A brand preference and repurchase intention model: the role of consumer experience

Abstract

Consumer brand preference is an essential step towards understanding consumer choice behaviour, and has therefore always received great attention from marketers. However, the study of brand preference has been limited to traditional marketing focusing on functional attributes to maximise utility. But now the shift to experiential marketing broadens the role of the brand from a bundle of attributes to experiences. Technological advancements have helped to increase the similarities between brand attributes and product commoditisation. Consequently, consumers cannot shape their preferences among brands using rational attributes only. They seek out brands that create experiences; that intrigue them in a sensorial, emotional and creative way. This study seeks to develop a model that provides an understanding of how brand knowledge and brand experience determine brand preference and to investigate its impact on brand repurchase intention. Accordingly, exploratory focus group discussions are employed followed by a survey of mobile phone users in Egypt. The findings provide insights into the relative importance of consumer perceptions on different brand knowledge factors in shaping brand preferences. It also demonstrates the significance of consumers' experiential responses towards brands in developing their brand preferences that in turn influence brand repurchase intention. The model therefore offers managers a new perspective for building strong brands able to gain consumer preferences. ARTICLE HISTORY

Music in services marketing: an investigation about the roles music plays in service environments

“…Moreover, Lemon and Verhoef (2016) bring findings concerning the customer experience that can be associated with services marketing; Vukadin et al (2016) discuss the significance of the brand experience; Ebrahim et al (2016) present the brand experience with its relation to brand knowledge and preference. These contributions to services marketing can be seen in the following table: Hoffman and Bateson (1997) Highlight the services' characteristics: intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity, and perishability.…”

“…Holbrook (2000) Comprehends the brands as relevant assets for the consumer experience. Ebrahim et al (2016) Investigate the customer brand experience, brand knowledge, and brand preference.…”

“…Furthermore, recent researches have been showing that, besides the naturalexperiential products (when the good comes to be the intangible experiences) (Holbrook, 2000;Holbrook & Hirschman, 1982), the physical goods are also being offered with experiences rather than pure performances and benefits (Biswas, 2014;Ebrahim et al, 2016;Lemom & Verhoef, 2016;Vukadin et al, 2016). That is to say, either the regular products (Holbrook & Hirschman; or the sensory and more experiential ones, such as food and beverage (Biswas, 2014), have been being part of a significant experiential offer to consumers, in a certain way the consumers' emotions are impacted.…”

“…In this context, Ebrahim et al (2016) studied the impact of the customer brand experience and brand knowledge on the brand preference and repurchase intentions.…”

“…Thus, it can be understood that besides being characterized by the intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity, and perishability (Hoffman & Bateson, 1997), the services marketing also embraces the offering of experiences (Holbrook & Hirschman, 1982). Better to say, these experiences, that can either surround a good or be the product itself, permeate the understanding of the customer experience and brand experience with its relation to brand knowledge and brand preference, for example (Biswas, 2014;Ebrahim et al, 2016;Lemom & Verhoef, 2016;Vukadin et al, 2016).…”