DESPITE UNETHICAL RETAIL STORE PRACTICES, CONSUMERS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PYRAMID CONTINUE TO BE LOYAL

摘要

Research in the area of retail store loyalty has studied the phenomenon to understand the factors that drive and explain consumer patronage behaviors. Most of the research unanimously agrees that consumers reward retailers when they are satisfied with its products and services and its image. In addition, the social responsibility initiatives of a retailer have also been shown to influence store - loyalty. So, the norm seems to be that stores with a positive image would be rewarded with consumer patronage behaviors and those with a negative image, would not. Moreover, one would universally agree that if the retailer engages in unethical practices, the customer would quickly defect and even engage in word of mouth to influence others to defect. But, this might not be the case universally. One consumer group that might continue to be loyal to a retailer despite widespread unethical practices is the poor. A growing stream of research under the labels of bottom of pyramid (BoP) and subsistence consumers has increasingly pointed out the market attractiveness of this segment to multinational companies. These poor consumers are individuals who earn approximately $2 per day. The largest BoP market in the world by size of population is in India where according to a 2011 World Bank estimate, 69% of the country's total population (approximately 1.2billion) earns $2 per day.