 238 was utilised. The study shows the importance of customer satisfaction and the aesthetic and visual appeal of town centres. Moreover, the study highlights the complex dynamic that contributes to customer satisfaction and, finally, customer loyalty.