An exploration of the impact of disclaimer clauses on managing customer loyalty and retention. A case of Chinese retail shops in Harare city centre

Abstract

This study sought to investigate the effects that disclaimer clauses have on customer retention and the buying behaviour of customers of Chinese retail shops in the Harare Central Business District. A review of the literature review shows that generally disclaimer clauses have a negative effect on the buying behaviour of consumers. It was also shown in the literature review that the disclaimers are usually used to protect the interests of the retailers and in most cases; customers have a lot to lose where the purchased product proved to be defective. Questionnaires and interviews were used as the main tools for data collection in this study. Major findings of the study show that most people who became aware of the disclaimer clauses in Chinese retail shops were not prepared to do repeat business with the Chinese retail shops. It was further found that disclaimer clauses negatively impacted the purchase behaviour of customers. Customers were not happy about the use of disclaimer clauses. The majority of the customers felt the clauses were unfair. The disclaimer clauses distort customer care and as a result customers are not satisfied. The study concluded that most Chinese retail shop owners use disclaimer clauses in order to protect their own interests against poor quality of their products and was therefore using cheap pricing models to attract customers. The study also concluded that where customers were aware of the existence of the disclaimer clauses in these shops, they mainly bought the products from these shops for reselling at a bargain. The research recommends that the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe be more conspicuous in educating the generality of the consumers as this will go a long way in achieving a well informed consumer base. The Standards Association of Zimbabwe should also assist the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority to curb the influx of inferior products from abroad. The study further recommends that Chinese retailers formulate and implement customer retention strategies. This may likely lead to them having satisfied customers who will build a confident relationship that will increase the business volumes of goods traded.