The sensory experience in customer loyalty at specialty coffee shops

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the relationship between sensory experience and customer loyalty in specialty coffee shops in the city of Tacna. A gap was identified in local research regarding how what customers see, hear, touch, taste, and perceive through aroma can influence their loyalty. The research used a numerical measurement approach, without manipulating the variables, seeking to analyze the relationship between them. A questionnaire with a five-level scale was administered to 100 customers of specialty coffee shops, using instruments employed in scientific studies and adapted to this context. The data were processed using SPSS (version 25). After verifying that the data did not follow a normal distribution, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was used to examine the relationship between the variables. The results show that when customers perceive a pleasant sensory experience, their intention to return or recommend the establishment increases.