Putting the “brand” back into store brands: an exploratory examination of store brands and brand personality

Purpose To explore how store brand personality might play a role in consumer perceptions towards store brands and how such personalities might vary when consumers are allowed to experience the product. Design/methodology/approach Two different store brand products from high selling categories were compared with their leading national brands. A total of 139 respondents took the survey. Respondents were divided into four groups, each group representing a different experimental condition. Respondents rated the personality attributes on a seven point Likert scale. Findings Results show that national brands have stronger brand personality traits when compared to store brands; however, such differences diminished when consumers were allowed to taste and experience the products. Practical implications Retailers would be better off to let consumers experience and taste the products to drive consumer perceptions of store brands. Retailers should also focus on those categories where the differential in personality traits between store brands and national brands are small and where the profit margins are higher to drive the store brand image. Originality/value This paper presents a slightly different approach in understanding store brands and argues that store brands do have a personality and that such personality could be further influenced by allowing consumers to experience the product.