Beyond Price and Product: Drivers of Consumer Purchase Decisions in Zambia’s Petroleum Retail Market

Abstract

This study examined the influence of brand image, service quality, loyalty programmes, location convenience and staff conduct on consumer purchase decisions in Zambia’s petroleum retail market, using Kabwe District as the study setting. The study was anchored in the Howard–Sheth Theory of Buyer Behavior and adopted a quantitative explanatory correlational research design. Data were collected from 196 adult petroleum retail consumers purchasing fuel from Puma Energy Zambia Plc, Total Energies Zambia Limited and Mount Meru Zambia Limited service stations in Kabwe. Respondents were selected using systematic sampling, and data were collected through a structured self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression analysis were used to analyse the data. The regression model was statistically significant and explained 71.83% of the variance in consumer purchase decisions. Brand image emerged as the strongest positive predictor of consumer purchase decisions (β = .527, p < .001), followed by service quality (β = .260, p < .001) and staff conduct (β = .115, p = .010). Loyalty programmes had a statistically significant negative relationship with purchase decisions (β = -.136, p = .002), while location convenience was statistically insignificant (β = -.032, p = .409). The findings demonstrate that petroleum consumers increasingly differentiate competing retailers through brand reputation, service experiences and frontline employee interactions rather than relying primarily on location or transactional incentives. The study concludes that competitive advantage in Zambia’s regulated and relatively homogeneous petroleum retail market extends beyond price and product. Petroleum retailers should therefore prioritise strategic brand building, superior service delivery, professional staff conduct and the redesign of loyalty programmes around meaningful customer value.