Firms' Behaviour in Selling Regional Brands and Customer Loyalty in E-commerce

The paper aims to present research results on regional brand sales and customer loyalty. The object of the research was small and medium-sized enterprises in the Czech Republic selling regional products and operating in e-commerce. The subject of the research is broadly defined. The paper first deals with the current state of knowledge. The theoretical background is focused on professional literature and studies oriented on regional branding and e-commerce. Both the VosViewer method and the historical method are used in the theoretical discussion. The empirical research includes primary qualitative research. It is qualitative research focusing on SMEs operating electronic sales of goods including regional brands. The research focuses on the business strategy, the establishment of e-stores, the nature of the offer, as well as customer loyalty and performance of the businesses. The results indicate a lower orientation of respondents in the researched issues, not attaching importance to customer relationship management. Customer loyalty is perceived, which is confirmed by the respondents' behaviour according to them. However, half of them do not evaluate it at all, nor do they monitor repeat purchases in the context of behavioural loyalty.