Habit, Loyalty, and Repeat Purchase
The productive tension
Habitandchoice
most repeat purchase is inertia, but genuine preference exists
The synthesis
The evidence is clear that most repeat purchase behaviour is driven by habit, availability, and mental salience rather than deep brand commitment. But the synthesis refuses to collapse all repeat purchase into meaningless inertia. Genuine preference exists in specific, identifiable conditions — high-involvement categories, ecosystem lock-in, subscription models, and situations where switching costs are real. The practical marketer must understand both the Ehrenbergian base rate (most loyalty is habitual) and the exceptions where attitudinal loyalty genuinely drives behaviour.
Learning objectives
- →Explain Ehrenberg's repeat purchase theory and its implications for brand strategy
- →Distinguish between behavioural loyalty and attitudinal loyalty with evidence
- →Apply the double jeopardy law and duplication of purchase law to real brand scenarios
- →Evaluate the effectiveness of loyalty programmes using empirical evidence
- →Synthesise the retention vs acquisition debate through the Both/And lens
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