Emotional Marketing and Brand Loyalty in Vietnam's Retail Distribution Sector: Unveiling the Moderating Impact of Digital Innovativeness

Purpose: This study investigates the relationship between emotional marketing, brand loyalty, and customer retention in Vietnam's retail sector, while examining the moderating role of digital innovativeness. Research design, data and methodology: A conceptual model is developed and empirically tested using a sample of 533 Vietnamese retail consumers. The model incorporates emotional marketing as the main predictor, brand loyalty as the mediator, customer retention as the outcome, and digital innovativeness as the moderator. Relevant determinants of brand loyalty, such as customer satisfaction, perceived value, emotional attachment, and brand identity, are included as control variables. The data is analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results: The results reveal that emotional marketing significantly impacts brand loyalty, leading to higher customer retention. Digital innovativeness positively moderates the relationship between emotional marketing and brand loyalty. The study highlights the importance of leveraging emotional marketing strategies and fostering digital innovativeness to build strong emotional connections, brand loyalty, and long-term customer retention in the Vietnamese retail market. Conclusions: This research contributes to understanding emotional marketing's impact on brand loyalty and customer retention in Vietnam's retail sector, while uniquely exploring the moderating effect of digital innovativeness.