Determinan Rendahnya Utilisasi Kartu Loyalitas pada UMKM Kuliner

This study identifies the determinants of low loyalty card utilization in culinary SMEs, emphasizing the role of customer domicile. Although 50% of 76 respondents owned a Memanja Rasa loyalty card, three months of field observation revealed no stamping occurred. Zero stamping does not imply zero repeat purchases: stamping required a single transaction of at least IDR 150,000, a threshold that structurally decouples visit frequency from reward accumulation. A mixed-methods explanatory sequential design was employed. Quantitative data were analyzed using ordinal regression, Spearman correlation, Mann-Whitney U test, and cross-tabulation by domicile; qualitative data were obtained through participatory observation. Results show that service quality significantly affects loyalty (p = 0.003; OR = 19.67), whereas CRM is not significant (p = 0.123) despite a very strong correlation (rs = 0.933). Cross-tabulation reveals a geographic paradox: local Bandung adoption is lowest (4.8%), while out-of-town Jakarta (73.7%) and Depok (83.3%) are much higher. Cardholders reported higher loyalty scores (U = 71.5; p < 0.001; r = 0.797), including repeat purchase behavior, yet none ever stamped their cards. This indicates that stamping is an invalid proxy for repeat purchase when the reward threshold is structurally misaligned with transaction patterns. Four determinant categories were identified: (1) program design, with the threshold as the primary structural determinant; (2) customer characteristics (domicile, self-selection bias, attitude–behavior gap); (3) operational factors (monitoring, staff incentives, socialization); and (4) contextual factors (competition, visit patterns). This study contributes to the loyalty program literature by introducing symbolic adoption, demonstrating the measurement invalidity of stamping as a loyalty proxy, and emphasizing the importance of measuring utilization rather than mere adoption. It corrects methodological assumptions in the literature. A diagnostic framework is offered for SMEs to design more effective loyalty programs. These findings confirm that loyalty program success should be measured by utilization, not adoption alone.