An Empirical Study On The Interaction Of Loyalty Between Buyers And Sellers In Joint Operation Department Store

Department store is an important part of the retail market in our country. However, with the improvement of people’s living standards, as well as the emergence of new retail, the development of department store are facing unprecedented challenges. Labor costs and property rents rise, department store profit margins continue to be compressed. The industry competition into the white hot with the similarity of operation and normalized promotion degree deepen. From supermarkets, convenience stores, exclusive shop, shopping centers and other retail formats competitive pressure, the market position of department stores are threatened. While with the development of the electronic Commerce, department stores have been comprehensive siege in time and space, and gradually become the electronic Commerce “dressing room”. Since 2012, wave after wave of the closed shop tide staged throughout the country, the development environment of department stores is very bad. The key for enterprises to gain profit space and competitive advantage is to reduce costs or increase profits. But the mainly cost to department store is fixed, so it is difficult to have a big breakthrough in this regard. However, in terms of improving revenue, maintaining customer relationships and ensuring customer loyalty are important way to solve it.More than 90% of department store business model is joint operation. In this business model, the role of department stores is the bridge of the sellers and the buyers. Both the buyers and the sellers are customers of the joint operation department stores. And both the quantity and quality of the two sides will affect the opposite side benefits, so as to affect the quantity and quality of the other party. That is typical characteristics of the two-sides market. However, both the business and academic circles seldom consider the customer loyalty from the perspective of two-sides market, but only pay attention to the buyer’s loyalty. The sellers are the main source of profit for the joint operation department store, and directly trade with the buyers. Buyers and sellers have wide range of interaction in information, emotion and interest, so the loyalty of both sides will affect each other. Previous studies have indicated that the sellers, as an important part of the two-sides market, have important influence on the buyer’s loyalty. However, the buyer’s buying behavior is the seller’s profit source, buyer’s loyalty directly related to the seller’s income. And in the two-sides market, the number and quality of buyers and sellers will also affect each others profit through the network externality effect. Therefore, the buyer’s loyalty will affect the seller’s loyalty. From the perspective of two-sides markets, this paper, through combining theoretical research and empirical study method, has explored buyer’s and seller’s loyalty interaction relation and degree to joint operation department store, and has analyzed of which variables play a role in the loyalty of both parties.Firstly, this paper briefly summarized the related concepts and basic theory. Meanwhile, this paper analyzed the development course and the current dilemma of the joint operation department store in our country. Secondly, based on the existing related literature at home and abroad, this paper constructed buyer and seller’s loyalty interaction theory model of joint operation department store which used the customer value and customer trust as the mediating variable. And the model was tested by structural equation analysis method. Thirdly, this paper carried out a questionnaire survey that took the Nanchang area joint operation department store as the research object, and used SPSS and AMOS software to analyze the data. The research conclusion is that seller’s loyalty does not directly act on the buyer’s loyalty, but by increasing the buyer’s customer value and customer trust to improve their loyalty. And buyer’s loyalty has a significant direct positive impact on the seller’s loyalty. Buyer’s loyalty also acts on the seller’s loyalty through positive effect on the seller’s customer value and customer trust. Finally, based on the results of theoretical and empirical research, this paper analyzes the strategy of improving the customer loyalty of the joint operation department store.