An assessment of the influence of information communication technology on customer retention in selected supermarkets in Nairobi province,Kenya

Abstract

The study sought to establish the influence of information communication technology on customer retention in selected supermarkets in Nairobi-Kenya. The researcher's aim was to find out if the application of lCT in the three selected supermarkets had facilitated customer retention. The customers who frequented the supermarkets and management staff were selected for the study. From the customers perspective the findings indicate that the major reasons for shopping in the selected supermarket chains were: market price, quality of the product, availability of information about the services and the products, friendliness and courtesy of the staff, range of service and product varieties, availability of various payment methods, sufficiently stocked shelves, consistency of the quality products, efficiency of the service delivery, customization of the services delivered and loyalty programs respectively. Based on how leT enhanced service delivery, the respondents indicated that it provided information on particular goods and prices with a lot of convenience and at a cheaper rate. However, most customers seemed to prefer face to face consultations when it came to resolve customer complaints. From the management staff perspective findings indicate that leT has aided a lot in areas such as monitoring customer shopping trends, although K'T implementation could prove expensive It is from these finding that K'T was seen to have contributed to customer retention by improving service delivery and ensuring that management is able to adopt a customer centric approach in all its strategies.