Sip, Sense, Stay: The Secret Recipe for Customer Loyalty in Karachi's Cafe Culture
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22555/pbr.v27i4.1550Keywords:
Sensory experience, perceived luxuriousness, behavioral expertise, perceived quality, repurchase intention, coffee shops Karachi, coffee consumption, emerging market, PakistanAbstract
The present study aimed to determine the effect of sensory experience, behavioral experience, and the perceived quality on the repurchase intention of the customers of premium and specialty coffee shops in Karachi, Pakistan, where the perceived luxuriousness was placed at the center of the mediating process. The study used a structured questionnaire administered to 410 actual customers, and 390 valid, complete responses were received. The information was gathered through in-person intercepts (of over 20 high-traffic stores in key locations of Karachi) and online distribution via Google forms distributed on social media and cafe loyalty pages. The data was cross-sectioned and collected at a single point in time and which constitutes a limitation of this study. PLS-SEM was used to test the conceptual framework in Smart PLS 4.0. The study of 390 Karachi coffee shop customers revealed that perceived quality most strongly drives perceived luxuriousness, followed by sensory experience and behavioral experience. Perceived luxuriousness emerged as the dominant predictor of repurchase intention, partially mediating the effects of all three antecedents, highlighting that cultivating an aspirational luxurious image is key to fostering customer loyalty in this emerging market. Cafe proprietors must consider perceived luxuriousness as the final strategic goal: preserve relentless product quality as the base, followed by a conscious effort to design all sensory and behavioral touchpoints that enhance the sense of classiness, scarcity, and prestige.
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