Store Brand Research Articles

Live streaming channel and product assortment with both national and store brand products

To counteract the fierce competition in the online retailing market, retailers are increasingly adopting live streaming selling model and introducing store brand product to enhance their competitiveness. In this context, we attempt to examine whether and when a retailer should launch a live streaming channel. If launched, we further investigate how the retailer should assort both national and store brand products across available channels. To delve into these questions, we consider a supply chain consisting of a manufacturer and an online retailer, where the retailer resells the manufacturer's national brand product and also sells a store brand product. We examine the retailer's optimal channel strategy and product assortment strategy by considering six scenarios, differentiated by whether introducing the live streaming channel and various product assortment tactics. Our findings indicate that as long as the fixed setup cost of the live channel is relatively low, the retailer will always introduce a live streaming channel. The retailer's optimal assortment of both products across channels highly depends on the consumers’ additional value derived from the live streaming channel and the perceived quality of the store brand product. We also find that, the retailer's optimal channel strategy and product assortment may not always benefit the manufacturer, but there exist conditions that can create win-win situations for both players. Our study further shows that if the retailer launches the live streaming channel at the start, it may not always be necessary to introduce the store brand product under certain conditions.

Store brand entry with asymmetric cost information

This study conducts a research on the dominated-retailer’s establishment strategy of a store brand in a supply chain, in which the retailer possesses private knowledge of the store brand’s product cost, while the manufacturer is only informed about the distribution of this cost information. The store brand entry with asymmetric information initiates a signaling game between the chain members. Through comparing equilibrium outcomes, we find that the pooling equilibrium consistently prevails as the dominant equilibrium, suggesting that the informed retailer is reluctant to reveal the cost information to her national brand cooperative manufacturer. We also explore the influence of a retailer’s store brand entry on the national-brand manufacturer’s performance. The findings reveal that, with asymmetric cost information, mutually beneficial outcomes for all parties involved can be achieved by the establishment of a store brand. Furthermore, we delve into how the asymmetric cost information affects the performance of the chain members. Surprisingly, our findings demonstrate that asymmetric cost information may be desirable not only for retailer, but also for the less informed manufacturer under specific circumstances. This suggests the possibility of supply chain members reaching a mutual agreement on the structure of asymmetric cost information.

스포츠 브랜드 매장의 체험마케팅이 브랜드사랑에 미치는 영향 - 관여도의 조절효과를 중심으로

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between experiential elements in sports brand stores and brand love, with involvement serving as a moderating effect. This research seeks to enable sports product manufacturers and retailers to better understand consumers and establish a foundation for experiential marketing strategies. The survey was conducted over a 15-day period from January 10, 2024, to January 25, 2024. A total of 720 questionnaires were distributed online, and after excluding insincere responses, 697 questionnaires were used as the final data for analysis. The collected survey data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 28.0, employing frequency analysis, factor analysis, reliability analysis, correlation analysis, and structural equation modeling. The results of the analysis are as follows: First, in the study of sports brand store experiences, targeting consumers who have experienced sports brand experiential marketing in Shanghai, China, it was found that sensory, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and relational elements have a significant positive impact on brand love. Second, involvement was found to have a significant moderating effect on the relationship between experiential elements (sensory, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and relational) and brand love. Therefore, it is important to develop experiential marketing strategies that enhance consumer experiences, leveraging the fact that the experiential elements (sensory, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and relational) at sports brand stores positively impact brand love. In particular, since the relationship between experiential elements and brand love is strengthened when consumer involvement is high, it is necessary to plan customized experiential marketing activities to increase involvement. Such an approach will contribute to strengthening the relationship with consumers and enhancing brand loyalty.

National brands versus store brands: retailer fight against national brands to improve store brands via a dynamic discount pricing strategy

Today, there is a lot of competition between competitors in the market of different products. The level of complexity of relationships and behavior of active players in the market has also increased. So that a manufacturer and retailer work together to increase the profit of the supply chain through the sale of products. On the other hand, the retailer and the manufacturer as competitors are competing with each other to sell more of their products. This issue has increased the complexity of the relationship between retailers and manufacturers. This study aims to explore how retailers can strengthen the self-introduced store brand (SB) and resist the pressures of manufacturers by using dynamic discount pricing (DDP) strategy. Numerical examples are proposed to clearly explain the validity and applicability of the model. Based on the managerial insights developed by analyzing the model's results, we evaluated the influences of DDP strategy on the retail prices and demands of national brands (NB) and SB and the profit of the retailer and the manufacturer. We found that discounts on the manufacturer's product by the retailer increase the demand for both NB and SBs. An increase in demand leads to an increase in the profits of manufacturers and retailers. However, the increase in the manufacturer's profit does not compensate for the decrease in his market share. In other words, the introduction of an SB always causes damage to the manufacturer, but the amount of damage depends on various factors. These findings offer manufacturers and retailers useful insights and help them adopt effective marketing strategies.

The optimal decision of service provider considering extra waiting area value-added services – pooled or dedicated?

Service providers often provide chargeable extra waiting area value-added services (EWS) to enhance customers’ waiting experiences, e.g., in VIP and business lounges at airports, train stations, luxury brand stores, etc., to improve profitability. The impact of EWS on customers’ value perception is subject to their heterogeneous sensitivities and also depends on the reference effect due to EWS’ observable status. This paper investigates the optimal level of EWS and price decisions for a service provider facing heterogeneous customers, namely the EWS-preferring (E-type) customers and ordinary (O-type) customers, considering the observable status (observable vs. unobservable) of EWS using pooled or dedicated capacities in operations through M/M/1 queue models. The optimal price and level are solved and the optimal profit is calculated under each scenario. It is found that customers’ heterogeneous sensitivities play an important role in the price and intensity decisions. Offering observable EWS to leverage the reference effect in customers’ value perception can lead to a higher profit. Furthermore, using pooled capacity in operations with EWS is more profitable when service costs are higher. These results offer significant managerial implications and provide practical guidelines for service providers regarding the intensity of EWS, service price, and whether EWS should be observable to customers through pooled or dedicated capacities.

Traditional marketing mix helps clothing store brands analyse service value and increase customer retention

This study sought to determine how the conventional marketing mix might assist low-cost clothes in assessing the value of their services and increasing client retention. Due to this shortage, contemporary authors have suggested introducing an additional crucial aspect, namely after-sales support, while studying the service marketing mix (SMM) for “cheap clothes”. This study examined and included one new dimension of the service marketing mix instead of the conventional 7 P's of SMM. In this study, the effects of SMM cloths on service quality and client retention in Hubei Province were also examined. These effects included advertising, place, people, product, pricing, process, physical evidence, and after- sales service. Clothing Store brand providers from “Hubei Province” compete with one another in a crowded market since there are so many new entrants selling and providing comparable goods and services. Retention consequently becomes an issue. Surveys with different persons in various positions, such as professors, PhD students, MSc students, and BSc students of various nationalities, were done, and data was obtained using the convenience sample technique. In “Hubei Province”, the sampling technique was utilized to gather information from clothes whose guests had ever stayed in low-cost Hubei Province clothes. The Partial Least Square Method was utilized to evaluate the data from the 385 valid questionnaires that were obtained for this investigation. The results showed that both directly and indirectly, through service value, the service marketing mix had a considerable beneficial impact on customer retention. This study will be valuable to the low-cost Cloth sector since it will clarify the role that marketing mix strategies have in sustaining long-term client connections.

Terroir store brand authenticity

PurposeThe objective of this exploratory study was to investigate the communication themes that retailers should prioritise to convey terroir store brands’ (TSBs) authenticity and the impact of their authenticity on several variables (i.e. value, attitude, trust, intentions and effective purchases). TSBs combine a variety of products that adhere to stringent standards associated with a terroir. Charters et al. (2017) referred to a terroir as “a resource based on unique physical origins and shared cultural personification that shape a product’s benefits into a meaningful value proposition” (p. 755). Three communication themes were studied: the ingredients’ origin, traditional local recipes and the producer’s history in a region (terroir).Design/methodology/approachAn experiment was conducted in a store laboratory. A total of 420 consumers representative of the French population were randomly assigned to four independent groups in a between-subjects study design. They shopped in the store laboratory with a section dedicated to a TSB. Each of the independent samples in this experiment was exposed to posters in the store laboratory related to the three communication themes studied. The control group did not see any posters.FindingsThe study showed that the level of TSB authenticity was highest for the communication theme related to the traditional local recipes of the culinary dishes offered by the TSB. Next came the theme related to the ingredients’ origin, followed by the producer’s history in the terroir. Moreover, for the communication theme related to the traditional local recipes, TSB authenticity had a direct impact on value, trust and intentions. Moreover, the link between intentions and effective purchases of TSB products has only been established for this specific communication theme.Originality/valueFirst, this study adds to the limited research on TSBs’ authenticity and identifies the communication themes retailers should use to promote such brands. It also proposes an integrative model of the consequences of TSBs’ authenticity in the retailing field that highlights the direct and indirect links (through value, attitude, trust and intentions) between authenticity and consumers’ effective purchases. Finally, it indicates the kind of discourse on TSBs that conveys their authenticity.

Space jam: how retail technologies are influencing store space production

PurposeTechnologies are dramatically reshaping various aspects of the store space, modifying design, services and usage. Accordingly, several studies tackled technology impact on each of these aspects, investigating design, service and usage singularly, but lacking a holistic viewpoint. Thus, this paper aims to identify the different dimensions of the store space (levels) and assess the impact of technology introduction on store space dimensions (levels).Design/methodology/approachThe research employs a qualitative approach based on direct observations of apparel brand stores located in London between March and April 2023. Data collection followed a structured observation protocol covering store information, adopted technologies and their effects across various store space levels, i.e. consumption activities, service environment and customer experience.FindingsResults show that the store space can be defined as the sum of different dimensions consisting of consumption activities, service environment and customer experience. Accordingly, technology introduction holistically influences each of the three store space levels as follows: (1) first, technologies redefine how activities are performed or alters the location where certain activities are consumed; (2) within the service environment, technologies replace traditional elements, fill empty spaces and enhance the atmospherics; finally, (3) customer experience is enhanced in hedonic and/or utilitarian terms due to technology adoption.Originality/valueThis paper defines the space as a dynamic entity, providing a deeper understanding of how the store space is produced, from a holistic point of view and the role of retail technology in this process.

Embedding moderators of customer-brand love for affecting purchase intention of customers in hypermarket brand stores

Purpose This paper aims to illustrate the impact of brand love on customers’ purchase intention in the presence of store aesthetics, store price image and customers’ demographic variables as moderating variables for hypermarket brand stores. Design/methodology/approach For achieving the objectives, a survey is conducted on the sample of 515 respondents those are the customers of hypermarket brand stores. The collected sample is analysed through structural equation modelling and moderation analysis by using AMOS. Findings The findings indicate various insights in terms of the results of moderation analysis. This study explains a significant moderation of store aesthetics, customers’ age and their local region for the brand love-purchase intention relationship in the research context. Originality/value The present study examines relevant moderators for brand love-purchase intention relationship by empirical means for hypermarket brand stores that is an under-explored researched context in Indian context. It adds considerable insights for academics and managerial practices in the arena of customer-brand love and emotional affiliation.

Pandemic‐led brand switch: Consumer stickiness for private‐label brands

AbstractThe onset of COVID‐19 resulted in unprecedented shopping behavior, leading to product scarcity and empty store shelves, making consumers shift towards purchasing private‐label store brands. In this research, we aim to understand the role of the pandemic in influencing the preference for private‐label products. Using secondary data, we offer longitudinal evidence that although national and private‐label brand sales increased equally during the peak pandemic period, the growth rate for national brands subsided in the post‐pandemic years, but that of private‐label brands sustained its upward trend. Further, using experimental design, we test this phenomenon and find that greater availability of private‐label brands during the pandemic resulted in higher perceived brand‐helpfulness, which evoked brand attachment and persuaded the customers to continue repurchasing. Our research thus contributes by providing unique insights that can help brands strategize effectively and ensure continued brand attachment in the post‐pandemic period, and additionally, help brands retain customers and foster loyalty during crises.

Official online brand stores or online marketplaces? exploring innovation in consumer intentions

Official online stores and online marketplaces present distinct challenges and opportunities for retail brands, impacting their control over the customer experience, pricing, and brand presentation. Understanding consumer intentions in online channel selection is crucial, especially given the rise of online shopping and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer behavior. This study explores the factors influencing channel selection intention within official online stores and online marketplaces, focusing on customers who have purchased Apple electronics. A quantitative questionnaire facilitated data collection, resulting in responses from 490 individuals and 606 samples. Those who shopped through both channels were requested to complete the questionnaire twice. The respondents were divided into two groups based on their purchasing experience, and structural equation modeling was employed for hypothesis testing. In official online stores, cross-channel searching negatively impacts channel selection intention, whereas brand loyalty and channel pricing advantage have positive effects. In contrast, no significant relationships between these variables were observed in online marketplaces. Channel satisfaction was found to positively influence channel selection intention across official online stores and online marketplaces, while perceived risk demonstrated a negative impact. Based on these findings, several recommendations are proposed to aid in developing effective sales channel strategies.

The value of store brand customization: consider demand learning and preference matching

The value of store brand customization: consider demand learning and preference matching

GIS 기반 브랜드 점포의 지역성 연구 - Aesop의 입지특성 및 공간 디자인을 중심으로 -

GIS 기반 브랜드 점포의 지역성 연구 - Aesop의 입지특성 및 공간 디자인을 중심으로 -

Cultural values and voice as determinants of customers' marketing research cooperation: A fuzzy set perspective

AbstractFirms and their managers have long been concerned with encouraging customers to take on an active role in their marketing research activities. The critical question for these firms is how to foster collaboration with customers in marketing research to enhance the firm's marketing effectiveness and simultaneously benefit the customers. This study focuses on the role that individuals' cultural values and customer voice potentially play in shaping how customers perceive marketing research cooperation with the firm. We analyzed data from a sample of 270 customers of apparel store brands in an African country. Utilizing fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis, our research reveals that the combinations of antecedent conditions that enhance marketing research cooperation significantly differ from those that impede it. Theoretically and managerially, our study expands the understanding of how marketing research cooperation is contingent upon the combination of customers' cultural values and their voice.

Interaction between service investment and store-brand introduction in a dual-channel supply chain

This study examines service investment decisions in the context of two store brand introduction modes and the mode selection of a retailer. The research focuses on a supply chain comprised of a national brand manufacturer (NBM), an external store brand supplier (SBS), and a retailer. A national brand product (NB) is distributed to the market through both direct and retail channels. The retailer consistently offers service efforts within the retail channel and has two options for launching a store brand product (SB): producing the SB or procuring it from an external source. The findings indicate that, when the retailer has a low fixed cost and a substantial market size for one-stop consumers, the retailer internally producing its own SB is more profitable. However, when the market size for one-stop consumers and the fixed cost of producing the SB are both low, or when the retailer possesses a relatively high fixed cost, it is advisable for the retailer to procure a lower-quality SB from the SBS. Alternatively, the retailer could establish its own production facilities to launch a higher-quality SB. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the NBM consistently favors the retailer outsourcing the SB production to an external SBS. This implies that both the NBM and the retailer can achieve a “win-win” outcome when the retailer procures the SB.

A Cross-Sectional Study of Grocery Shopping Factors of Importance among Food-Insecure African Americans.

The objective of this study was to (1) assess via cross-sectional survey the prevalence of food insecurity among African Americans [AAs] after their most recent grocery shopping trip, and (2) examine the grocery shopping factors of importance and characteristics of food-insecure AA grocery shoppers. Most (70.4%) were food-insecure. Food-insecure grocery shoppers were significantly more likely to be younger, less educated, who often skipped meals and/or practiced fasting, accessed a food pantry, were SNAP recipients, were considered to not be in "good" health, and who had higher BMI compared to food-secure shoppers (p ≤ 0.03 * for all). Our data showed that AAs shopped for groceries a mean 2.20 ± 1.29 times per week, for low prices (72.1%), without a weekly budget (58.9%), with a grocery list (44.6%) or using an app (27.6%), for high-quality vegetables (27.5%), for good customer service (22.9%), for store brands (20.8%) and name brands (17.9%).Food-insecure shoppers were significantly more likely to grocery shop more times per week, have a weekly budget, and use an app, but were significantly less likely to report store brands, name brands, good customer service, and high-quality vegetables as grocery factors of importance (p ≤ 0.03 * for all). Grocery strategies such as shopping with a grocery app and/or grocery list could help food-insecure AAs reduce grocery trips, promote meal planning to save money, and avoid skipping meals/fasting, while eating healthier.

Influence of Online to Offline on a Chain Store: Two Moderated Mediation Models Investigation

In the online to offline (O2O) model, online marketing and online purchases drive offline (non-Internet) operations and offline consumption. E-commerce must use more effective methods in combination with offline physical stores for consumers to obtain better online services. However, if there are positive effects from offline from customers on the re-purchase, it can generate a positive power return to online. In addition, could online to offline moves on a path that have either stronger or weaker influence of re-purchase on chain stores with customers’ electronic word-of-mouth and online involvement? To understand the influence of O2O on chain stores, this study investigates the relationships between chain store brand images, perceived value, customer satisfaction and re-purchase intention on offline considerations in a Taiwan telecom chain store ( N = 1,602). The research results find that customer satisfaction plays a fully mediating role. In addition, electronic word-of-mouth and online involvement play two moderating roles on the relationships between chain store brand image, perceived value, customer satisfaction, and re-purchase intention respectively. Finally, theoretical and practical implications, conclusion, limitations and future research are presented.

Exploring tea and herbal infusions consumption patterns and behaviours: The case of Portuguese consumers

Consumption of tea and herbal infusions (THIs) have a long history in traditional medicine and cultural practices. The health-promoting benefits attributed to THIs are considered influential factors in consumer choices. However, there is limited data on consumer choices and attitudes that might interfere with the positive effects associated with THIs consumption.The aim of this study was to investigate the consumption pattern and behavior of THIs consumers in Portugal, assessing the influence of socio-demographic factors on the selection of THIs products and consumer practices related to these beverages.An online survey was conducted, and from the collected data, 720 responses met the aim of the study and were further analyzed. Most of the respondents were female, 74.4%, belonging to the 40–60 age group (40.6%) and were medium consumers of THIs (47.2%). Green tea was the most consumed type among participants, and its consumption was associated not only with age but also with the pattern of THIs consumption. Despite that, participants preferred herbal infusions, with citronella, chamomile, and lemon verbena being the most consumed types. For certain types of herbal infusions, consumption was associated with age, while other types were preferred by moderate or heavy consumers. Most participants purchased THIs in supermarkets, registered trademark and brand stores, in the form of THIs bag. Light consumers use only bag, while medium/heavy consumers indicated the use of other forms. Almost half of the respondents admitted to not reading the information on product labels before consumption and using THIs after the expiry date, while only one-third of them declared paying attention to the label instructions.This study revealed the impact of socio-demographic factors as age on the consumption patterns and preferences of THIs of consumers. Of concern is the neglect of label usage among Portuguese consumers. This emphasizes the urgency of implementing interventions to guide proper label use and promote good consumption practices to ensure the quality of THIs products.

Agency, reselling, or hybrid mode? Competing with store brand

Platform supply chains are emerging as a new form of global supply chain that encompass reselling, agency selling, and hybrid selling modes. This paper examines the impact of store brand products on the firms’ sales strategies. We consider the selection between three sales modes available to suppliers, both with and without the store brand products: reselling, agency selling, and hybrid selling. Comparing the firms’ optimal strategies shows that the hybrid mode consistently yields greater profits when compared to the agency selling mode. Notably, our findings reveal that firms’ optimal choice of sales mode varies depending on the commission rate. The optimal sales mode differs when the commission rate is lower or higher. In the presence of the store brand products, firms choose the reselling mode only when the commission rate is high and consumers’ perceived value of national brand products is low. Otherwise, equilibrium outcomes are not achieved.

Developing a store brand or collecting a commission: Amazon's choice and quality decision

AbstractAmazon, as one of the dominant online retailers (platforms), cooperates with manufacturers under wholesale contract to develop its store brands. Simultaneously, Amazon offers manufacturers with a marketplace and serves manufacturers in the agency selling. In this paper, we build a model to investigate the platform's and the manufacturer's choices on the cooperation modes (i.e., wholesale contract or agency selling) and their quality decisions when they serve consumers with heterogeneous willingness to pay for quality and the platform can dictate the quality under the wholesale contract. We find that the platform and the manufacturer are more likely to align their preferences on selling modes when consumers are homogenous enough. Moreover, when the commission rate is relatively low, both of them may prefer the agency selling. In this case, the manufacturer is willing to offer high quality in the agency selling. In contrast, when the commission rate is sufficiently high, they can only align their preferences on selling modes by choosing the wholesale contract. The product quality under the wholesale contract is higher than that in the agency selling. Finally, we provide three extensions: the platform decides the commission rate, the platform decides the wholesale price and competition between manufacturers.