Antecedents of consumer attitude towards online private label brands: a study of an emerging Asian market

Purpose This study aims to examine the digital signals and mechanisms involved in shaping consumer attitude towards online private label brands (OPLBs) in an emerging digital market under conditions of heightened uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach A multi-method design focused on the cosmetics and personal care sector was employed. Study 1 used a survey of 637 OPLBs consumers in Pakistan. Study 2 employed a 2 × 2 experimental design that manipulated social media influencer reputation and heuristic cues (high vs low) and included 232 participants. Findings Social media influencer reputation, consumer confidence and bandwagon positively affect consumer attitude towards OPLBs. While heuristic cues have no direct effect in the survey, experimental evidence shows that they influence attitude under conditions of heightened salience. Across both studies, consumer confidence and bandwagon effect mediate the effects of social media influencer reputation and heuristic cues on consumer attitude towards OPLBs. Originality/value This study extends signaling theory by positioning OPLBs as a distinct digital retail context in which consumers rely heavily on externally observable digital signals. It develops a unified signaling framework explaining how source-based credibility signals and popularity-based engagement signals shape consumer attitude through receiver-side mechanisms of evaluative certainty and conformity in uncertainty-rich emerging markets.