BANGKINANG — Retention strategies in the modern food and beverage industry must transition from merely offering quality products to creating deep emotional and relational experiences. A recent study conducted by Rudi Kurniawan and Vidyarini Dwita from Universitas Negeri Padang in 2026 confirms that customer satisfaction serves as a crucial bridge linking positive experiences to long-term loyalty. This scientific evaluation, which sampled visitors at Cafe Niskala Coffee Bangkinang, provides an operational blueprint for businesses managing intense market competition.
The expansion of the coffee shop business in Indonesia, particularly within the Riau province, is accelerating due to shifts in urban lifestyles. Modern cafes no longer function simply as places to purchase beverages; they have transformed into critical social spaces for interacting, working, studying, and unwinding. Amidst a crowded competitive landscape, securing customer loyalty remains a significant barrier but serves as the main asset for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to reduce brand switching and increase organic revenue via word-of-mouth promotion.
To measure the operational variables affecting this loyalty loop, the research team from Universitas Negeri Padang deployed a quantitative framework in January 2026. Data collection involved distributing structured questionnaires to 180 customers of Cafe Niskala Coffee Bangkinang who had completed repeat visits of two to three times or more within the past six months. The primary data metrics were evaluated using SmartPLS 4 software via partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to trace the exact correlations between customer experience segments.
The inferential data analysis challenged the common assumption that sensory or visual elements always dictate brand retention. The study revealed that sensory experiences—such as aesthetic interior design, background music, or layouts—along with behavioral experiences, yielded no significant impact on driving customer satisfaction or loyalty. Instead, the primary pillars mathematically validated to increase satisfaction levels were relational experiences with the highest coefficient of 0.341, followed by emotional experiences at 0.297, and cognitive experiences at 0.222.
The indirect effect models verified that customer satisfaction acts as a highly critical mediating variable. Cognitive experiences linked to consumer perceptions and relational interactions showed no direct path to brand loyalty; rather, they required absolute mediation through established satisfaction. Conversely, only emotional experiences demonstrated a dual path, directly boosting loyalty while simultaneously reinforcing it indirectly through heightened customer satisfaction. When patrons feel psychologically comfortable, valued, and socially integrated via staff interactions, they develop behavioral commitments to return.
The practical implications of this published report present clear guidelines ready for execution by coffee shop operators. To protect market share in a saturated market, management should avoid focusing solely on physical aesthetics or rapid menu modifications. The more urgent action plan involves training service staff to foster warm interpersonal connections with visitors, engineering personalized reward structures, and cultivating environments that trigger positive emotional responses, ensuring customers feel genuinely connected to the brand community.
Author Profile:
Rudi Kurniawan is a researcher at Universitas Negeri Padang.
Vidyarini Dwita is a researcher at Universitas Negeri Padang.
Research Source:
The Effect of Customer Experience on Customer Loyalty Mediated by Customer Satisfaction at Niskala Coffee Cafe Bangkinang, East Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (EAJMR), 2026.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55927/eajmr.v5i5.120
URL: https://journaleajmr.my.id/index.php/eajmr
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