Impacts of in‐store manufacturer brand expression on perceived value, relationship quality and attitudinal loyalty

For most frequently purchased packaged goods distributed in the super‐hypermarket channel, the store is where a manufacturer's brand can develop its image and its evaluation through an informal control on the purchase experience. Yet, for brands in this sector, better controlled in‐store purchase experiences can lead to enhance brand perceived value, relationship quality, and loyalty. To capture how these contacts take place, the authors develop the concept of in‐store manufacturer brand expression. This concept encompasses three dimensions, namely perceived quality of in‐store manufacturer brand presentation, in‐store manufacturer brand image expression, and perceived closeness of brand image with store image. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impacts of these components on brand evaluations. An empirical application on brands of the food and intimate apparel categories shows the differential impacts of these components on perceived value, relationship quality (trust‐credibility, trust‐benevolence, affective commitment), and attitudinal loyalty.

The empirical application involves major brands positioned in frequently purchased packaged goods categories (ice cream, frozen meals and intimate apparel) and distributed in the super‐hypermarket channel over which they have no formal control. The conceptualization and measurement of perceived brand relationship orientation bears on a qualitative analysis of marketing experts and consumers. Refinement and validation of measures are applied to a convenience sample of 153 students and finally on a sample of 304 actual consumers. Structural equation modeling was used to test the model and hypotheses.

Perceived quality of in‐store brand presentation has a direct positive effect on brand value and trust‐credibility whereas in‐store brand image expression has direct positive impact on trust‐benevolence and affective commitment. At the same time, perceived closeness of brand manufacturer image with store image has a direct negative impact on trust‐credibility. In addition, the authors observed that these effects have significant indirect positive and negative consequences on attitudinal loyalty, throughout the causal links which exist between value, trust and affective commitment. Also, the authors' results support the relationship marketing model in the case of strong national brands positioned in the frequently purchased packaged goods sector.

The application is limited to only three product categories and to strong national brands which enjoy high levels of awareness and market share. Also, the model could be connected to behavioural loyalty metrics, in addition to attitudinal loyalty.

Conceptualization of perceived brand relationship orientation in the case of frequently purchased packaged goods categories is a new step in the understanding and management of consumer‐brand relationship and mass market channel policies.