---
Title: "What Is Customer Loyalty? Meaning and Examples"
Url: "https://computer.io/glossary/customer-loyalty"
Topic: "Customer experience"
Description: "Customer loyalty is a customer's ongoing choice of your business over competitors. How it differs from retention, what drives it and how to measure it."
---

# What is customer loyalty?

Customer loyalty is a customer's ongoing willingness to keep buying from a company and choose it over competitors, driven by positive experiences, trust and perceived value. Loyal customers buy more often, spend more, forgive occasional mistakes and recommend the brand to others.

## Loyalty vs retention

|  | Loyalty | Retention |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What it is | Attitude and preference | Whether customers stay |
| Measured by | NPS, repeat purchase, referrals | Retention rate, churn |
| Example | Chooses you despite a cheaper option | Renews the contract |

## What drives loyalty

Product value, effortless service, trust, personalization, and recognition such as loyalty programs.

## How to measure

Repeat purchase rate, NPS, share of wallet, referral rate and lifetime value.

## FAQ

### Are customer loyalty and retention the same?

No. Retention measures whether customers stay; loyalty reflects their preference and emotional commitment.

### What is a customer loyalty program?

A structured way to reward repeat customers, such as points, tiers or member perks.

### How does customer service affect loyalty?

Strongly. Easy, effective service is one of the biggest drivers of loyalty.

## Related terms

- [Customer retention](https://computer.io/glossary/customer-retention)
- [How do you build a customer loyalty program?](https://computer.io/answers/how-to-build-a-customer-loyalty-program)

## How Computer helps

- [Customer agent](https://devrev.ai/solutions/customer-agent)

## Further reading

- [Customer loyalty program](https://devrev.ai/blog/customer-loyalty-program)
- [Customer retention vs loyalty](https://devrev.ai/blog/customer-retention-vs-loyalty)
- [Repeat customers](https://devrev.ai/blog/repeat-customers)