Marketing & consumer behavior
Loyalty scale: what it is and how to measure it
- Concept
- Loyalty
- Field
- Marketing & consumer behavior
- Scales in the library
- 4
- Items
- 12
Loyalty is a customer's tendency to keep choosing, repurchase and recommend a brand or business instead of switching to a competitor. Theory distinguishes behavioral loyalty (repeat purchase) from attitudinal loyalty (attachment and willingness to pay a higher price). The concept appears in the brand equity models of Aaker and of Yoo and Donthu, in the service quality, satisfaction, loyalty chain, and in brand trust research. Common thesis topics: loyalty to banks, coffee chains, mobile carriers and e-commerce platforms.
Comparing the scales
| Scale | Author (year) | Items | Response format | When to use it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loyalty (LOY) Behavioral intentions battery | Zeithaml, Berry & Parasuraman (1996) | 5 | 7-point | Choose for services when loyalty includes positive word of mouth, recommendation and more transactions; uses a 7-point likelihood scale. |
| Brand Loyalty (BL) Consumer-based brand equity | Yoo & Donthu (2001) | 3 | Likert 7-point | Choose when the model is brand equity (awareness, perceived quality, loyalty) for consumer products. If your paper also uses SITEQUAL by the same authors, cite this scale as Yoo and Donthu (2001b). |
| Attitudinal Loyalty (AL) Brand trust, affect & loyalty | Chaudhuri & Holbrook (2001) | 2 | Likert 7-point | Choose when you want to separate attitudinal loyalty (attachment, willingness to pay more) from repeat-purchase behavior. |
| Purchase Loyalty (PL) Brand trust, affect & loyalty | Chaudhuri & Holbrook (2001) | 2 | Likert 7-point | Choose together with AL when the model distinguishes the two types of loyalty, following Chaudhuri and Holbrook (2001). |
Items of each scale
Original English wording from the published source. Replace placeholders such as [system] or
[brand] with what your study is about, and pilot the questionnaire with 20 to 30 respondents first.
Loyalty (LOY) · Behavioral intentions battery
| Code | Item |
|---|---|
| LOY1 | Say positive things about XYZ to other people. |
| LOY2 | Recommend XYZ to someone who seeks your advice. |
| LOY3 | Encourage friends and relatives to do business with XYZ. |
| LOY4 | Consider XYZ your first choice to buy --- services. |
| LOY5 | Do more business with XYZ in the next few years. |
Source: Zeithaml, Berry & Parasuraman (1996). Response scale, licence and APA reference: Behavioral intentions battery.
Brand Loyalty (BL) · Consumer-based brand equity
| Code | Item |
|---|---|
| BL1 | I consider myself to be loyal to [brand]. |
| BL2 | [brand] would be my first choice. |
| BL3 | I will not buy other brands if [brand] is available at the store. |
Source: Yoo & Donthu (2001). Response scale, licence and APA reference: Consumer-based brand equity.
Attitudinal Loyalty (AL) · Brand trust, affect & loyalty
| Code | Item |
|---|---|
| AL1 | I am committed to this brand. |
| AL2 | I would be willing to pay a higher price for this brand over other brands. |
Source: Chaudhuri & Holbrook (2001). Response scale, licence and APA reference: Brand trust, affect & loyalty.
Purchase Loyalty (PL) · Brand trust, affect & loyalty
| Code | Item |
|---|---|
| PL1 | I will buy this brand the next time I buy [product name]. |
| PL2 | I intend to keep purchasing this brand. |
Source: Chaudhuri & Holbrook (2001). Response scale, licence and APA reference: Brand trust, affect & loyalty.
Tips
- The LOY scale of Zeithaml et al. asks about likelihood of behavior (1 = Not at all likely ... 7 = Very likely), not level of agreement. Keep this anchor when translating.
- AL and PL have only 2 items per construct. If you run CFA, merge them into one 4-item construct or add items to reach 3 per construct.
- Item BL3 suits consumer goods sold in stores. For services such as banks or mobile carriers, change it to 'I will not switch to [competitor] as long as [brand] meets my needs' and state that you adapted it.
- A loyalty survey only makes sense for people who have used the brand. Add a screening question on length of use at the start of the questionnaire.
Once you have a scale, put the concept in the research model drawer to state your hypotheses, work out the minimum sample size, and after data collection check reliability with the Cronbach's alpha calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between attitudinal and behavioral loyalty?
Behavioral loyalty is the customer continuing to repurchase. Attitudinal loyalty is emotional attachment and preference, shown through willingness to pay a higher price or recommend to others. A customer can repurchase out of convenience without being attached.
Is loyalty always the final dependent variable of a model?
Usually, in the service quality, satisfaction, loyalty model. Some studies treat loyalty as a mediator leading to word of mouth or willingness to pay more.
Can the loyalty scale be used for new customers?
It should not be. People who have never used the brand, or used it once, have no basis to answer. For this group, measure purchase intention or usage intention instead.