The Effect of Customer Experience on Customer Loyalty in the Ghanaian Transportation Sector. A Study of Ride-Hailing Services

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of customer experience on loyalty within Ghana’s ride-hailing sector, specifically among users in Accra, where the service is most active. It assesses how sensory, emotional, social, and service quality experiences influence customer loyalty on platforms like Uber, Bolt, Yango, and others. The research employed a quantitative approach, gathering data from 203 respondents through structured questionnaires that were distributed via Google Forms. Data was analyzed using SPSS and PLS-SEM to validate the model and examine relationships between the dependent and independent variables. The study’s findings reveal that customer experience influences customer loyalty. Emotional experience and service quality are the strongest predictors of customer loyalty while sensory experience has a moderate effect with social experience having the least effect. The results underscore the importance of prioritizing service quality and fostering emotional connections with customers to retain loyalty in the competitive ride-hailing industry. The study offers actionable recommendations for ride-hailing companies to enhance customer experience by emphasizing emotional engagement and service quality improvements. The study also recommends the enhancement of sensory experience and the reevaluation of social experience. This research contributes to the growing literature on customer loyalty and provides insights for the transport sector in Ghana.