Predicting customer loyalty in omnichannel retailing using purchase behavior, socio-cultural factors, and learning techniques

PLoS One. 2025 Aug 21;20(8):e0330338. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0330338. eCollection 2025.

Abstract

In the competitive retail omnichannel market, customer loyalty is essential for maintaining market share and reducing the cost of acquiring new customers. Previous research has primarily focused on factors influencing customer loyalty, often in isolation, but this study goes beyond traditional approaches. The aim of this research is to fill significant gaps in current studies by integrating a more comprehensive set of variables that reflect the complex and dynamic nature of customer loyalty in a flexible omnichannel environment. The main innovation of this study lies in the use of new and comprehensive omnichannel data, which includes sales data across various platforms, socio-economic conditions, shopping cart behaviors, and customer sentiments. The proposed model utilizes a hybrid approach, incorporating BERT for sentiment analysis, reinforcement learning for behavior analysis, and fine-tuning for improved predictions. Additionally, graph-based models (GCN) and adaptive learning are employed to analyze trends and predict loyalty at both individual and neighborhood levels. This research provides an intelligent analytical framework for predicting customer loyalty in omnichannel retail environments, enhancing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) subsystems within Enterprise Information Systems (EIS). By optimizing decisions in areas such as pricing, inventory management, and personalized advertising, this study ultimately leads to improved customer retention and increased market competitiveness.

MeSH terms

  • Commerce*
  • Consumer Behavior* / economics
  • Humans
  • Learning
  • Socioeconomic Factors