Investigating the Antecedents and Consequences of Customer Engagement in Nigerian Digital Banking Platforms

Customer engagement in digital banking platforms is a strategic priority for Nigerian commercial banks seeking to improve retention and cross-selling performance, but the antecedents and consequences of digital customer engagement have not been empirically investigated in this context. This study empirically investigated the antecedents and consequences of customer engagement with digital banking platforms (mobile and internet banking) among 500 bank customers in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt. Antecedents examined included perceived usefulness, ease of use, personalisation quality, trust, and social influence. Customer engagement was measured by active usage frequency, feature exploration breadth, and voluntary participation in bank community features. Consequences measured were customer loyalty, share of wallet, and willingness to co-create bank products. Structural equation modelling with bootstrapped mediation analysis was employed. Results showed that trust (standardised coefficient = 0.52, p < 0.001) and personalisation quality (coefficient = 0.47, p < 0.001) were the strongest antecedents of customer engagement. Perceived usefulness was significant but secondary (coefficient = 0.36, p < 0.001). Customer engagement fully mediated the relationship between trust and customer loyalty (indirect effect = 0.31, 95% CI: 0.22 to 0.41). Engaged customers showed 2.4 times higher share of wallet than disengaged customers. The study fills an empirical gap in Nigerian digital banking engagement research and recommends trust-building design features and personalisation algorithms as priority platform investments for banks seeking to increase engagement and lifetime customer value. Keywords: customer engagement, digital banking, trust, personalisation, Nigeria